Category: Believe in the One Who saves

God’s Promises


God has given us many things and many promises in His Word and yet many people who claim to be saved through their belief in Jesus ignore them or don’t believe that He will deliver on them. God is not like we are. He doesn’t lie because if He did He would not be God. This message is for those of us who have given our hearts and our life to God through Jesus His Son. If you have not done so, then these promises don’t apply to you until you do. 

The first promise that I’ll begin with is this:

Romans 5:6-11 

Christ’s Sacrifice for the Ungodly

(Genesis 22:1-10; John 3:16-21)

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Jesus came to Earth as a baby, born of a virgin in Bethlehem, of parents whose lineage could be traced back to King David of the tribe of Judah. All of these were foretold years before He came and He fulfilled all of these prophecies and more. The people who choose not to believe God’s Word or even any part of it have no claim on even this first promise. The promise that you, as a believer, are a child of God. You have been adopted into the family of God through your belief in Jesus as your Savior.

This is God’s promise and it doesn’t matter if you believe in man’s doctrine of once saved you are always saved or if you believe that you can lose your salvation. God’s promise stands regardless of your belief in man’s doctrine because it is His promise and that settles it. As long as you believe in Jesus as your Savior in your heart and you live your life in accordance with your belief, then you truly are His child.

This promise is from God’s Word and it applies to each of us who are His. During these troubled times in which we are living, we need to lean on our Lord for His strength and guidance because without it we are lost. Our faith in Him should bring hope to those around us and yet we see every day the despair and hopelessness in the world. Those who have no hope cling to what they know and most of that is fear and anger and revenge for anything that is happening to them. Even if it is a virus that mankind has not caused but it brings fear into their lives and then other men bring hatred and murder to people only because of the color of their skin. Fear stirs up hatred and hatred lights a fire that won’t be put out easily.

Can the church and the believers who make up the church have any influence in this troubled world? Yes but only by living our lives daily so others can see Jesus in what we are saying and doing. If we live our lives as if we aren’t the church and like those who don’t believe in Him then we shouldn’t claim to be His at all. Yes we were sinners and we still are sinners but as Christians, we are forgiven and we need to live like it. Don’t leave your “Christianity” at the church building on Sunday. Your life was supposed to change when Jesus came into your heart so live your life as a changed Christian who can be seen as a Christian and not labeled as a hypocrite.

When you accepted Jesus as your Savior you were adopted into the family of God. The Holy Spirit came to dwell within your heart to teach you about Jesus and about your life in Christ, so act like you received the most precious gift of all instead of a burden or something that you never wanted to begin with. The gift which each of us has been given through belief in Jesus for our salvation is worth more than all of the wealth in the whole world because we have a home with Him in eternity. This life doesn’t matter except for what we can give to others by our faith in Him. Any gift which has no beginning in Jesus Christ means nothing.

Dawning of Eternity…


This is not what eternity will look like but it is a beautiful picture nonetheless!

What do you picture when you think of eternity in Heaven? Honestly, I have a lot of trouble picturing it at all. The descriptions of Heaven which are given in the Bible are hard to imagine but they all describe a place that is so beautiful and beyond anything that we have ever seen on Earth. This fact alone makes it hard to use our imagination to even consider how it will be. I have read fictional books which try to describe the majesty and beauty of cities and homes made by our Creator for us and even those are beyond anything that we can think of.

Why am I writing of a place which is nearly impossible to imagine with our limited human minds? Because one day in the near future we will go there and see the home which God has prepared for us. Imagine the Builder of the universe creating a home which fits each of us perfectly. The rooms and the furniture and the interior and everything that we would love to have but can’t have here.

Why would Jesus build each of us a place like that? Because He loves us that’s why! I mean He created the universe, don’t you think creating a home for each of us would be a simple, loving gesture that He would enjoy doing for you or me? I am looking forward to being in His Presence, whether I get a tent or a house, I don’t really care. Seek Him and His Kingdom because the kingdoms of this world will be going away one day and He will rule here for a thousand years!

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.

What is your foundation?


Do you have a real foundation? In our world today many people seem to be devoid of a foundation. They seem to have no concept of even needing a foundation to base their lives and their beliefs on. Yet, America was founded upon Christian principles. Granted many of those were twisted out of context to legalize all kinds of wrongs such as slavery and prostitution and murder and rape. When I said “legalize” I don’t mean that these wrongs were legal in the eyes of the law but they used principles found in God’s Word to either justify what they were doing or to make themselves feel better about something that they knew was wrong in God’s eyes.

The foundation of our principles is based on God’s Law but it is also based on our conscience which God gave to us by way of reading and hearing His Word preached. Whether it was done by a preacher in a church or by your parents or your grandparents it really doesn’t matter. As long as you have heard the Truth from God’s Word then your conscience will let you know when you are doing something which God does not approve of.

We are made in the image of God and have been since the beginning in the Garden of Eden. That has not changed. Man is the only part of God’s creation which is formed from the clay. To form something you have to put your hands in it and make it into a shape that you approve of. Every other creation on Earth was called forth by the Word of God.Mankind was formed from the clay by God’s hands. Can you understand what that means?

When a potter or a sculptor takes a lump of clay or a piece of stone and makes something beautiful out of it they call themselves forming their vision of what is already there. They can see in their mind the man or woman or some other shape and then they either remove the stone or wood from around their vision. A potter looks at the clay and sees what it can be when he lays his hands on it. A master violin player can take a dusty old violin and tune it and make it sound like it came from heaven. God looked at the clay and saw us and all of the good that we could be. Unfortunately He also saw the bad and evil that mankind would be as well.

The only way that we can be what God saw before or during His formation of man is by His grace bringing us to conviction so that we know that we need Jesus in order to be the people which God saw. We need Him and His righteousness in our hearts so that we will live and be more like Jesus than ourselves. Adam was created perfect and sinless and so was Eve until they allowed Satan to twist the words which God has said. They were duped into thinking that they could become more like God. Except in doing so they disobeyed God’s command and in doing so they became more like Satan himself.

Our foundation has to be laid on the rock of salvation through Jesus and our belief in Him as our Savior. If we don’t start our true life off on that foundation by being forgiven and sanctified by the blood of Jesus then we are fooling ourselves and we are wasting out lives. God knows each of us far better than we know ourselves and He knows how far we will go before He needs to bring us to the point where we recognize our Savior and Lord as Jesus the Christ. I pray that many of you who read this will take it to heart and use it so that someone may come to know Jesus as their Savior. If you do not know Him then please seek Him out as your Savior.


Colossians 1:23
if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Jesus is also the foundation of our faith.

disturbing news


I read an article today which unnerved me. According to the Barna group there are an increasing number of people, including many who claim to be Christians, who don’t believe in absolute morality which is taught in God’s Word. I know that many people don’t like what is taught from the Bible or even how it is taught. But when a Christian says that they don’t believe in absolute Truth or Morality it is the same as saying that they don’t believe what God says in the Bible. If you are questioning God or His rules about morality or truth or anything else in God’s Word then you are questioning the validity…the Truth of what God says. If that is how you feel about God then why do you go to church? God is our Creator and the Creator of everything. He cannot lie, so why would you question anything in His Word? If you don’t believe in Him that is your prerogative and if you don’t believe in Him then His Word is suspect too I suppose.

But…what if you are wrong?

God has brought the nation of Israel back to its homeland after nearly two thousand years with their language intact. This is a miracle in itself. All of the prophecies in the Bible have come to pass except for the return of Jesus and that will happen soon. Likely much sooner than many people think.

Is God’s Word, the Bible, true and trustworthy? If it isn’t we might as well be using a book about a wizard or a dragon as our “guide for life”. God and His Word is true and it is absolutely Truth and absolute about the way we should live. The laws of most civilized countries have their foundation in His Word and the laws found there so if we throw the Bible away as untrustworthy then all of the laws should be nullified as well. Then what kind of moral compass will we live by? I don’t think I would want to live in a world like that.

Consider this: God Word is Truth and it is completely true. Jesus died for your sins and everyone else’s sins in the world. Your salvation only depends upon your conviction about being a sinner and knowing that you need Jesus and your belief in Him as your Savior has to be complete and not “maybe so”. One day Jesus will send His angels to gather the church, all believers, to be with Him in Heaven. If you are not part of that gathering and you see it happen, it will prove that the Bible is true and you just missed out on being taken to Heaven before all hell breaks loose on Earth.

God’s Word is True and absolute.

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.

Do you listen to God?


There are many people in church and outside of church who will tell you that “God doesn’t speak to us anymore!”. Really? Who do you think is speaking when you read the Bible? It isn’t the person who wrote the words down because it is God’s Holy Spirit which has inspired them to write and speak and pray and write some more. The words in the Bible come from God so how can you say that He doesn’t speak today? No, He doesn’t use His “God” voice because most people would fall down dead if He did! (maybe not dead, but it would scare a lot of people).

God speaks through the words which we read from the Bible but if you don’t read His Word how will you know what He sounds like? God loves us and He has loved us since the beginning of everything. He knew Adam would not be able to resist the Tree of Knowledge. That was not a surprise to God at all. Jesus, His Son, was the Second Person of the Trinity and He knew that He would have to go one day and pay for all of our sins and He willingly did it. His human body and mind didn’t want to but His will submitted to His Father and did it anyway.

Was it painful? Yes! He bled and died for our sins…but He rose to life on the third day and now He is waiting for His Father to tell Him to “Go and get your Bride”. God is giving each of us a chance to be saved but it is up to us and our decision whether we will accept His gift of grace. Salvation is a gift from God just as your life and your health is a gift from Him. Whether we actually accept it or not is our decision. Can God force it on us? He could but that would prove nothing. Forcing obedience from someone is slavery and God doesn’t want slaves, He wants followers and people who love Him because He loved us first!

Love cannot be forced it is given from both parties in the relationship. If it is not or if the love is only flowing one way then pretty soon the stream dries up. A loving relationship is a two way stream and if both parties are not contributing to the stream then pretty soon the relationship will become one sided and then it will die. God doesn’t begin relationships with us in order to let them die. He is the Creator and the Author of Life so a relationship with Him is a two way relationship. He gives and we give as well. We give Him our life just as He gave His Son’s life for us to be sanctified and holy. Did it cost God anything? Of course it did! He felt the nails. He felt the whip as it ripped into Jesus’ body. He knew the suffering that Jesus went through to bring salvation to all who would accept it.

But…not everyone will accept it.

I pray that you who read this will accept His love into your life and accept Jesus as your Savior because one day soon our period of grace will be over and the time of testing and tribulation will begin.

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.

One Life changed everything


Have you ever thought which Life changed everything? In truth it isn’t hard to figure out because, if you are a Christian, you already know Him. The Life which changed our calendar and each of our lives is Jesus Christ. He came into the world in obedience to the Father’s will for all of us to know Him and come to know Him as our Savior. His life is eternal because He is the Son of God and the Living Word and our Savior.

Jesus did change the world and He did it from a three year ministry before He was crucified. But of course that was not the end of the story…it was just the beginning. So how did He change the world? He taught His disciples that God loves His people regardless of their nationality or their skin color or their gender. God is our Creator and He knows each of us so well that He knows your next thought and the next word which will be spoken by you.

God has ordained each of us to be His representative in whatever fashion or task or ministry we may find ourselves in. It may not be a ministry in a church or on a mission field but we are to “bloom where we are” so to speak.

I want to apologize for the shortness of this post and the fact that I began working on it two days ago. A companion of mine who happened to have four feet and beautiful copper-red fur passed on to the next life this past weekend on Saturday morning. She had been my constant companion and nurse for fourteen years and she was only two months from her fifteenth birthday. But, she had an enlarged heart and God knew it was time for her to come home. I pray that I will see her again one day.

Thank you for understanding. Please, seek out a Bible teaching church and learn more about our Savior, Jesus the Christ. He is the only way to gain entry into Heaven.