Believe in Jesus Christ

God knows who He will call to be His, but if you don’t answer… what will happen? Nothing.

Just like His disciples, when Jesus called them to be His disciples if they had refused or just chose not to be His disciples, the church would not exist today. Christianity would be very different or nonexistent. But God had a plan and when the call went out to them, they did answer. Then they spread the gospel to the world they knew and those they could reach and the church grew.

People need to realize that Jesus is the only way to eternity with our Creator. It has nothing to do with your works or your money. Remember, the thief on the cross had no way to be baptized or even to witness to anyone until his story was told in the gospels. Jesus still promised him that “today you shall be with Me in Paradise”, just because of his belief alone.

Does God have a plan for your life? I think He does if you will give your heart and your life to Him. Just saying some words in a “sinner’s prayer” will not save your soul, you have to believe in Jesus with your heart and your faith in Him. You might feel something in a revival service if you say that prayer but if your heart and your behavior doesn’t change then it was just words. I pray that you will seek to know Him and believe in Him for your Salvation because we’re not guaranteed to wake up tomorrow.

As it says in God’s Word, “it is appointed to man once to die and then face judgment“; make sure you are not facing Him without the forgiveness that belief in Jesus for your eternity brings.

The knowledge of the Lord

The “why” is known…

In our life, God sends us in all kinds of different directions. Some of us go into politics, some are pastors or teachers and some are emergency workers. Issues arise when we want to know “why” this turned out this way. God knows the why but He is not disposed to let us know. Occasionally our prayers may be answered with a reason for our situation but God doesn’t usually tell us.

Why? Because He doesn’t have to tell us. I know it’s frustrating but God doesn’t owe us an explanation. He loves us and will lead us down certain pathways if we follow Him. But…He is not required to tell us why we are going this way. In my younger days, I thought I was following Him but I was going my own way. At the time I had not given my heart to Him. I had been “Baptized” but it was just a show. I thought it was real but it was all in my mind.

I didn’t know that we could convince ourselves of being called by God until much later in my life. It’s a scary thought that we can do this because some people could go to hell convinced in their mind that they are saved. Since I finally gave my heart to Him and even became a pastor back in 2011, I have met a few people who are so convinced of their “salvation” but they are living a life that doesn’t have the fruit that Jesus said a Christian would have. I know that isn’t proof of their salvation or whether they are even saved because only God knows the true condition of their heart.

I pray that every person who reads this will search their heart and the Bible to make sure of their condition. Why? Because of the time that we are living in. We are in the days directly before the beginning of the book of Revelation. So many things are lining up with prophecies and the coming of Jesus in the clouds could happen soon. When is a good question but the Bible tells us not to speculate about a “date and hour”. That has been done before and none of them were right.

God is with you

Have faith

Faith…

Have you ever wondered how some people get through tough times? Many will tell you upfront that they just push through those times. But what if the problem is something that you can’t push through? Like cancer or a death in the family? Personal strength and grit won’t get you through those successfully.

Spirituality and horoscopes won’t help either. The only help comes through faith in Jesus. Faith can get you through a problem regardless of the intensity of the pain. Faith can give you the strength to endure treatments and pain when nothing else will. Faith can change the circumstances when you place it in the One Who can do that.

Faith, even a small amount, can make a dramatic change in your life and in your circumstances. I know that I have repeated this but it’s true. God gives you your faith but the quality of your faith makes the difference. By “quality” I mean whether you have doubts about Who your faith is in or not. How deep is your faith? Can it get you through tough times? Regardless of how bad they are or how bad they will be.

Do not be afraid

Consider the heavens

Look at the heavens tonight if you can see the stars and think about the Creator Who placed the stars in their places. Then… think about how much He loves you. The Bible says that “even when a sparrow falls, God knows about it”. Imagine God notices a small bird’s death, how much more does He care for you?

I will praise you, Lord!

Rejection

Why do people reject the good news of Life found in Jesus Christ? Even when the gospel has been preached for 2,000 years in churches everywhere, the world still rejects it in favor of their idea of living. It seems that most people don’t want to know the good news. Many don’t care if there is a life after this one and they don’t care if there are circumstances for any of the sins in their lives no matter how insignificant they may be.

God’s Word tells us exactly how He views sin, even “little sins”. To God, all sin is disobedience and wrong. There are no little ones or big ones. What can we do to live with Him in His home? First, we must admit that we are sinners and we won’t even do that unless the Holy Spirit convicts us of those sins. When He does that, He gives us the faith to believe in Jesus and come to Him. Our response should be to obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit and accept our salvation as His gift to us for obeying Him. Most of the time we will respond that way but some people listen to their own “conscience” and choose not to admit anything. When that happens, they are listening to a suggestion from Satan.

Satan and his fallen angels, demons, are real and they don’t want you to accept Jesus as your Savior. Their mission has always been to corrupt God’s plans in any way they can. But…they can’t stop God’s plans. If He intends for you to be saved and give your life to Jesus, you will. It may be at the last moment, but it will happen. Please don’t turn away from the voice of the Holy Spirit because He is calling you to be a child of God. Some people will turn away and when that happens, they can’t be brought back to the point of knowing their need for Jesus. It is a sad thing for this to happen but it happens, even in the church.