Category: Believe in the One Who saves

Is your church part of the problem?


In many churches today, especially within a fifty-mile radius of my home, many visitors feel unwanted and unwelcome. Why is this? Mostly because our churches have become social meeting places rather than places to meet and worship God and Jesus. My church and yours should be places to fall in love with our Savior, but more often than not we talk more about politics and government issues and who should be added to our prayer list this week. Granted, many who are truly in need of prayer for healing and comfort NEED our prayers each and every day.

But the political issues in our government and how it is being run should be part of our prayer ministry, not a part of the commentary and debate in church or Bible study time.

Is the church part of the problem in America today? In some cases…yes it is. We are more concerned about the color of the carpet in the sanctuary and how it looks than we are about drawing more people into the church to hear about salvation through Jesus! So, what can we do about our relationship with Him? I mean, it is our relationship with Jesus which we are supposed to be giving away or at least showing people a Savior that they need to get to know!

Why are churches turning away from their “first love” and trying to be everything to everyone these days? It seems that some churches are trying to attract more people to church just for the numbers in attendance. Having a large number of people attending church is good, but if the message is more fluff than it is substance pertaining to salvation through Jesus, then the message is wrong!

Having 300 or more people attending church every Sunday is great but if you aren’t preaching the love of Jesus and the salvation which He died to provide for those who will believe, then you just have a full church. IF you aren’t following up with those who have attended your services to find out where their beliefs are or if they need prayer for specific problems in life, then you aren’t doing your job as a church. When I say this, I don’t mean that the preacher has to be the one following up with the people. It is the responsibility of those who are Christians in the church who should be doing this as well as the preacher!

Even a full-time preacher can’t reach out and touch every person who has visited your church or has asked for prayer. The only way that we, as a church, can take care of those in the congregation and those who have visited but haven’t decided to be a part of your church is for the deacons and the elders in the church to go to them and invite them back. If they are searching for Jesus, they will feel His presence in those who are inviting them back IF you are doing it in the power of Christ and with His love shining through.

Numbers and the amount which is given during the offering are not the way which measures a church and its commitment to following Jesus. Telling others about Him, mentoring those who are new to the faith, Bible study and helping others to grow in their walk with Jesus are the ways which the church continues to be the true church in the world today! Praying for each other’s burdens, listening to their concerns about being a Christian and living your walk with Him every day is the way to walk the walk so others might want to know Him too.

Many of these things are what our churches need to be doing but few actually are doing them and doing them effectively.

Time is ticking away…


IamtheWayWe are almost a whole month into the new year already! So what else is new you might ask? Well, our time on Earth is ticking away too. God has promised that His Son will return one day and since most of the signs which point toward that event have already happened, the only event keeping it from happening is God’s timing. He is possibly waiting for the last sinner to be saved, I don’t know which event God is waiting for.

I can guarantee that when the specific event happens, the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air and all who are alive on Earth will know when this happens! Soon after this, those of us who are alive will be changed and we will meet Him in the air to be taken to Heaven. There will be much confusion and likely many deaths because of pilots who are Christians will be gone. People driving their car or a bus or a semi-tractor rig or even a boat will all be taken up to meet Him in the air and there will not be a warning of this impending event.

Yes, time is slowly ticking away. For some of us, it is ticking quite fast, but your time and mine are moving toward this event. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, time is still moving in that direction. When He comes for those who know Him and have given their lives and their heart to Him, as the Scripture says “it will happen in the blink of an eye“. You may even be talking to a friend who is a Christian, and suddenly they are gone. Their clothes and shoes and their wedding band and watch are all on the ground or at the place where they were sitting…but they are gone!

Now what?

If you are a Christian, then you will be where they are..in Heaven. If you are not a Christian then you need to get busy seeking God, fast! Because soon things on this Earth will become very different from yesterday. If you have read the Bible-based fiction of the Left Behind series, you will know what is about to happen. If you have ever studied the book of Revelation you will know what is about to take place. Don’t discount prophecy in the Bible because God’s Word always comes true, regardless of how other “experts” interpret it.

eternityDon’t wait until that day to seek Jesus out! Will there be others who are seeking Him? Yes, but their numbers will be far fewer than you might believe. Many people who are going to seek Him out will be wondering why was I left behind? I went to church pretty regularly and I prayed and studied my Sunday school lessons at least sometimes. What went wrong?

Actually, nothing went wrong except your belief in Jesus and your acceptance of Him as your Savior. You knew about Him and you read enough to know about salvation and what was required BUT you didn’t actually believe it! You didn’t think that salvation was as easy as it was for the thief on the cross. Belief doesn’t require money or works or witnessing to others. It just takes a sincere belief in the Person of Jesus and what He did on the cross for you to be forgiven.

Think about it because another hour has gone by since I began writing and we can’t get it back. Seek Him out and know that He loves you and is waiting for you to believe in Him enough to ask Him into your heart. What more do you need to do?

The Be-attitude


Do you have this kind of outlook on life with Jesus? Be His in humility and love, not wanting prideful outcomes in your prayers. Living by the words of Jesus which He spoke on the Mount of olives (or as it is so often called, the sermon on the mount) is the beginning of your walk with Him. Here are some of the statements He made that day:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:3-10

Jesus was not saying that we should be doormats or act like little mice. He was telling His audience then and now that we should be more like Him. Meekness is submission to control, not weakness. This is the same spirit which a horse has when trained to follow the direction of its rider because even a child can direct a strong horse with a bridle if the horse is trained right.

Jesus wasn’t telling His listeners that they should be happy to be persecuted but to learn to live in a state of dependence on Him for strength every day. All of the statements which He preached on the Mount of Olives were meant to show how to live daily in contact and dependence upon Him. It is a blueprint for your walk with Jesus.

Why is that so important today?

Because we are close to a time in the history of the world where things are coming to an end. I am not saying that the world will end in five or ten years but when the church is called home the world which is left will be on a short journey toward judgment by God. It may be another ten years or more before that happens, no one knows the day or the hour except God. But when it does happen it will plunge the world into chaos and the life of those who are still here will become far more difficult than anything the world has experienced in recorded history.

Why am I writing this today? Because of the number of people who don’t know Jesus. He is the only way to eternity or rather an eternity that you would want to live in. If you don’t want to know Him, that is fine but don’t complain when you are turned toward the lake of fire to spend eternity. God has provided a way to know Him more deeply and securely through Jesus because He paid your debt of sin in full at the cross. All you have to do to receive your gift of forgiveness is to accept Jesus as your Savior and believe in Him.

No amount of good deeds or money will change your destination or the outcome of your death. Believing in Jesus and accepting Him as your Savior will make an eternal change in your life today and into God’s Kingdom. Don’t walk away from Him or His call on your life! If you have felt Him calling to you, then answer the door of your heart and let Him in. Your life will never be the same again.

Who knows the end from the beginning?


God does! He is our Creator and Redeemer. He is our Savior and our Lord. Praise His Name in all of the Earth and in the Heavens! Praise Him and seek Him in all of your trials and valleys! Follow Him all the days of your life and you will see Him into Eternity!

Bridge2SalvationDon’t discount His blessings or His grace toward each of us because we don’t deserve either, but He gives them to us so that we will realize Who it is that provides for us when we haven’t asked for our provisions. God loves each of us and the proof of it is that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us on the cross to pay our debt which we could not. He did this long before most of us were even born, yet He knew us then and He knows most of us today.

If you don’t know Him yet, what are you waiting for?

Warts, weakness and all


When you are reading through the Bible you notice something about the people who God uses the most. Abraham was a shepherd, Joseph was a slave who was in prison, Moses was a murderer, and later on, David was an adulterer and a murderer. The disciples were fishermen with a couple of shepherds and tax collectors in the mix as well. Do you see where this is going?

God doesn’t pick out the king or the high priest in most instances when He wants to get something done. He usually picks out the least in the house or tribe, the smallest person, the weakest at times. Have you ever wondered about that? I did for many years until He picked me to be a pastor of a small church. I was never comfortable speaking in front of a crowd, but most Sunday’s I do it anyway.

There is also a story in the Bible about an army coming against the Israelites and God picked Gideon to be the Judge over Israel. When Midian came against them, he called up an army to fight, yet the Lord told him that he had too many with him. He got up and said any of you who are afraid can go home now, and out of the 32,000 who were with him 22000 left and went home. God still said that Gideon had too many. The rest of the story is here:

“Then the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but every one of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” 6 Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. 7 The LORD said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home.” 8 So the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.”

God uses the weak to confound the strong of this world and in the story above, Gideon’s army of 300 went down with lamps in jars and surrounded the camp. When Gideon gave a shout, they all shouted and broke their jars and the entire camp of the Midians was set in such a confused state until they turned on each other. Then the whole of the Midianites and the Amalekites fled and Israel had a victory that day, but it was God Who had done this, not the 300 with Gideon.

In the world today, many who are weak and unable to get through their daily lives need God’s help and His strength.

Christians have been called by God to be as Gideon in this world. Telling others about His love, showing mercy and grace under pressure in school or work when others are going along to get along. This is what we are to be for others to see, because if we don’t…if we won’t do it, then who will? Each Christian has been given a purpose and gifts to accomplish that purpose for God’s Kingdom, but we must determine to live in that purpose every day.

4-ways-to-turn-weaknesses-into-strengthIf you allow the world or your other problems to get between you and your calling, how will others see Jesus at work in your life? Why would they want to have anything to do with a Savior that isn’t there for them in their time of need? He is there and He is available to each person who will call on Him in faith believing that He will answer their prayers and petition. Only God can do things which cannot be done by any other way but you must believe that He will and ask Him for those things which you need! God doesn’t give luxuriously, but He does provide even the birds with food every day and if He provides for them, won’t He also provide for you?

When God took care of the Israelites in the wilderness during those forty years, it seems that today many people don’t realize what a monumental task that was. When they left Egypt, they left with over one million people and their sheep and donkeys and cattle! I heard a preacher talking about this recently and he had checked the math on this. It would’ve taken over 11,000,000 gallons of water EVERY DAY for the people and their livestock! Then you factor in the thousands of pounds of manna and quail which God provided EVERY DAY for forty years! Doesn’t that sound like a God Who loves His people? He will do the same for us even today!

Your needs will be met and your life will be taken care of in His way. Don’t limit God by saying that He can’t do it because He surely can do it, after all, He is the Creator of Everything! Surely feeding your family and taking care of your health is not hard at all for Him. He takes care of all of the people which are praying around the world each and every day, so what is one more family or one more person in the hospital? It is easy for God to do if we will let Him. If we will ask Him for those things which we truly need.

“Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.” Jeremiah 32:17

Belief and faith


The dictionary meaning of belief is An opinion or judgment in which a person is fully persuaded.

The dictionary meaning of faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing:
faith in another’s ability; a belief which is not based on proof: 

Which one do you have that can carry you through the ups and downs of life? Do you have faith which can move mountains and heal disease? Do you believe in the Person of Jesus your Savior who came to save you from yourself and your sins? Do you have confidence in the work which Jesus did to pay for all of your sins and save you from an eternity in hell? Do you truly believe that Jesus did what the Bible says that He did and that we owe Him our lives? Truly, if your answer to any of these questions is anything other than “YES!!”; then your soul is in mortal danger indeed.

God determined that humanity needed to be saved from their sins even before Adam was created and yet many of us still ignore our need for salvation. We seem to think that God needs our help in salvation for us or for anyone who asks for salvation. God doesn’t need anything from anyone! I mean, look at this Solar system! Our Creator placed all of the planets in their orbits and each star in the sky, so how could He need our help?

Faith comes to each of us in different ways, but according to the Bible, it comes through the hearing of God’s Word through preaching or reading it or even listening to an audio Bible. The Holy Spirit activates your faith in order to bring you into God’s family. If you need to know why God would want you in the family, ask Him. It usually has to do with your calling…your job which God has for you to do.

Don’t think that you can’t do anything for God because He has used many different people over the centuries for His purposes. He has also used many different types of people for His purposes, even some who didn’t believe in Him. He raised up the King of Egypt in order to prove that the God of the Israelites was more powerful than the gods of Egypt. God used the Babylonian empire and its king to punish Israel by placing them in bondage for 70 years.

Don’t think that God can’t use your talents and abilities because He gave you your talents. Even if you aren’t a believer, you may be used by God to bring someone into His family in some way. Belief and faith do go together and they work together to accomplish God’s purposes. Praise the Lord for He is good and His mercies endure forever.

Lean not on your own understanding..


Proverbs 3:5,6

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; What can we learn from these six words? Consider the writer of Proverbs, King Solomon. The wisest man who ever lived and the wealthiest as well, but his wisdom made plain to him that your trust should be in the Lord. Not in money, not in yourself, not in your job. Don’t trust your own wisdom, or your faith or your Bible, but in God alone! Don’t even lean on your own profession of faith in a church but make sure that you are leaning on God alone, on your faith in Him alone!

Living your life every day by trusting in the Lord alone is the very best way to live. If you are a believer in Jesus and His grace for salvation, make sure that you don’t despise His grace and live according to your own ways. God’s wisdom and His grace should lead you in every decision, especially major decisions, but also those that you don’t think might matter to Him. Why? Because every decision in your life should be filtered through God’s wisdom and grace!

Trust in Him in every small thing as well as big decisions. Trust in Him when you are tempted and tried in school or in daily living. No matter what you may be doing, ask Him to guide you in your decision, whether it is a big decision or a small decision. Listen to Him intently and don’t move in a direction which God doesn’t lead you in. God is always near to us and He has the power and the ability to give you the wisdom to accomplish whatever you have determined to follow His lead to do.

Your trust in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and God the Holy Spirit should be with “all your heart”, sincerely and fully trusting in Him to do His work in you and your life fully and completely! He is in charge and on the throne and if you have given Him your heart, then He is in control of your heart too. The phrase “with all thine heart” denotes a deep sincerity of faith, which is complete and total and humble. Not a faith which is jovial and off the cuff, treating God as a friend or your buddy, but a faith which knows its place in the presence of its Creator.

And lean not unto thine own understanding; What does this part of the verse mean exactly? Can we learn from these seven words? YES, we can! The Bible is the inspired Word of the Living God, our Creator, and our Redeemer! Every word is useful to each of us, whether we understand them all or not. Men should not depend upon their own wisdom and understanding, in the conduct of civil life, but should seek the direction and blessing of God, or otherwise will be severely disappointed; and, when they succeed, should ascribe it not to their own ideas and wisdom, but to the goodness and grace of God; for “bread” is not always “to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding” Eccl. 9:11
Men and mankind, should not listen to their own counsel, especially in any spiritual endeavor. Because unless your heart is guided by the Holy Spirit and your mind is set on the things of God rather than the things of mankind, you cannot truly trust your own “understanding”. The natural man, one who has not trusted in Jesus for his salvation, cannot understand the things of God, which is why, to many people, the Bible, and its wisdom don’t make sense at all. The understanding of men is darkened by sin and without the Light given to them by the Spirit of God through salvation, their own wisdom is dark and foreboding like the Earth before God’s light shone upon it.

“In all our ways, acknowledge Him”; What does this mean to us today? Simply put, know the Lord and follow Him in everything that you do. Consider that God is all around us, not like the pagans think of Him being in the rocks and the trees, but He is as close to you as your skin because He is your Creator! You are never far from Him because He is everywhere if you feel far away from Him it is because you moved…God did not.

Remember that He is near you at all times and acknowledge that He is where you are, regardless of the place or time. Develop a listening heart and a mind to listen to His prompting in your life. Go only where He directs you to and be sensitive to His leading in your life’s decisions. Remember “and he shall direct thy paths”; IF you will listen to His wisdom and follow His lead and leading in all that you do.

This is my sermon for tomorrow morning. I pray that you will glean some of God’s wisdom from it and take it with you.VineandBranches

Should you consider the alternative?


What?! The alternative to Jesus and being saved from your sins, that is what I am writing about this time. What is the alternative? Simply put..don’t change anything in your life. Keep doing what you do and living your life just the way that you always have. Don’t read the Bible, don’t go to church, don’t pray for help in any situation that you find yourself in. Why? Because the world around us says that we can take care of everything on our own with no help from some imaginary god.Yourplans&Gods

The problem is that Christians don’t believe in an imaginary god. Our God is real and is the Creator of everything. Then again, some of us do claim to worship our own version of God, like when you hear someone say: “The god that I worship wouldn’t let those children die”; “My god is not like the one which I hear preached in the church”. Exactly Who do you think God is? We cannot make Him in our image! He created us in His image and desires us to be more like Jesus in every way.

When someone says that their god is not like this or that I want to ask them if they claim to be a Christian. If they say that they are, then I would like to ask them where they got the notion that God can be different for them instead of being the unchanging God of the Bible? We cannot serve a different god and claim that “our god” is the God of the Bible because we are engaging in idolatry when we create a god like we want instead of worshiping the One true God in the Bible.

Because when you try to make God to be or to have some trait that suits you and your lifestyle, then you aren’t a Christian anymore. You are worshiping an idol. A god which you are comfortable with but also one which has no business being taught to others because your “god” is not God!

Life is confusing and stressful enough without adding a layer of ambiguous nonsense on top of our religion. God is and always has been and there is no other that He will share that distinction with. As it says in the Old Testament, I am a jealous God.

That is why God told the Israelites not to worship other gods. This part is not up for debate, yet people try to mold God into their own ideas of who and what He is or is supposed to be. The creature cannot make God in their likeness or according to their preferences. Our Creator is God the Father, Jesus the Son (the Living Word) and the Holy Spirit which goes about touching men’s hearts and convicting them of their sinfulness in order to bring them to full knowledge of Himself and to have faith in Him leading to salvation.

You can choose to believe this or not…it is up to you. But, I caution you on this. We are given a certain number of days to live, yet we do not know when our time here is up. Make sure that you do know the God of the Bible before your last breath. Make sure of your faith and salvation before this life ends regardless of how your life may be leading you, because when you do breathe that last breath your time is up and you will face God either in judgment or a welcoming embrace. Which would you rather be greeted with?

Darkness and light


Cosmic-consciousness-alien-human-encounterHow is darkness defined in our world? In most of the world, it is defined by terrorism and violence and sometimes by the conditions in certain areas of our world. Particularly those which are called “third world” areas, where poverty and hunger is the norm for almost everyone. Life is hard enough in those areas without being hit with terrorism, but that happens all too often today as well.

So, why am I writing about this subject? I don’t live in a third-world country or scrounge for food because I or my family is completely destitute. So…what is the reason for me, a pastor, writing about darkness and light? It is because of the hope which we all have in Jesus. It is also because there are places, even in America, where kids and grown-ups do search through garbage for food. Why is this happening? Why is our culture and our so-called “Christian values” in America allowing this? Aren’t we supposed to help those who are hurting or less fortunate in society?

Yes, we are supposed to help those who are in these situations but many of those who are homeless either don’t want our help or they won’t accept it because of their pride. Homelessness is not new, but today people can’t just keep heading west to the mountains and disappear like they did before the Civil War. Jesus said that we should be His hands and feet in this world which is overrun with poverty and hopelessness. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel“. When He told His disciples and by extension the church to do this, the good news or gospel is that there is hope in Jesus for a new life and a changed life.

We are supposed to take His message of hope and healing to everyone, not just to our friends and family or those who attend church with us or those who live close by. So, why don’t we? Is it because we are uncomfortable telling others about what Jesus has done for us? Is it because we are afraid of what they might think of us?

Jesus gave the disciples and His church the command to go and tell others about Him and the gospel which gives every person hope of eternity and with their repentance they are forgiven of all of their sins. This is our mission, our purpose as Christians in this life. So..why do we ignore His mandate for us? Why do we choose to be Christians by giving our heart and life to Jesus and then sit down on our salvation like a cushion? Like it is a gold pillow which we can’t part with? We didn’t purchase our salvation, Jesus did that with His blood!

Your salvation and the good news of it is a GIFT which God gives to those He calls to be Christians so we can take it out into our workplace or other places in the world and give it away to others. That is our mission and our purpose in this life or at least the only one which makes a difference in each person’s life which accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

Please, don’t ignore the commission which Jesus gave to each of us and our church because there are many who still need to hear it and our time is running short.

Cold as ice


I think that this winter we can all identify with the cold outside whether we would like it or not. It has been cold this winter and it isn’t over yet. So, how does this phrase “cold as ice” have anything to do with following Jesus? Well, if you have a few minutes to read and ponder this I will try to tell you.

GodcantakecareofyouThe global climate changed, past tense, after the Flood and it was very cold in some places and warmer in others than it had been previously. For the record, I don’t believe in the so-called global warming that you hear about in reference to almost any climatic change these days. Earth has always had its cold spells and warmer spells in the past and will likely keep on doing that for many years to come.

The reference which I am making today to “cold as ice” is the way which many people turn away from the love and peace offered to them through Jesus. It is a gift which you can’t afford and there is no price which you can pay to buy it, it is actually free to each person IF…they will only believe that Jesus did this for them and accept it. But, many people in our world want to find their own pathway to Heaven, one which they can travel when they want to and take a detour off of the path when they feel like it.

Living a Christian life with Jesus as your Savior is not an on again/off again affair. It is not a take it or leave it idea or decision, it is a life choice. Not a lifestyle, but a choice just as most other things in life are which have a true and lasting effect on your everyday life. The problem is that people in our world today are cold toward God’s Word and His Son. They don’t want to believe that He is the Savior that they have been searching for during their lifetime.

Most want their salvation to be a 50/50 partnership where they do so much and God picks up the rest of the tab for their salvation. But, just as in marriage, this is not a partnership where it is split down the middle. God and Jesus paid the WHOLE price for you and for every person ever created and the only thing that you can bring to the table is a heart and soul which knows that it NEEDS Jesus! Whenever you get to that point, the Holy Spirit usually lets you know, you only have to ask for Him to come in and save you from yourself, your sins and the consequences of them.

There are no amount of “good works” that you can perform which will make your salvation more real or lasting because Jesus did everything needed on the cross. We can’t add anything to His work any more than you could add fuel to the Sun and make it hotter. There are enough which has been done to pay each of our sin debts because the blood that Jesus shed paid for each person’s debts from the beginning of the world until the end.

It is the coldness of our hearts which cause us to ignore the gift which is offered for our salvation. It is also our own selfishness which puts us in that shape as well because we want to keep doing things our way and we don’t want to change. Nor do we want Jesus to change our hearts so that we are comfortable with Him being in our lives to make us more like Him.

So, how much of the world is selfish enough to be described as “cold as ice”? If you search for the answer on the Internet it will be somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the world’s population who really don’t want much to do with Jesus. Many of them will actually say that they attend church weekly or pray to God daily, which is nice but where does their heart belong? Does Jesus know them well enough to have them written in the Book of Life?

Those questions can only be answered by God and they will be answered when they stand in front of Him, but at that point…it will be too late to change your mind or ask Him to come in and fix your sinful heart. Make sure that you know without a doubt where you are in that relationship because when you truly find out it may be too late to change.