Category: Believe like a child

Who is in control?


Our government and those serving their own interests are not in control of much, particularly with regard to our society. So, who really is in control? Satan?

I know that many of you don’t really believe that he exists, but God said that he does so that settles that argument. But is he in control of all of the things which are spiralling out of control today? I don’t think I would give him that much credit. He may be influencing those who are stirring up trouble to be more violent, more destructive even, but he isn’t in control of them exactly.

IamtheWayBesides, if you have ever read the book of Job or heard a sermon from it, then you know that Satan has to get permission to do the things which he does, especially if it may harm Christians or Israel! The One Who is in Control and Who watches everything unfold in its time, is God. Sometimes bad things do happen to good people, but not without God’s permission. He knows that occasionally something has to happen if it will bring about a greater good in His Kingdom. It may cause pain for now, but in eternity the pain is taken away.

Many people seem to be searching for the Truth of God today, although some seem to be looking in the wrong places. Yes, God is still speaking through His Word, the Bible, and preachers who read and study it and then expound on His Wisdom trying to make it as understandable as possible. The message of salvation is easy enough for a child to understand but as adults we tend to make things harder than they should be. Either by not reading the instruction book, the Bible, or by adding our own ideas to those contained in it.

God doesn’t need your help or mine in order to save you. He already provided the remedy and the way of salvation for each one of us, through belief in and trust in Jesus the Christ.

Period.

No other doctrine or work needs to be applied to your life in order to be saved! There is nothing that you or I can do to get us into Heaven, Jesus did it all. Just believe in Him and His atonement for your sins, turn away from them (repent) and follow Him. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Truly, it is simple…although living your daily walk with Him is going to be hard at times. Your friends will call and ask you to come to this new bar they found or maybe go for a weekend off to the Bahamas with your fiance which you aren’t married to yet. These are the stones which can trip you up and cause you to stumble and fall.

But…if you truly have given your heart to Jesus, even if you fall, you can ask forgiveness and strength and He will give you both! Don’t turn away from Him and go back to your old life. Don’t feel the pull of the Spirit in church or after you hear a sermon on TV and then decide NOT to give your heart to Him. Remember, we are not guaranteed tomorrow so don’t back away from Him when you know you need Him!

How much?


Life itself is full of contradictions. How much or how little? Where and when did evolution begin? When did the first ape/human make the leap in knowledge in order to become more than she/he was before? All of the contradictions in life can be looked at as a different view of the chicken and the egg. A chicken comes from an egg so where did the egg come from?

Genesis1In a scientific view humanity and animals are not so different because at one point far back in the past we were the same. But, the logical viewpoint actually falls to having a Creator or as some circles call it, Intelligent Designer. Whatever label you place on God, He is the determining Factor in all of Creation. Call Him what you will but He is and always will be God!

How much proof do you need? Some people can see the Designer in a blade of grass or in a newborn baby. Some try to argue that evolution is the right way to go and that we all came from a single cell far back when the planet was young. Thermodynamics and chaos theory would disagree with you.

I am not a mathematician, so I am not and will not be drawn into a theoretical discussion in this matter. Generally, when you toss a bunch of sticks or 2 x 4’s into the air, they don’t spontaneously form into a deck or a puzzle. You will only have a pile of wood before and after unless there is a builder or Designer to act upon the pieces to form them into an orderly combination of pieces such as a deck or any other combination.

It is also the same way that natural processes work. No natural system goes from simple to complex. Systems in nature usually go from a complex state to a more simple one. A rusty old car will break down into a pile of iron oxide if given enough time, it will not change into a Bentley if it started out as a Pinto!

God’s design of our universe and the stars and planets which populate it, is impeccable. The cells in your body and in all animals in the world, cold-blooded or warm-blooded, work perfectly in sync in those who are healthy. Cells which do all of the things which they do in our bodies, didn’t evolve to do this, God designed them for each part of your body! Your nerve cells, your brain cells, the cells in your bone marrow which make all of your blood cells, these did not come into being because of mutations and selection!

God is our Creator and Designer and He is the One which placed the stars in their courses and the planets too. Each comet and asteroid in our solar system is where He intended for it to be. Not one grain of sand is out-of-place in God’s sight, no matter where it may be. He knows each of us more intimately than we could ever know ourselves because He knew you and your personality and your intellect long before you or I were born!

How much proof do you need? We and all other life on Earth were created by God and in the beginning life was perfect enough to live a life of thousands of years. Until we thought that we could do better than God. When the decision was made to defy God and go our way, that is when disease and shorter lifespans came into the world. Don’t throw your eternity away by thinking that some man-made religion can save you because it can’t.

Even the religion of “evolution” can’t hold up to entropy: The law of increasing entropy — also known as the second law of thermodynamics — stipulates that all systems in the real world tend to go “downhill,” as it were, toward disorganization and decreased complexity.

Give your heart to Jesus. Seek Him out as your Savior and follow Him. That is the only way into eternity and Heaven, by believing in Him…our Creator!

What is going to happen next?


I am sure that there are many who are asking this very question. I wish that I had an answer for it, but the only One Who could answer it is God Himself. The book of Revelation tells us that this time in which we live today will be much like the world was before the Flood. Bad things happening to good people, threatening of world war in the news, people killing and hurting people because of skin color or beliefs. any of this sound familiar?

heaven-or-hell-eternal-destinyChristians need to dig deep into their Bible, read and study them with prayer and some fasting. If you aren’t a Christian, I would suggest that you seek out Jesus and ask Him to come into your life. Why? Because, He is the only way to Heaven! Not Islam, not Zen Buddhism, not cults which teach that you will be a god! Jesus came to save mankind from their own delusions of grandeur and Satan’s lies. He is the only way to have a real eternal life. Being in Hell is not life at all, but it is the second death!

Don’t fall for Satan’s lies, seek out your Creator and Savior, Jesus the Christ. He never has left you alone in any of your trouble and He won’t now.

The book of Revelation is not a fantasy or allegory but it was and is a book which describes the time of Trial or Tribulation which is coming to the Earth soon. John the Apostle couldn’t describe many of the things which the vision showed him, so much of those descriptions sound fantastic, but God is going to bring it all on the Earth. Satan will use much of this time to try to expand his kingdom as well, but his kingdom is in hell! You won’t burn up in an instant, your eternal soul will be there as the Bible says “forever”!

The only salvation which will keep you from that place is through Jesus. Trust in Him and believe that He came for your soul and for everyone else’s because He did pay the penalty for everyone. The only thing that you have to do is believe in Him and His atonement for your sins. Then, live a changed life until you are in His Presence!

Amen.

An alphabet prayer


I put this up on another site of mine, but I thought you might like to see it too:

Alphabet Prayer

What life do you want?


Sometimes you see on social media sites where people seem to be wondering about their lives. Of course, most of us are not philosophically minded so the topic doesn’t go very deep. We feel that following this line of thought is just a waste of time and energy, so we drop it and mostly forget about it. But..if you look at it from a spiritual point of view it really does take on a different tone altogether.

Religion and being religious are good, but you can be religious about playing golf or fishing or any number of things which have very little to do with religion. Having a life of contentment and being content with your life regardless of your wealth is another way of looking at and living your life too. Neither one of those actually has anything to do with your salvation though.

Yes, I am steering the conversation back to the saving grace of God through Jesus His Son. Why do I do this? Because it is my job to do so. I am a pastor and a follower of Jesus the Christ and He did give His followers the command to “go into all of the world teaching the gospel“. That includes all of His disciples and those of us who have recently come to know Him as Savior and Lord as well.

God loves you and me and anyone who may be reading this and the life that you live is important to Him. Living it as a disciple of Jesus is sometimes hard and it can be dangerous depending upon where you live. But it is a very rewarding life. I am not speaking of getting rich from “love offerings” or from being paid a salary at a mega church. I am speaking of the rewards which come from being His servant in all that you do!

God has given each of us gifts to use in our lives. Some of them are for our vocation in life and some are for spreading the message of His Love for us. Some of these gifts are for taking care of others, like the gift of mercy. Some of these gifts are for encouraging others when life beats them up or grief wears them down. Some people have more than one gift and some only have one, but all are useful in living daily with Jesus and walking according to His ways!

Why are they useful in our world when people don’t want to hear about Him? Because even if you don’t speak about Him to others, many will see Him in the way you live or carry your burden through this life. Regardless of what that burden may be, give your life to Jesus and live as He would as much as possible for us, being human. Yes we will fail on some points and we will fall on others, but read His Word and live like it says in all ways. Pray that you will have the strength given by His Spirit to be able to walk in His ways daily because it is only by His Spirit that we can do this.

VineandBranchesOur own strength and power is just not up to the task of walking in the steps of Jesus. Regardless of what your coach tells you or your family tells you, we just don’t have it in us to be like Jesus without the Holy Spirit giving us that strength and ability to do so. I am not putting anyone down by saying this but Jesus says that “you can do nothing apart from me“. Seek Him in the Word of God, learn about Him from its pages and make sure you are in a Bible teaching church so that you can grow in your faith.

Why do you believe?


There are many reasons why people have their different beliefs about…religion, sexuality, occupation, money or a host of other things in life. I am not going into all of them here. Your belief in religion could get you into an eternal hell. Why? Because it isn’t the religion which brings you to salvation! Jesus does.

IamtheWayIt isn’t a hard thing to believe in Jesus because He did come to Earth and die for all of man’s sins, past, present and future. Whether we accept it and believe it as the Truth of the Bible is another matter. Many don’t believe it, mostly because they see Jesus as He was…a man or a prophet. They don’t see nor do they recognize Him as the Son of God. Why? The Bible tells the story of His birth, most of His life after He began His ministry, and His death on the cross and His resurrection. The Bible is God’s Word, so why not believe it?

It’s words are inspired by the Spirit of God and since He cannot lie, all of it is true, so why not believe it? Because most people really don’t want to believe it nor do they expect it to be true. The facts are these: since it is God’s Word, inspired by Him and attested to be true by proofs of His majesty and power, there is no reason NOT to believe the prophecies or the history within its pages. You can choose to ignore parts of it or to decide that you will not believe in the things which it says, but that doesn’t change the fact that God’s Word always accomplishes that which He wants it to do.

Your belief in Him or His Word has no effect on whether it will be true and will come true or not because God will cause all of the promises and prophecies to come true in His time and at the appointed time for them. Our belief or lack of belief has no effect on His purposes. They will come to fruition…because God loves us.

It is because of His great love for us that He sent Jesus to pay our debts on the cross. We need to understand that our responsibility is to love Him and serve Him with all of our mind, soul, body and strength in this life, regardless of our vocation or our financial ability. God will make you into a real messenger for His Kingdom, if you will give your heart, mind and soul to Him.

Our world would be so much better than it is IF we would commit to doing this every day of our lives. If you have not given your life to Jesus, please consider doing so. Nobody knows when your last breath will be and the end of the age is approaching faster than most realize. Don’t wait…seek Him out for your eternity today!

What shall we do with Jesus?


WomanbytheWellSome people see Him as a great prophet. Some claim that He is the Son of God. Christians believe that He is the Son of God, foretold in Scripture, born of a virgin, fulfilled the Law of Moses in His life, Who taught His disciples that belief in Him is the way to Heaven. Then after three years of a miracle-filled ministry, He was taken into custody, condemned as a heretic and a rebel toward Roman rule and crucified.

Yet, God confirmed His place and His claims by raising Him from the grave three days later. He then taught His disciples for fifty days until His ascension to the Father.

Do we have proof of this? Only that there is an empty tomb where He was laid and our faith through the Holy Spirit confirming that God’s Word is true!

So, what will you do with Him?

themissingpieceThe Bible, particularly the New Testament, says that we should believe in Him. Archaeology has proven many, if not all, of the historical books in the Old Testament to be true and accurate. Science has proven that God’s rule of circumcision on the eighth day to be medically accurate because a baby’s body doesn’t have clotting factors until that time. There are many other proofs of the Bible which I won’t go into here.

My point in this post is to encourage you to learn more from God’s Word, seek Him out in it and make sure of your salvation! Jesus came to specifically save and sanctify each of us who will believe in Him. The next time He comes, He will be coming to take this world as His Kingdom and to prove to all that the Bible is true and that He is the One that He claimed to be when He was here the first time!

There is no denying this point, unless you just refuse to believe the Bible as the true Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to us to point us in the right direction. If that is what you choose to believe, then there may be no way of convincing you otherwise. I pray that anyone who reads this or any other blog about our Savior will at least give the Christian faith the chance by reading the Bible with an open mind. I am not asking that you believe something just because, say Billy Graham believes it. But, don’t dismiss it out of hand either.

Particularly if you have ever felt the Holy Spirit speak in your heart, your soul and haven’t acted upon it yet. Don’t put this decision off because it truly is of eternal value to you! There is a life after this one, but living through eternity without God would be…well the only way that I could describe something similar on Earth would be like a prisoner in a dark cell with no light, no air moving, and yet you couldn’t die. Even if you never got any food, you would be in that cell for years, decades, even centuries. No contact with anyone. Most people would go insane in a situation like this.

Except, in hell you can’t go insane and there will be heat and a lot of it. What else will be there? I don’t know except to say that anything like water or food, anything which would give you a chance at Life, will not be present. Don’t test this out to see if you might like it, because once you are there, you won’t get out. It isn’t temporary and you can’t be “prayed out” or bought out. Jesus is the only way out, but you have to accept Him before you die, not after.

Seek Jesus while He may be found and accepted into your life while you are here, please?

 

Is He your Savior?


Our Savior, Jesus, the Son of God is the Him of which I speak. He shed His divinity to come to Earth, be born of a woman, live the life of a man of Jewish descent, perfectly fulfilling the Law (which no normal human could do), teach a group of disciples so that they could carry His teachings to all parts of the world, died on a cross on the day of Passover and then rose again on the third day!

john_3_16_17_scripture_memory_card-raf7013e639264b87b918bea9971565b3_vgbaq_8byvr_540Yes, a long sentence to tell of the life of Jesus the Christ. A short version of His life, death and resurrection, but a story which has significance for so many around the world! Some of whom believe that He is our Savior and Lord, some  do not believe He was anything other than a prophet.

Do you know Him? You can get to know Him if you will believe in Him and follow Him. Learn about Him through reading of the New Testament and do the things which His disciples did…tell others what He has done for you! Why? Because they need Him too.

 

Accidental but on purpose


Many of the things which happen in our lives seem to fit this description. We think of them as accidents but later realize that God had a purpose in it all along. Depending upon the outcome of the “accident”, it could be good or bad in your life or your vocation. All of which is under God’s control whether it feels that way at the time or not. Like, Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. He knew that she was going to be there before His disciples went into town. He also knew that she was in spiritual need of what He could tell her and reveal to her.

WomanbytheWellDid He really have to leave Judea in order to get to Galilee? Kinda. According to some maps I have looked at, yes He did have to get out of Judea to get to Galilee, but He didn’t have to go through Samaria. Many people went the long, long way around to get there. But Jesus had a mission and a purpose for what He did.

Why do I bring this up? Because, it is something which all of us need to do. Some of us may do this on a daily basis, some may only try to do it when we feel the need for it. God gives each of us a purpose when we become His children. Sometimes that purpose is our life’s work, sometimes that purpose is part of our daily lives. In either case, we should be seeking His Spirit and His guidance in all of these things that we do. Especially when it comes to posting something on Facebook or even on a blog.

Why? Because something posted online, just as something that is said, can’t be undone. You can’t really take it back entirely. It may have been copied by someone and posted somewhere else, but it may still be out there and it can cause more hurt if it was something that should’ve been between you and God and nobody else! Talk to Him about it, pray about it, regardless of how hurt you may feel DON’T post it to a public forum like Twitter or Facebook.

I have been learning this lesson for many days and I am still learning it, trying to get it completely embedded into my mind so that my brain won’t forget it…ever! The only thing which I can ask of anyone who knows what this is about is forgiveness and to give you my utmost and most humble apology.

So what are you reflecting?


 

are-you-a-reflection

Are you a dull mirror which barely reflects your God and His Glory which is in you? Or are you a mirror turned toward itself, which only reflects itself into infinity? Which are you?

Think on this the next time you go to church or read the Bible.