What child is this?

I know this sounds like it should be about the birth of Jesus but it isn’t. In our country and all over the world today there are children who have been sent by their Creator to bless someone’s life with the joy of becoming a parent. In our world today children are in danger before they are born because of the number of abortions that are done in America and around the world. While it is true that some pregnancies may be “unplanned” due to rape or incest or prostitution, these children are gifts from God. There are many couples who would love to adopt a baby if the child is not wanted or the mother cannot take care of them. So why isn’t this option given to women who want to get rid of their “problem”?

God allows us to make all sorts of crazy choices in our lives and some of them are really hard to believe. In the Old Testament, worshipers of Baal and Moloch gave their children to be sacrificed in flames to their gods. Today we sacrifice unborn children to our “gods” of convenience and freedom. What a waste. Since abortion became legal in 1973 there have been millions of babies killed for these “gods”. I have heard and read many of the arguments about the reasoning behind this and it sickens me. Women are told that those are just blobs of cells and they don’t feel anything. “Those cells are just a parasite inside your body”; really?

Were you just a parasite in your mom’s body until you were born? I don’t think so! I saw my son’s sonogram picture at about 12 weeks and he was a fully formed baby. Very small for sure but he had fingers and toes and ears. That is not a blob of cells! I am going to see the movie, “Unplanned“, tomorrow and I pray if there are any who are wondering about whether that is a child inside you or not then please see this film and decide for yourself. Jesus loves the little children and He would not condone the murder of millions of them. (My plans have changed but I still believe that people need to see this film).

Jesus loves each of us as well and I pray for all who read this to seek Him out and ask Him to be your Savior. Time is growing short and there are no second chances when it comes to your salvation so get it now while you can.

Make sure of your thoughts

Numbers 6: 22-27

22 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. 27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

This is the blessing which God commanded Moses to give to Aaron which he spoke to Israel as a blessing from God. Since we are adopted into God’s family through the blood of Jesus, we can also claim this blessing as we go about our lives following the Lord and serving Him in our daily living.

God will be with us and bless us as we do those things which are pleasing to Him but if we turn away from Him and go our own way do things in our own strength and our counsel then God will not bless those things which we are doing. He is a loving God but He is also jealous of our service and our devotion to Him. Which is why Christians are put to the test when we think we are doing what is right for Him but it is only right because we are doing it in our strength and not under His direction.

God loves each of us and He will test us and try our faith in Him to prove it and make it stronger. If we are not walking with Him we may be tried because of it. We will not be killed or hurt in this, but we may go through trials and pain because of our walking the path without Him. Being obedient to Jesus and to His teachings, just as His disciples and followers were, is a requirement which has not changed and because He hasn’t changed our obedience to Him should not change either.

Although there are times when we think we are hearing His voice when it is a demon or Satan speaking in our mind and convincing us that it is from the Lord. Remember, Satan has had many years to perfect his craft of deceit and lies and he can make it sound very convincing to our minds. Our enemy is very subtle and crafty and he can fool even those who know the Lord and His voice.

We must try these words which come to us and make sure that they are from our Lord before we act upon them. Any leading from a thought or during prayer which doesn’t acknowledge God or Jesus as Savior and Lord did not come from the Lord, so be careful of what you listen to in music or in your own mind and especially on TV.

A word from the Lord can come to us in a time of meditation on His Word but even then we should test it to make sure of its meaning and where it comes from. Making sure of the words and their meaning and whether they actually come from God’s Word as well. This is the only way to prove them before we act upon them and carry them to others by writing or by proclamation (preaching).

God wants to bless us for our obedience and our loyalty to Him but we must be careful to test any leading that we have and make sure that it is from God and doesn’t contradict His Word or even may be similar to His Word but is changed just enough to make it of none effect. This is the kind of deception which comes from Satan and he will tempt Christians and nonbelievers alike with it. By taking a word out or changing it so that the verse doesn’t mean the same as it did, this is what some “false teachers” are doing today. I pray that all who read this will test what they hear from any teacher who claims to be a Christian to make sure of its truth.

Who is Jesus the Christ?

Ooh, this could be a long list. He is the Seed of the Woman and the Captain of the Lord’s army. He is the Rock and the Manna which sustained Israel. He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. He is the Good Shepherd and the Root of Jesse. He is the Rock cut from the mountain without tools and the King of Kings. He is our Savior and Lord and the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is the Messiah and the Suffering Servant. He is the Great Physician and the Creator of all things. He is the Lover of my soul and the Prince of Peace. He is the Bright and Morning Star and the Lily of the valley. He is the Firstborn of those who will be raised from the grave and the Spotless Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

There are many names which describe Him and all of them are true and right because they all describe some part of Who Jesus is. He is the Lord of Lords and the Living Word of God. All of these names and more have been given to Him and I don’t claim to know them all but Jesus is everything to all of those who have accepted Him as their Savior. He is Creation and the Creator. He is the only begotten Son of God and the Son of Man. Why do I speak these words about my Lord with reverence and awe? Because He deserves so much adoration that I can’t express it adequately.

God sent His Son to Earth to redeem mankind from their sins and yet there are many who don’t want to know Him. Why is that? Because of the work of Satan in this world, that’s why! He has been at work since the Garden of Eden and the fall of mankind and his work is not over until Jesus comes back and sets up His Kingdom here. Satan knows his time is drawing to a close and it will soon come to an end, at least for a thousand years. Then he gets to try again but God will utterly defeat him at that point and he will be thrown into the lake of fire.

I pray that anyone who might be seeking to know about Jesus will read some of my other posts here and find a Bible teaching church and truly seek Him out while there is time. God doesn’t wish for any to be sent to hell but if you choose to ignore the Truth in God’s Word then that is your choice and God will not try to change your mind. If you are convicted of your sin then please seek Him in the Word and ask Him to forgive you and help you to believe in Him.

How can you tell the difference?

When someone shows you a fake or counterfeit dollar bill can you spot the difference? What about a false “gospel”? The only way to be able to tell the difference is to know what the Real One looks like or sounds like. There is no person on Earth who can perform miracles like Jesus did yet some try to fool people today into believing that they are “the Christ” reincarnated. Unfortunately in today’s world there are many people who will believe them and follow them.

But, you can’t just have “head knowledge” or you will be fooled. Reading the Bible is great but reading it with your Spiritual eyes and heart together is something totally different. If you are reading it with your eyes and you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior then you are only seeing information on a page. When your Spirit and your soul are involved together with prayer while reading God’s Word, the Spirit teaches you in ways that your brain just can’t understand!

When you have His Spirit living in your heart, as Jesus said “He will guide you and teach you about Me“. Only with the Spirit living in your heart can you truly understand the wisdom in the Bible regardless of which translation you may use. God loves you and He will teach you through His Word, but you have to pick it up and read it. Pray that God will come into your life and bring salvation to you because it is only through Jesus that eternity can be gained.

Carnal Christian…

Have you ever heard that term before? I have and I have used it to describe myself in years past. The definition of carnal is: relating to physical, especially sexual, needs and activities. It can also mean that you are a “Christian” just because you claim to be and nothing more. What exactly does that mean? It means that you are NOT a Christian, you just claim to be because you have morals, meaning that you haven’t killed anyone.

It also means that if you died tonight you would be judged by God for being a liar and a sinner and for rejecting the grace offered to you through the blood of Jesus. You would be sent to hell. “Well, I’ve been in church since I was two years old. My Mom teaches Sunday school and my Dad is a deacon!” So what? All that proves is that you have been in church more than most have and you have heard the message of salvation through the acceptance and belief in Jesus as your Savior. The problem is not that you weren’t exposed to His message and the Truth of the Good News. Your problem and the problem of many in America is that you have heard the message but you haven’t taken it to heart and accepted Jesus. You haven’t repented of your sinful life either!

You went to church. You may even have been baptized, but without a change in your life and acceptance of Jesus as your Savior…you went right back to your life. Nothing changed! You cannot meet Jesus and give Him your heart in repentance and then turn back to the “same old way of life”. There never was a change in your life if you did.

Being a Christian is more than attending church or Sunday school and getting baptized. When God’s Holy Spirit touches your heart and lets you know that your life isn’t good enough to be allowed in heaven then you know that you NEED Jesus! Have you felt that? Do you know that you truly need Jesus as your Savior? Or do you think of yourself in the same way as the Pharisee’s did? I worship God and I pray at least once or twice a week and I give some money to the church, so I’m not a bad person.

Maybe you aren’t a bad person but you also aren’t sanctified and saved by His blood and your repentance either. What am I suggesting here? Seek out your Savior and make sure of your salvation. Read the book of Romans in the New Testament and the book of John, then if you don’t feel the conviction of God’s Holy Spirit just put the book down and walk away. I feel certain that after reading those books and praying about your salvation, you will feel the need for your Savior. I will be praying for all who read this.

Different viewpoints, one view

I have been listening to different preachers and reading books by some others. Some of them were written in the 1700’s and some books were written by pastors in the early and middle twentieth century. Jonathan Edwards, C.H. Spurgeon, C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer and Billy Graham are a few of those whose books I have read in the past eight years. There are two things which all of them have in common, their love for Jesus Christ and their view of the world around them. You may want to ask me”How can this be?”, many years separate their viewpoint in history!

While that is true, the view of the world and its problems is still centered on the Word of God and from that point of view humanity really hasn’t changed all that much. From the time of Noah over three thousand years before Christ was born until today mankind has mostly gone their own way. Some do listen to God’s Word and His laws and precepts for living in His Grace, but they are few in comparison to the rest of the world. Most of the world around us, in America and in other countries, wants to get rid of the Truth of God and His Word. You know I’m right about this because you can hear it on the news every day.

Humanity has not changed in thousands of years. We are rebellious and we want our own way and we will not obey the Lord’s laws or even man’s laws, if we can get away with it. The truth contained within God’s Word is absolute and that is unacceptable to humanity in everything that we do. No one is willing to be obedient to parents or teachers or to laws in whatever land they may live. This is the very reason that so much violence is seen all over the world today.

No, there has been no real change in mankind’s ways since the days of Noah. In some ways, possibly, we are less hateful or less violent but I would say not by much. Our news media relates how we hurt and kill each other with guns and machete and knives and drugs today. We have many different ways of killing each other and yet very little remorse is seen in the faces of the people. Even unborn children are in dangerous places because of the laws which have been passed to allow women to kill their children before they are even born. Millions have died in the years since the law was passed in 1973 which legalized it in America and many other countries have followed right along with us.

Looking at the world around us from the viewpoint of the Bible and its laws gives the same picture of humanity regardless of when you live. Nothing has really changed. We are still killing each other, there is sexual immorality in almost every community, people don’t seem to consider what the Bible says about how we should live or act toward one another. The few who do read and listen to Biblical teaching on a regular basis at least try to live a life which is pleasing to God. Some of us try too hard to do so on our own without His Spirit’s teaching and leading so we stumble and fall more than we should, but we consider that as “our humanity” winning out over the Spirit.

God gives each of us a measure of faith and of His Spirit so that we can walk a pleasing walk before Him but many of us don’t listen to His voice and we just fall anyway without thinking of the consequences. We may not feel the consequences of our falling but what about your children or grandchildren? They watch you and listen to you so that they can learn from you. Are they hearing and seeing those things which Jesus would do or is it just your “humanity” that is showing them how to do it the wrong way? Consider this and leave a comment or share it with your friends.

What do I need to do?

This is a question which many people ask when they feel the need for salvation but they have never been introduced to their Savior. Truthfully, there is not much that you need to do to obtain salvation because most of the “work” has been taken care of by Jesus Himself. When you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and you realize that you need to repent and change your life, your only option is to believe that the atonement has been bought for you by Jesus. Believe and repent of your sins, turn away from your “old life” and follow Jesus into a new life which will never really end!

From the point of your repentance and your acceptance of Jesus as your Savior you have a new life and a new purpose and that is to tell others about your Savior so they can meet Him and get to know Him. Life for you and anyone who accepts Jesus as their Savior will never really end, you will just transition from this life into eternity. That is the best way to describe it because death just sounds too final and for someone who is serving Jesus and has accepted Him as their Savior, the end of this life is really the beginning of your real Life! This life is just a sort of “practice” for the next one so make sure to learn everything that you can about God and His Son while you are here.

When you pass through the door which leads to eternity you won’t need to learn more about Him because at that point you will “know and be known“. Life in eternity will be different and wonderful and beyond anything on Earth that we can imagine. I cannot imagine what it will be like to be in His Presence. It will likely be a feeling and an experience which doesn’t have an equal here and the grandeur and majesty of Heaven will be so far above anything that we know until any description of it would be futile in the attempt.

God has provided a way for you and I and anyone else who feels the conviction of His Spirit to know Jesus as our Savior if we will believe in Him and the atonement which He provided and paid for on the cross. Don’t turn the chance for eternity with Him down. Please accept His Presence in your heart and in your life while there is time. Because you can only make that decision in this life, so make the right one.

Will you be ready?

On that day when the Trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ rise from their graves, will you be ready or will you watch it on the news later? The parable of the ten virgins tells the story:

Matthew 25

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

1At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil. 4But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

9‘No,’ said the wise ones, ‘or there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

11Later, the other virgins arrived and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’

12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’

13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Will you be ready and watching for Him to come?

Who is God?

That is a crazy question isn’t it? He is our Creator and our Savior. So why do we tend to move away from Him? Probably for the save reason that Israel did when they were in the wilderness, they were sinners just like we are. We have our own ideas of how to serve God or not and sometimes our ideas just don’t follow Him the way that we should. Even when the disciples followed Jesus there were some who were more dedicated to what He taught, more in tune with His message than others. Some of us just don’t get it and some do but they want to follow Him their way.

There is a problem with trying to follow Jesus or God on your own path though. For one thing, it won’t work. Making your own path but following God doesn’t work because God’s path is not your path. He leads you not the other way around. How far would a herd of sheep get if the shepherd walked behind them? They wouldn’t go anywhere. That is why God spoke of us as His sheep. Our ideas and our ways are not His ways but in order to follow Him and learn from Him we have to follow Him every day!

God is our Savior and our Shepherd in this life so that we can get to our eternal Life. The pathway goes where God leads us, not in the direction which feels comfortable all of the time. There could be some rocks and some thorns and the path may be a bit steep and narrow but as long as we are following the Shepherd that knows the path from one end to the other then we will get to our destination.

God is the Creator of everything and even if you don’t believe that, even science is beginning to show that life would not be possible if it weren’t for the finely tuned physical processes in the universe. I can’t go into the many different things which are part of that fine-tuning but there are a few that many of you know about. Like the distance which Earth orbits our Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Both are exactly the amounts which life on Earth needs. Any deviation in distance or rotation speed and life might be possible but it wouldn’t be the way it is now. These did not happen by “a lucky strike of another planet” or by chance.

God had a hand in Creation!

I know there are many people who don’t believe the Bible is true, but I do believe that God gave the details of Creation to Moses while he was with Him on the mountain. How else would Moses have known? Read it, learn about Him and how HE brought everything into being, then seek Him out as your Savior. He provided a way for your salvation so all you have to do is seek Him out for it. I pray that you will.

Communication is necessary

Even in the Garden in the beginning, God wanted to communicate with Adam. He would come down to walk with him in the evening. God likes to hear from you and me. What is communication in the Bible between God and mankind? Prayer. Now, I don’t mean that Adam prayed when God was visiting. They talked to each other just like we do. Wouldn’t that be great! It will be when we are with Him in Heaven. Actually, He will know what we need or want without our asking for it.

While we are here, however, prayer is necessary for us. He already knows what we need but we need to get in touch with Him about it. Our problem, most of the time, is that we don’t ask Him for an actual need. We ask for something that we want…a luxury or something like that. Why do we have a problem with communication with our Savior? Is it because we have the same problem communicating with each other? Probably.

God loves us and He intended for us to be able to talk to each other and to Him. But, in the last ten or fifteen years we have become isolated from each other. We text people who are in the same house or even at the same table. We “like” our “friend’s” status on Facebook or Instagram and sometimes we write that we will pray for them in their time of need. But…do we actually do it? Do we pray for each other and for our own problems or do we just say so and then go about our own routine and forget about the prayer that is needed?

If we are truly honest with our answer to that question, many of us would find that our prayer time is sorely lacking in depth and in frequency. When Paul wrote about “praying without ceasing”, he meant that we should treat prayer as an act which is like breathing. Not that you have to close your eyes and kneel in prayer all day and every day but be in a spirit of prayer all day. When a problem comes to mind, pray about it. When something is missing, like your keys, pray about it. When you think of a loved one or a friend who may need God provision in their life, pray about it. Right then, not later or when you get to it.

Jesus prayed many times during His ministry. Sometimes it was for strength or for blessing or for a healing but He never neglected to speak to the Father about what was going on. We shouldn’t neglect prayer either because it is our line of communication with our Creator, God, Elohim, our Father and our Savior.