Category: Be useful to God

He is with you!


In John 14:16 the apostle affirms this promise: 16 And I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.

The Comforter which Jesus was speaking of is the Holy Spirit which all believers have living within them to teach them and guide them in their service to God. It is only by His strength that we can fulfill the position of a believer in His Kingdom. We can’t do it in our own strength but with the Spirit of Truth living within our hearts we can!

The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity which makes up God Himself so we have a small portion of God living within us when we become believers. Some of us don’t live as if we have Him living within us and it is to those who think they have something that they don’t have that this is being written. I am not trying to judge your heart because only God can do that but I am trying to spare you from a fate which will come upon many on the day of judgment.

Those of us who live in America have been blessed immeasurably by God just to be where we are. But our place of birth has also lead many to think that they are saved from hell just because of a family tradition or a prayer whispered when they were young and never considered again. We live in a culture that claims to believe in God and many do but so does the Devil himself! That is what is so damning for many of us. Culturally we believe that we are Christians because we have been brought up in the church. We have attended Sunday school and Bible school and may have attended church services on a regular basis.

But attendance doesn’t make you a Christian. Belief in God doesn’t make you a Christian. Knowing some scriptures and even attending revivals doesn’t make you a Christian. It is your heartbroken conviction that brings you to the cross and to the place where you know that you NEED Jesus as your Savior and you ask Him to come into your life and change your heart so that you can be a Christian.

Satan knows that Jesus is the Son of God and so do all of the demons in hell but they won’t serve Him. Knowledge of Him and attendance in church doesn’t make you a Christian. In the past one hundred years, our country has heard and seen many evangelists who brought the message of salvation to radio and television many times but superficial knowledge of God or Jesus doesn’t change your life. Even owning and occasionally reading a Bible at home doesn’t make you a Christian. It is the conviction of your heart that brings you to Jesus, asking to be made into a new creation, forever changed into a Christian

I pray that all who will read this will give their hearts to Jesus and ask Him to make them into His true disciples so that others may hear from your point of view how Jesus changed your life.

God’s Promises


In a relationship don’t you keep your promises? Particularly to your significant other? 

God has always kept His promises to us because He loves us. He sent Jesus to pay the debt for our sins and not just American Christians but for all Christians in the world. Yet, somehow we think that we are special and that we deserve His favor. None of us deserve His favor or His grace or His love but God has given us those things because of His love for us not because of what we deserve!

Why would that be true? We have pushed Him out of nearly every government office and building. We have taken Him and His Word out of schools and there are many who are trying to get any reference to Him out of our country so they won’t have to hear about Him or His Son again.

In Matthew 6: 25, 31-34 God promises to meet our needs. Here is the text of those verses: 

25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Every promise that God made with anyone in the Bible, He has kept. Even if the promise hasn’t come to completion yet. All of the promises leading up to it have been. So why do so many people doubt the existence of God or His love for us? Why is it that one part of humanity considers themselves to be the apple of His eye and yet they don’t seem to follow Him any better than the rest of the world?

God’s promises are sure and yet we doubt Him and His Word all of the time. Do you believe His promises for His provision in your life? I do.

I have been pushing the lawnmower and I will ask Him for a cloud or a little breeze to give me some relief from the heat. Most of the time it is provided. I know that many people won’t ask God for such little things but they aren’t little to me at the time. I have laid before Him the fact that we needed to pay this bill or that one and somehow the money is available. It may be just enough to pay the bill but He provides.

While it is true that many of the promises that are in the Old Testament are not available to us today, the promises in the New Testament are available to each of us who has given their life and their heart to Jesus. I don’t mean walking down and getting wet. I mean real, honest, and completely giving your heart to Him. Changing your life and living each day with Him, reading the Bible and learning more about Him and actually leaning on Him for your day to day, getting by kind of things.

Will God answer the prayers of one of His children who is living day to day with Him? If it’s asking for a million dollars, probably not. But if you are talking to Him and listening to His responses then what you ask for is usually in line with what He wants to give you and He’s waiting for you to ask for it. Is living by His side easy to do? No, it isn’t. There are so many temptations around us and Satan knows exactly which buttons to push to cause you to step off of the pathway that you were on. But, the closer you are walking with God it makes it harder for you to listen to anything that Satan says.

God is always close to you


Hebrews 13:5 says: 5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

As adopted children of God, if you are a believer, we should never covet or be enticed by something that someone else has. We should remember that our relationship with God is worth more than all of the money in the world! I know there is no way to spend it in this world and most people who would see you on a daily basis might not know about it. But the life that each of us has here on Earth is just a little while compared to eternity. Even the lives of the early children of Adam before the flood only lasted for a few hundred years but compare that to 100,000 years or 1,000,000 million years. Looking at those numbers, even Methuselah’s age of 969 years seems small.

Life today is not viewed with the respect that should be given to it. We don’t think about a child in the womb as being a person until they are outside the womb and making noise. People don’t view elders with gray hair as someone to respect and admire for the life they have lived. Historical figures such as George Washington Carver and Abraham Lincoln aren’t looked at with reverence today because they belong to a past that many people want to forget.

Jesus came and died for all of mankind’s sins even though He knew exactly who would believe in Him for their salvation and who will reject it. He took ALL of the sins of mankind on Himself when He was on the cross which is why God had to look away from Him for a time. He was never abandoned on the cross, God was still near Him but He could not look at His Son. God sees all of the trouble and pain which is happening and that has happened in our world. He knows who is responsible for it and for some things Satan is responsible for them…but not all evil comes from Satan.

Just before the flood, God saw that mankind’s heart was set toward evil continually and much of what we see and hear about today is caused by man as well. Humanity is capable of some great evil as history proves to us if people will read it and learn from it. Although they seem to be wanting to change the history that they don’t like these days.

God is always close to us and if we would just listen to His Word and live by it instead of our emotions and our own ideas the world would be a much better place.

God is there in time and on time


Some of the attributes of time:

Time moves without legs. 

Time only moves in one direction.

Time moves without regard to religion or creed.

Time seems to slow down with anticipation and speed up with our dread of an outcome or our age.

Time will never stop.

God’s promises are always on time and they are never late or early.

Psalm 46: 1-3 says: 1 …God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

God is as near to each of us as our next breath so regardless of the trouble we may be facing, He is there to strengthen us and comfort us in times of trouble. During the past few weeks, we have seen a lot of trouble in our nation and in the world itself. Racial tension has been drawn as tight as a bowstring and it seems to be near the breaking point. 

Our people need to be drawing closer to God during this time but it seems that most of the people on the streets and in the news are more interested in pushing God away. This is really nothing new. God has been pushed to the edge of our collective conscience in America and in most other countries as well and it began during the early ’70s or late sixties. Once the people began to move away from Him, it has been very hard to get it to stop or reverse.

Numerous evangelists have preached to those who would listen and some did but the majority didn’t take their message about Jesus and His love for us to heart. I pray that there will be a revival in America and around the world but it seems that the part of the world that does not revere God or Jesus as their Messiah is just not interested. They seem to be inviting as much violence into the world as possible. That is not going to prompt God to send Jesus or the Tribulation any sooner than He has it planned for.

Violence and uprising, looting, and burning will do nothing for their “cause” except to draw the news crews out in force…which is what they want. The truth is not part of their narrative. Yet, they want any reference to ANY historical event from 140 years ago stricken from the public square or from TV or movies. Any reference to a figure which had anything to do with the Civil War regardless of their view on slavery should be taken down or destroyed.

Slavery was never sanctioned by the Bible and God never intended for us to enslave people but people are still being sold into slavery today. Particularly children. We, as a society, need to become more social with each other across racial barriers. In the culture that we live in today, it will be hard to do because of the hate and mistrust that is being spread on the Internet and in the news but it needs to be done!

When parents and grandparents teach their children that they are different from the other children it sends the wrong message. Yes, we have different skin colors and tones but we don’t have to hate each other because of that. Did history record that there were some really terrible things done to people in the past just because of their skin color? Yes, but if we change our view of each other today we can be an instigator of change in that area as well. But we need to look at each other not as black or brown or white or any other shade of color but as people who are made in God’s image.

His promise of forgiveness


1 John 1:9:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The promise which we see illustrated in this passage has a condition attached to it of “If we confess our sins…”. Why would that be there? Mainly because of our need to be convicted of being a sinner and needing forgiveness. If we don’t think or feel that we need to be forgiven of our sins, whatever they may be, then we won’t seek the One Who can forgive them. Jesus Christ came and died to pay the penalty of our debt for our sins and it is only by having faith in Him for salvation that we will realize that we need Him and the forgiveness that is offered.

It seems that many people believe that they can come to Jesus any time they feel like it and everything will work out in the end. But until the Holy Spirit touches your heart and convicts you of your sinful nature, showing you that you truly do need Jesus, you won’t seek Him out because as far as you are concerned there is no need. It is our decision to turn away from our old way of living and to seek to follow Jesus but without being convinced of our need for salvation by the Spirit not one of us would ever go down that pathway. God knows which people will make that life-giving decision to follow Jesus and which ones will not but He doesn’t force this decision on anyone.

Walking with Jesus on a daily basis is not for the faint of heart. Satan and his demons will attack you with all sorts of temptations and they know exactly which buttons to push to get your attention. They will do this at night and during the daytime and when you see something you like or want and you know you shouldn’t get it. This is not a one-time temptation, it is ongoing. This is what Jesus meant when He said to “take up your cross and follow Me”. It is a daily fight which you will be living with but you won’t be alone. The Holy Spirit will be there with you every step of the way.

The best way that I can do this, and I am not successful at it all the time, is to wake up thanking God for today and everything it will bring. Be in the spirit of prayerful thankfulness during your day. If you feel a cool breeze thank Him for it. If you find a parking place that is convenient for you, thank Him for it. You get the idea. Every good and pleasant thing which comes your way during the day, no matter what it may be, thank Him for it!

Life is much easier when you do this but it is a way of life that has to be practiced. It doesn’t come naturally for us. We wouldn’t think of any of these little blessings at all if we weren’t saved through the blood of Jesus. When we were our natural selves being thankful probably didn’t come to mind unless our parents or grandparents taught us that while we were growing up. Even when they taught us this way, as my parents did, I still questioned why? What is the point of thanking God for something that I did?

The problem is that until we realize that He is in control whether we see Him or believe in Him or not we will continue to think that we did it. When it is God Who has given us the ability and the thoughts and knowledge to do what we do every single day! Seek Him and His Kingdom through Jesus Christ and every good blessing will be yours. That doesn’t mean that God will drop a block of gold in your yard but your strength will be renewed every morning, your day will be more like a pleasant walk than a grind to get through so do this every day, one day at a time until you are called home to be with Him.

How much longer, Lord?


This is a question which has been asked many millions of times since Jesus went back to Heaven but we don’t have an answer yet. It seems that the time is getting very close to the time when Jesus and other prophets from the Old Testament said that we would recognize. What time would that be you may wonder? The beginning of the troubled times. Diseases and famines and hatred of anything and anyone who is or claims to be a Christian. No respect for property or laws or the image of God which each of us is carrying inside of us whether we are saved or not.

All of humanity, regardless of your skin color, has been made in the image of God and each of us carries that image with us regardless of our view of God or religion.

The time is growing shorter and yet people…even Christians are not taking notice of the prophecies which most of us have heard preached from the pulpit many times. I can understand why those who are not regular church-goers would not recognize the signs around us but those of us who have been in church most of our lives should! Yes, a few years ago we had four blood moons and an eclipse and all fell on Jewish Feast days. Does that mean that God doesn’t care? No, it doesn’t! God placed those signs in the heavens so that we would take notice and be looking for our Blessed Hope!

You would think that a global pandemic would get people’s attention to turn toward God a bit more but even that doesn’t seem to have done enough. God knows the hearts of those in the world and He knows exactly who will give their lives to Jesus and follow Him and who will not. But that does not mean that we should stop our efforts to tell others about Him or to evangelize as much as possible especially in our own family and area where we can make a difference. Some will hear and listen and some won’t but we should try. Pray about this and tell others about your Lord and Savior. Read His Word and study it so you are approved as a ready workman for the Kingdom.

God loves us and He has been patient with us…all of us, but His time and date are coming soon. He knows the day and the hour when it will be the exact time to get His bride, the church. Don’t be fooled by those who say that the Bible isn’t true and that God’s Word is just a bunch of old men’s writings because it is God’s Word and it is Truth. When that day comes, and it will come, the whole world will know but for many it will be too late. Have your lamp full of oil and have those wicks trimmed because you don’t know when the Master will come or at what hour.

Do you seek the spotlight?


During this time of video classes and video services from churches without people, are we seeking to be in the spotlight? Some people may be like fireflies in front of a camera and some truly are but for those who are trying to take the message of Jesus to others, shouldn’t we try to make sure that it is His message which is in the spotlight? It is our pride which causes us to seek the spotlight because we want the attention. It is pride which is the tap root from which all sins grow from and Satan knows how to nudge us in this direction.

Jesus didn’t seek the spotlight but He did spotlight the message itself so that people would hear it and seek salvation through belief in Him. It is our own pride which carries us into hell because we try to do everything ourselves. We even try to be our own savior because we believe that our works and our “righteousness” would gain us entry into the presence of God. It isn’t easy to be humble before God because we can’t see Him. We don’t know His majesty or His holiness and we can’t look around us and perceive Him in all of His glory.

We look at all of the accomplishments of mankind and we think that man has done so many great things. In some areas we have but if you look closer you can see all of the failings of mankind’s stewardship of our home. The pollution of rivers and the ocean and the cutting down of rain forests, which clean our air and make it breathable again. In the past few hundred years we have done much harm to our home, most of which cannot be fixed or replaced. Yet, we think that we deserve to stand in the Presence of God because of our “accomplishments”. How brazenly bold and prideful we are.

God loves each of us but those that He has called to be His aren’t doing their job as they should. Some are true enough but many of us seem to look at our salvation as nothing more than “fire insurance”. When we should be working for our Savior and Lord until that day when He comes to take His Bride, the church, home. This is the expectation of our Savior and our God but if we don’t read His Word we won’t know until it is too late.

Just as in the parable of the talents, when the Master of the house comes we should be found diligently working for Him and not being lazy and only bringing his one talent back to Him. Think of being a worker who will be richly rewarded if we are found working hard for our employer on the day when He says, “Enter into the rest of your Master my faithful servant”. Our time here is a very short time compared to even ten thousand years and that is only a moment in time compared to eternity. Make sure of your salvation and get to work while there is time to do so. Once your time is done here you will give account to God for every word and deed which you did for Him or not. You decide which side you will be found on.

Tiny though thy faith be…


Think of how much something as small as a virus has impacted our world. Look at all that has been done to the wealth of the world and the health of its people because of a little virus and the fear of it, what could we do if we had even a tiny almost microscopic amount of faith in God? Have we given up all of our belief in Him because of something that we can’t see which is taking many in death? Why would the entire world give up on its Creator and His ability to heal and save because of some “new” disease?

There is no disease which is new. It may not have been seen for many hundreds of years or it may be one which is known yet it has changed and mutated in such a way that it affects us differently than it did in the past. Even the “scientists” which believe in evolution would tell us that this is the way of life so that only the strong will carry on.

God doesn’t do this. He may allow it to happen so that we will seek Him for deliverance and healing. Yet today we do not. We turn away from God and His servants and call them hypocrites and hard-hearted toward those who are suffering. Even when Christian organizations give help with no reward to themselves they are looked upon as withholding treatments from some because of their beliefs.

“Oh, ye of little faith“, Jesus said this to His disciples many times regarding their lack of faith. We should be having church services and being the church that Jesus began two thousand years ago. The world and all who live in it needs to hear His message and that He is the Savior Who died for all of us…not just a few. There are many in the world who are living out their lives as heroes because they are doing what He would do if He were here in Person. If we had even a mustard seed’s worth of faith in Him we could pray for His healing and if we believed that He would do it then it would be done.

There are so many who do not believe in Him or in God or in any part of the Bible as God’s Word but one day soon all will see and know that it is true. They will see that it is the Truth yet for many it will be too late. I pray that you will be one of those who does believe in Jesus for salvation and forgiveness now…today. Because when the believers are taken up to be with Him the time that is left on Earth will be only seven years and during that time there will be many signs and wonders which will deceive many people. Seek Him for your salvation while there is time. You may not have tomorrow so trust Him now.

Life…doesn’t last long here


Life in this world and in this body doesn’t last very long.

We live maybe sixty or eighty years by God’s grace. It sounds like a long time to someone who is five or ten years old, but one day they will understand.

If you have ever had a pet, especially a dog, from the time they were a puppy until they passed on then you know that life is short. Even when a Dachshund can live to be twenty or a bit more, you are their world. You are their caretaker and their friend and to them you are the Alpha of the pack that lives in your home. If you treat them like family they will love and take care of you just as they would any other part of the pack. This applies to any breed who shares your life because they are family even if they have four furry feet.

Our lives are not long when you compare our few decades to the time that the Earth has been here or how long some people believe it has been here. God knows exactly how long your life will be because He formed you and He gave you the time and talent to be what He intended for you to be. Whether that is a doctor or a lawyer or a plumber or a policeman or woman or a nurse or maybe even a welder. In each of these professions there are those who truly excel at them and there are some who don’t and even some who just do the best they can.

Those who excel at their profession usually thank God for their life and their profession and for His Son Who came to save us all from our sinful lives. They know that it is God Who gave them their talents and skills to be and do the job that they do. They also give Him a part of their income so that His Kingdom will be honored and will keep growing until that day when He calls all of us home to be with Him. God loves each of us and He has given us the talent and skill to be useful to His Kingdom if we will learn His Wisdom from His Word and use it in every part of our lives. That way more people can see Him when we speak or when we pray or even when we are just doing our job as He gifted us to do it. Do your work every day as if you are doing it for God Himself. After all, He did give you the talent and the ability to be and do your job.

Living in Christ


Have you considered giving your life to Jesus? During times like this with nearly every country affected by this virus, how can we not look to the One who can truly help? Some are blaming Him for this and some are looking to Him for their healing.

Living with Christ is actually something that is not hard to do. He’s near you all of the time, but you don’t get the full measure of Him until you trust Him for your salvation. He gives us strength and peace for each day and the words that we need in times of testing. Jesus has come to us as a Savior and it is our responsibility to accept Him as our Savior when we feel His call on our lives.

Have you felt that call of the Spirit in your heart and His conviction of your sins which calls you to repent and give your life to Jesus the Messiah? Many people have heard it but they have ignored it and walked away. You are doing this to your own hurt. Because we are not guaranteed tomorrow, your soul could be required of you even in the next hour. I have been accused of scaring people to seek their Savior by saying this but if that is what it takes, so be it. Your eternal destination and your eternal life is at stake here!

Your soul will live on after your death and according to God’s Word we will have a body like Jesus had after His resurrection. We won’t be floating about like ghosts or angels but we will have an actual body. The only question about your eternity is where will you spend it while you have this immortal body? Will you be in Heaven where God is or will you be in hell where Satan and his demons are? It really is your decision when you feel the touch or call of the Holy Spirit in your heart. Will you respond by giving your heart to Him or will you ignore the call and walk away. Occasionally, you may have some time to ponder your decision and you may get another nudge from the Holy Spirit.

Why do I point this out? Because we are not guaranteed to live through the night or into tomorrow. God knows our so-called “expiration date” but we don’t, thankfully. Just make sure of your eternal destination before it gets here because there are no “do-overs” and no “re-spawning” after this life is over.