Category: Belief or believing

About Dad and Father’s Day


My father died in 2001 from a heart attack. My grandfather died in 1995 due to untreated COPD, although he never smoked as far as I know. I think it was due to his hobby of woodworking and breathing sawdust for many years. These were the two father figures in my life. One who was with me while growing up and one that wasn’t.

fathers-day-002I spent many hours, days even, being angry and hurt while I was growing up. Especially during my teen years. I felt betrayed and tossed aside by my dad, and my grandfather as good as he was didn’t know how to help me. I now realize that I wasn’t tossed aside by my dad, and my grandfather was at a loss about how to handle my feelings.

My real problem was that I got conflicting stories about our relationships. Sometimes it went one way and everything was OK. Then, later it would change and there would be frustration and bitterness mixed in with other feelings and being a teenager didn’t help. We would go to church and I would hear about the love of God and how we are supposed to emulate Him in our lives.

Then we would get home and things were…different. Nothing like what I had heard in church. There was no abuse or anything like that, but God’s Word wasn’t spoken of or read in our house until my grandfather was over 80. I would find him reading and studying the Bible then, but that didn’t happen while I was younger.

In many ways I would like to thank my father and grandfather for showing me what NOT to do in this life. So that when I became a father myself I would tell my son that I love him and I began reading the Bible when he was small. When he was 12 I became the pastor of a small church, so he got to see me preparing for sermons, praying and studying God’s Word.

Fathers have a lot on their shoulders, sometimes grandfathers do too. The only One Who can help the ENTIRE family to muddle through the teen years and come out still smiling and being a family is Jesus. Having that foundation in my life and my family’s life has helped me so much while raising my son. Since my family was broken before I even knew what a family was, I had no idea how to be a dad.

Thankfully, my wife and I had given our lives to Jesus before our son was born, although we were busy with work and I had gone back to school before I knew we were even having a child. Our life with Jesus suffered because of our work during this time because while I was in school, I worked in the lab at the hospital on the weekends. Sunday was my wife’s only day off, so many weekends during that time neither of us went to church. I do regret that, but it can’t be changed now.

God loves all of us and He doesn’t want us to live our lives without Him, but there are so many who choose to do this. Why? Because, love can’t be forced upon someone. God knows us better than we know ourselves because He has known us since before we were born, even from the beginning of creation. Just as any father on Earth, God wants a relationship with us. Seek to learn more about Him by reading His Word and praying for Him to reveal its wisdom to you for your life.

Have a wonderful Father’s Day!

Preaching from the Bible


Is this the actual way to do it? I mean, if you are a preacher of the gospel aren’t you supposedTaketheGospeltoAll to preach from the Bible? Today, it seems that more churches which are growing, especially the larger ones, have pep talks and “5 ways to make your marriage work” sermons. Jesus didn’t preach or teach on these topics. The gospel is the Good News of His payment of your debt owed because of your sins. He made that payment iN FULL so that we can accept His grace and offer of salvation once and never have to come to Him asking for salvation again.

We may need to confess our sins when we fail Him one day or another, but our salvation is secure in Him. He will in no way lose any that the Spirit calls to Himself and they accept that call. Preaching from the Word of God is the only way that many people get to hear God’s Word. It seems that today many rely on apps on their phone or tablet for scripture reading, and that’s fine but reading the Word and hearing it preached allows it to be imprinted on your mind and your heart even more.

Don’t neglect the gathering together of the brethren in worship. I know, there are always other things to do instead of going to church BUT if you have given your life to Jesus you are expected to worship Him at least one day during the week. Of course some people claim that they worship Him every day, which is good, but the disciples gathered together to worship and pray so I think we should too.

We should preach from God’s Word and worship together because the worship of His people and the praise which we give to Him, He inhabits it. Our prayers and needs are seen and heard by our Father and the Son when we are together because those prayers rise like the smoke from incense or sacrifices to the throne! Praise His Holy Name!!

Which god do you follow?


In today’s society, we have many gods. Phones, careers, cars, games, family, Facebook, all qualify to some extent as our “gods” at one time or another. Sometimes, we have more than one. We can’t leave the house or even get up in the morning without checking our phones and then we check in on Facebook. If we lose our phones, we will nearly tear the house apart trying to find this pocket computer which demands our attention every day!

Don’t make that face about this, you know that what I have written here is true because you have seen it in church or at home and certainly on the highway, although I hope not while you are driving. So, yes we have many gods which seem to claim so much of our time on a daily basis, sometimes even hourly, because I have seen people in my family at the dinner table or walking outside with the phone in front of them. They can’t seem to see past that four or five-inch screen in front of their faces.

I may be showing my age here but…how can you live like that?? There is so much more beauty and life going on around you without that screen taking all of your attention and you are missing most of it because of status updates or messages!! Whoever came up with that word certainly had the right idea to begin it with “mess”, because that is exactly what they do! Keeping up with those balloon messages and notification tones keeps many people occupied so much until they can’t pay attention to the rest of their life!

CallofDutyHow much better would our society be if we paid that much attention to the Bible? If we had to have it with us every day and read a part of it every hour of our waking day, wouldn’t our world be so much better than it is? I know we would offend many people by having our Bible out when we eat at the restaurant or when we sit to drink some coffee. But, wouldn’t our society really benefit much more in the area of morality and decent behavior if we patterned our life around God’s instructions for life, His Word?

A novel idea which, in my opinion, has come full circle and it is time for it to take its place in our society again. In schools, in the home, in business and in government, God’s Word should be consulted for all of these. Not as a state religion but as a guide to get our country back on the path which it started out on to begin with.

A friend and Savior


TrueFriendshipCould we be friends?

Sometimes people get so caught up in life and living until they forget about the friends they have. Friends put up with all sorts of behavior that even your family won’t put up with, but that doesn’t mean that you should forget them. True friends are those that even when it has been years since you last spoke to each other, you can just pick up where you left off. How many friends like that do you have?

This is the type of friend that we all have available in Jesus.

When you give your heart to Jesus, He becomes your Savior and friend but HE also introduces you to many other people who can be your friends. Your brothers and sisters in Christ! They know Him and through their spirit and your spirit you can become close friends. I am not saying this is automatic because that is not how friendships work, but it can be.

God created us all to be as close as friends no matter where we live or what our life may be like. Could you be friends with God? Of course you can, if you will just decide to follow Him and His Son, every day not just once or twice per month. Walk with Him in life, daily…even hourly, because HE gives your breath to you and your heart beats because of His grace too!

Friendship is a relationship and being a child of God, saved and sanctified by the atoning blood of Jesus, is also a relationship which needs to be a lifelong one! Your relationship with Jesus should be one which is even closer than just friends and in order for that to be, you need to learn as much as possible about Him! This can be done by reading and studying the Bible and attending a church which teaches from it.

Consider that your relationship with Jesus is a friendship. Mainly because He already knows you far better than you know Him, so pursue Him like you would if He is the only Life that you have…because after this one He truly is your Life or your Judge, it is your choice which one He will be. Choose wisely.

Crumbs of wisdom from a cookie


Make every day your best. You will improve yourself greatly.

Meeting adversity well is the source of your strength.

Desire, like the atom, is explosive with creative force.

These were from some fortune cookies that my family got about a month or more ago. While the first two are sound advice, the third is a bit misleading. Desire is full of creative force like the atom, but it is also full of destructive force, also like the atom.

Many of our emotions have the potential to create beautiful poetry and paintings and sometimes novels. But they can also cause bitterness and hatred, jealousy and rage which may ultimately lead to murder. Some wisdom, whether from fortune cookies or from tarot cards of any type, should be taken at face value only and put away like a gun which is loaded. Those without the training and wisdom from God are not able to handle these things without being burned in the process.

Such is the problem today of so-called “Angel cards”. Everyone hears the word angel and automatically thinks that this is from God. Not necessarily. Remember, Satan once was God’s “covering Cherub”, so he can disguise himself as an angel of light. He caused one-third of God’s angels to be cast down with him, so they too can disguise themselves as a “messenger” from God.

AngelTarotCards

Don’t fall for tarot readings from a card just because it has an angel on it. It is still a form of occult sorcery and is against God. Seek Him out in all things. When your day doesn’t begin on your good foot, then seek His Wisdom in Psalms and Proverbs. Pray to your Creator to give yo

 

 

u strength for each trial which comes your way, no matter what it may be.

 

 

We live and breathe at God’s pleasure and grace, so live your life to reflect that to the world, regardless of what they may think of you! You are a child of God, especially if you have given your life to Him and asked forgiveness for your sins. Allow Him to come into your life and change you to be more like Jesus. Then your life will be so much more in tune with Him and His will for your life.

There is much wisdom contained within the Bible and it is far better and more relevant to your life than anything that you can get from a card reading.

All religions are not the same


In some circles it seems that religions are all thrown into the same pile, regardless of belief or the God or gods being worshiped. Many don’t seem to notice or care that some of those religions are or were created by man, out of man’s mind and not inspired by God Himself! Satan and his forces have been doing this since the beginning, and they are so good at it until the religions that were created by men who were acting under the influence or guidance of demons are accepted world-wide.

Yet, Christianity and Judaism are ridiculed and marginalized because we worship God the Creator of all!

The Bible tells of a time that people will look to their own wisdom instead of His. They will seek out teachers who tell them what they want to hear and make them feel good about themselves. Sound like any “teacher” that you may have seen on TV or heard about? God loves humanity, all of us, not just Christians and Jews. But the salvation and forgiveness of sins comes from belief in Jesus and His death and resurrection and your repentance from those sins.

We are living in troubling times where men do atrocious crimes. Murder, pedophilia, child molestation and slavery for sex…the list could go on and on. The point of this is that we live in a time just like Jesus described to His disciples where the world and the people in it are very much like those in the days of Noah. They didn’t call on God nor believe in Him and didn’t care about anyone except themselves. Sounds very familiar doesn’t it?

God’s love for us is what is keeping your life and mine on a path toward our futures. What that future is exactly, nobody knows for sure except for God. Each decision which you and I make is not controlled by God but is guided by Him. After your salvation you are happy and joyful at having your salvation. Then many people seem to get into a rhythm of going to church and going home then work and then repeat.

The problem with this is that we are supposed to be progressing just like a child or baby. The apostle Paul said it best when he chastised the church at Corinth about still being babes when they should be learning the meat of God’s Word! It is a fact that you can’t progress in your Christian life and walk with Christ if you don’t pray and learn His Wisdom from the Bible.

Being a Christian is a process just like any journey it begins with a step. The first step is accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you have to take the next step and learn about Him from His Word. Study it daily and seek His Wisdom from it with prayer and sometimes fasting. The more that you learn about Him, you will realise that there is more to know about Him. You will never graduate from learning about Him until you are in Heaven. Then you will know and be known fully and completely.OnlyJesus

Who will lead us?


mygodisawesomeIn the world today there are many people who seem to be clamoring for a chance to be a leader in some fashion. Some are not worthy to lead a song, let alone a country, but that doesn’t stop them from being in a position of power if they can manage it. Power is seductive and it corrupts those who thought they were good, decent people particularly if they don’t have a strong foundation of values to stand on.

The lack of teaching from the Bible in America specifically has caused a terrible vacuum of responsibility and accountability in our country, but it seems that the majority don’t want this book as their compass in life. Most seem to be bent on doing their own thing, again. Like those who did this almost fifty years ago, doing your own thing is fine until it impacts on the rest of us. Today we are at the mercy of those who fought against the “establishment” and “the man” back in the day. The problem is that now they are part of it!

So much is happening and will happen in the future until we should be taking note of the things which are happening in the news today. It is part of prophecy and we need to be telling others of it and watching closely for the signs of Christ’s return.

The leaders of the world seem to be intent on doing almost anything to keep religion, in particular the Christian religion, out of government. The Bible has so much good advice for those who are in power yet they won’t listen to it or read it to gain that wisdom. Why? Because, they are trying to fit into the normal way of the world around us and politics seems to have nothing to do with religion for the most part. In the Middle East, religion and politics go hand in hand but that is a totally different culture from most of the world.

God places governments and their leaders in their positions in order to fulfill His purposes, whether we take notice of this in His Word or not. He raised up Pharaoh for the purpose of humiliating the gods of Egypt. God raised up Darius also as well as Nebuchadnezzar for His purposes. The Bible should be leading us toward our future regardless of which leader may be in power. Yet…today few people pay much attention to a book of Israelite history and religion because of the Person named in it as Messiah, Jesus the Son of God!

Seek out leaders who will acknowledge Jesus as their Savior because if they aren’t following Him, then who or what are they following? Themselves or some man-made god or religion?

 

The possibilities


In the environment of today’s Internet and the education afforded by it, the possibilities are almost endless. It is true that you have to be careful about which information that you trust as truthful and which is junk, but so much is there until it is spectacular in amount and scope! One hundred years ago, you would’ve had to spend hours and hours reading through countless tomes to find as much information as  you can get with one click in a search today!

The possibilities in your life, whether you are religious or not, are also endless. Your life is endless because of Jesus’ atonement for you and His Life in you, if you have accepted Him as your Savior. If you are not religious in any way, then your “life” is here where you are and you aren’t worried or concerned about an eternity. So, which side of the fence are you on? Unfortunately, those are the only possibilities regarding your eternal future, you either believe in Jesus and His atonement for you or you refuse to believe in Him.

Those are the choices and you should choose wisely and carefully because eternity is a very long, long time. All of the stars and galaxies will go dark before eternity and its march in time because time doesn’t mean anything there. Why do I bring up the eternal question? Because your choice in believing  or not believing in Jesus and His atonement for you changes your place in eternity and your real Life in that eternity!

In God’s Word it says that the smoke of their torment will rise forever referring to Satan and his demons and fallen angels. Forever and eternity are the same, so reading this should frighten you if you haven’t given your heart and life to Jesus. Why? Because, if you have chosen to follow Satan in his determination to not serve Jesus in this life, then you will share in his fate in eternity. The line between the two states is a very thin one called belief/unbelief and you are either on one side or the other. Make sure which side you want to spend eternity on before you draw your last breath.

So much…


We, at least those of us who live in America, have so much that we take for granted. People don’t look around them and see the little things that they do have, the things and the people who would be so much appreciated in other areas of the world. Sometimes people don’t even visit places of surreal beauty in their own states, they want to go to other places and see the sights but the ones in their own backyard are neglected and forgotten.

It is the same way with religion and Jesus too. In America, we have heard about Jesus and seen the movie, “The Ten Commandments”, so many times in our lives until we are going to be shocked when Moses doesn’t look like Charlton Heston! We have been on the receiving end of so much “movie propaganda” until much of the Bible and its stories play in some way when we read Scripture. I wonder…what does God think about our “video feeds” in Scripture?

Some of it may cause Him to laugh a bit. Some of it very likely causes a bit of concern, with the liberties  that have been taken with some of His stories. Some of them are actually lies made up to make money and have very little to show as being truthful in the telling of Scripture. In the past fifteen years or so, Christian films have done a bit better because people other than those in Hollywood were doing the filming.

You may be wondering why I am writing about this today? Mainly it is because of all of the so-called pundits who tell Christians that our faith is wrong! Some say we are too judgmental, some say we are not inclusive of others, we are too narrow-minded. Something that I have noticed in my eight years of Bible study, reading it from cover to cover, is that God doesn’t change! His rules and His ways are the same today as they were when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses over four thousand years ago!

He is not politically correct and He doesn’t change to suit us! We either repent and humbly ask Him to change us into the image of Jesus or we are lost, it’s just that simple. Believe in Jesus and His redemption of you by His blood which was shed for your sins, no matter what those sins may be, then repent or turn away from those sins and don’t go back to them!

God’s redemption of you doesn’t take any work on your part except that of walking close to Jesus in repentance toward being more like Him before your life here is over. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “take up your cross daily and follow Me.” Determine to follow Him and not your old ways or the ways of your “friends”. When you feel the call in your heart from the Spirit, then choose to follow Him and leave the world and its ways behind!

Think about it this way: if you are on a path toward a destination and you take the first step, don’t stop and turn to go the other way, back where you came from. You will never get to that eternal destination if you do! Getting off of the path or turning back doesn’t take you in the right direction unless you are following Jesus.

Come as a child


The obvious reason that Jesus told His disciples not to hinder the children from coming to Him was and is that they understand His message better than any adult can. As soon as a child is old enough to know that He can’t earn salvation, they know that they have to ask Jesus into their heart and their life. It doesn’t take a lot of sermons or education for a child to just “get it”, they do.

madewholeinHeavenAnd they get it far better than we do. After we become adults, if we haven’t truly accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are so covered in education and pride and all sorts of other “filters” until we can barely see the message of the cross, let alone the real message of salvation. The world itself places those filters on us and our hearts and we allow it to happen. Most of the time we don’t even realize that it is happening, just as when we were sinners.

We didn’t know that we needed Jesus at that time and we didn’t really feel the need for Him. Until the Spirit of God touched our hearts and we noticed all of the sins we had committed and that they were separating us from God, most of us didn’t even know that we needed Him. We were comfortable with our lives and the sin that we lived in.

Don’t think that your life and your righteousness is good enough because it isn’t! If Moses couldn’t get into the Promised land because of his sin, then we are not close to being able to get into Heaven without Jesus! Regardless of which religion you follow or have been raised in, your goodness, your righteousness is as filthy rags next to the grace, mercy and forgiveness which comes from your belief in Jesus!