What shall we do with Jesus?

WomanbytheWell Some 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?

themissingpiece The 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_540 Yes, 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.

WomanbytheWell Did 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.

God is here every day

Some people know this for sure and many more doubt that He even cares, but He does. He loves us and gives us grace and strength for each day and the problems which come to us on a daily basis. How do I know this? Because there are stories in the Bible about Him being there in the fire with the three men in Babylon when they were thrown into an oven because they would only worship God! He is with us during our trials too!

It doesn’t matter what kind of trial we are going through or whatever problem we are having, He is there. Even when there is more going on around us than we can see or imagine, He is there. Why am I reminding you of this? Because of the times which we live in today. There are some tough times coming and some which are already here, but by leaning on Him every day, each of us can get through those troubles.

In today’s world, many people from their teens on up to their thirties are addicted to a game called Pokemon GO. I am sure that you have heard about it, if you haven’t bumped into some of them playing it. Anyway, I was wondering why we can’t get our church members involved in chasing after Jesus in the same way?

behold i am with you always Why? Because, Jesus told us to take the gospel into all of the world…so what better way to do it than to tell others about Him as you go about your day? Why do we, as Christians, decide not to tell others about our Lord and Savior? Is it because we are afraid of what they may say about us being so pushy with our faith? Probably. In today’s society we are so caught up in being tolerant and politically correct until we barely talk to each other at all! We message each other on Facebook and Twitter, occasionally we will have a sit-down talk with someone over lunch or dinner, if we can put our phones down long enough.

We don’t talk to each other anymore and that is one of the drawbacks of our cellphone crazed culture today! Me message each other even when we are sitting at the same table! Relationships are being torn apart because of this and it seems that nobody is even noticing. It isn’t news because it isn’t bloody or it doesn’t involve a gun, but it is causing our society to fracture and come apart. If the same thing were happening to the ice in the Antarctic people would be rushing to find a fix for it!

I am not going to place blame here, but it does fall squarely on our media-intensive phones, regardless of the make or model! If we were stuck with “old phones”, such as a flip-phone, things would be a little better because they weren’t media phones. But, those don’t sell to a younger crowd, they sell to older people like myself (even though I do have an Android phone).

God is present in your life every day, whether you acknowledge Him or not. You are breathing because of Him, you are alive because of the function of your heart and your lungs and because of His Grace. So why can’t we give Him praise every day? In our life and in our walk through this life, at work, at home, at play, on vacation, we should be seeking Him in all of the things which we see around us and in what we are doing. Why? Because He is there and in your heart, if you belong to Him!

Don’t leave Him at the church or in the Bible after your study time, take Him with you so everyone around you can see Him too.

Nothing good…

It seems that many in the church today have not realized that nothing good can be done…apart from God and His Strength! Can we do any amount of good in this life without Jesus? I don’t think so. Jesus said that we could do nothing without Him, particularly anything good in this life. Why? Because, as a branch can produce nothing apart from the tree or the vine that it grows from, we can produce nothing for God’s Kingdom without being attached to Jesus in our walk with Him!

Can churches and the people in those churches do much good in their community? Yes, they can and they can do much more if they are doing it for God’s Kingdom! Not for fame or for promotion of the church or the people in the church, but simply for God and for His purposes. Churches have done much to damage the image of Christians in the past and we need to be working toward changing this.

Many of the past “atrocities” that ISIS claims were done by Christians actually were done by the church of that time. I am not trying to point fingers or place blame, but the “dark ages” were times of persecution by the church, but not just toward so-called “unbelievers”. At least one Christian was persecuted and burned at the stake by the church for just having an English translation of the model prayer given by Jesus to His disciples!

During this time period, services were done in Latin and the people were not allowed to have translations in English. Which is why Tyndale determined to translate at least the New Testament into English and was working on the Old Testament when he was arrested, tried for heresy and burned at the stake after he was strangled. So, as you can see, the church has done some terrible things in its time as well. All in the name of God and the faith.

Please, make sure that your faith is grounded in Jesus the Christ and His resurrection. Don’t place your trust in man’s religions and rituals because they are like the flowers in the field, they will wither and die in His Light of truth! God’s Word is the only Truth in this world and the salvation that belief in Jesus brings is the only path to eternity. Any other path is just a dusty trail which leads to death.

Persecution

PersecutionToday Today just as in times past, persecution is like gas on a fire or fertilizer for plants in regard to the number of believers. The church grows! No matter where the persecution may be or what form it takes, people notice how believers have faith and joy in Jesus! Then they turn to their faith and realize that they don’t have that. No other faith offers that joyous hope in Jesus because there is no hope of eternity in anyone else!

Hundreds of years ago, persecution caused the church to grow. Even at the end of the first century after Jesus’ burial and resurrection which was why John was exiled to Patmos, there was much persecution but believers didn’t give up their beliefs. No matter what they were threatened with, they still held onto their faith in Jesus. Many were killed, martyred in horrible ways which I won’t describe here, but they still held to their faith!

Nobody would hold onto a lie or a fantasy and die because of something that they knew wasn’t real! All but one disciple of Jesus died a martyr’s death in one way or another. Some were beheaded, some were crucified or run through with a spear or sword, but all but John died this way. They tried to boil John in oil but by a miracle, it didn’t work and he died of old age.

If you truly want to know how many of the believers died, read the Book of Martyrs. It will strengthen your faith and make our sufferings look mild in comparison. Does persecution cause people to turn to Jesus? Yes, it does! Many do, even today, although they don’t want it to be known because they would be killed if it became public knowledge. Are Muslims coming to Jesus? Yes! Are others coming to know Jesus? Yes!

Why? Because they see the joy that people have in Him, even when they are poor or persecuted for their faith. It is a joy which defies human comprehension because to someone without faith in Jesus, this joy makes no sense at all! Just as the Bible says, to the world our faith is foolishness.

To someone who is drowning but may not know it, a rope tossed to them will be flung aside. A float will be ignored until they realize that they truly need it. It is the same with someone who is living without Jesus. Until they realize that they NEED Him, they will go about their life with no worries. Until that point that God touches their heart and they know that they need Jesus, they will refuse to pay attention to any part of the Bible!

The image above shows that it is happening today and even though those in the picture may not look joyous in their time of persecution, their hope is still in Jesus. It is the reason that they are being killed, because of their belief in Him. Could we be brave enough to stand and declare our faith in the face of being burned or shot? I don’t know. God would give each of us a measure of faith and strength in that time of testing but to tell you that I could face it without fear and trembling? I just can’t say. Seek Him today so that your faith will be made complete in Him.

I am nothing but…

Forgiven

By my Creator and Savior, Jesus the Messiah! Amen!

See the Lord do this thing….

1 Samuel 12: 14-16:

14 If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God;

15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.

16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.

Samuel said these words in front of the people of Israel when they crowned Saul their king, because they wanted a king like everyone else had. They didn’t want God as their King! God is very patient with us, even when we reject His rule in our life. He doesn’t smite a person dead when they foolishly shake their fist at Him and ask for Him to strike them dead. That doesn’t stop them from being foolish enough to do it though.

God is not a man. He is not made in our image as many seem to try to mold Him that way, we are made in His Image! Thankfully, God has enough patience with humanity to allow us to keep living and hopefully we will learn about Him enough to feel the need for Him to rule in our hearts the way that He should!

As in Proverbs it says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom“. Fear in this context is respect or reverence not fear as in scared of or afraid! Being a child of God brings joy into your life, knowing that He is always at your side. He, our Creator, is on your side and always near you, no matter what the circumstances may be! We are beloved by God Himself, whether you have given your heart to Him or not! He doesn’t wish that anyone should go into Hell forever, but by your choice of not giving your heart to Jesus and asking Him to come into your life it is you who chooses that path for eternity!

God created mankind to be in fellowship with Him all of the days of our lives. But..it was our choice to remain in that relationship with Him and everyone knows how that turned out! Through Jesus our Savior, each of us can change that situation and get back into fellowship with God. All that is required is that you believe in Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins and ask Him to save you from your old, sinful life.

That is it! That is all that is required and its all that you or I can do to become a child of God! No amount of money or works in this life can get you righteous enough to be allowed into Heaven. Only the blood of Jesus can cover your sins and mine so that God sees His righteousness instead of our rags! You only have this life, however long it may be, to get this done so please don’t wait. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so please seek out your Savior today and ask Him to come into your heart to change you into the person that God knows you can be.

Words and learning

In the Bible, there are many words. None quite as omnipotent as believe although faith comes in really close. Depending upon which term that you look for or even which translation you are using, they will show up more in one or less in another. My point is this: the words that we should be using and allowing to help us to grow our relationship with Jesus are not important.

The real clincher is your attitude in your relationship with Him! Do you take it seriously? Do you take the Bible seriously and as the Truth? Finally and most important, do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit to be written by men? If your belief in God’s Word and it’s inspiration by the Holy Spirit is strong and you have your faith in Jesus as the Son of God and your Savior then go out and tell the rest of the world!!

The time that we live in is filled with those who deny that Jesus is the Son of God and those who deny that the Bible is truly the Word of God. Yet, nearly seventy percent of Americans claim to be Christian in their faith. If that were true, why do so many churches have so few people in them on Sunday morning?

There are many studies about the decline of churches and church attendance in America and around the world. One startling outcome is that America is actually behind India and China in attendance! What happened? At the beginning of the 20th century there were 27 churches for every 10,000 people in America, now we are down to 11 per 10,000. And those eleven aren’t full on Sunday morning, so what has happened?

While it is true that the book of Revelation speaks of a falling away in the faith by the faithful, I don’t believe that this is happening at this time. It seems that we need fresh ideas in the church to draw more people to church, but most importantly we need to get back to the Bible and study in it’s wisdom. Teaching our congregations more thoroughly about Jesus and His Father. We don’t need social media nights or fireworks or “eating meetings” to bring people in because the Bread that they need to be digesting is the Word of God! The Bread of Life itself!!

Bible school and teaching teens about Jesus is wonderful and it should be done during the summer. But, we should also have a night or two during the week to teach parents and grandparents about Jesus, not just during one twenty-five minute sermon on Sunday morning. After all, they are raising or helping to raise the next generation coming into the church, so they need to learn just as much or more than the young people do.

Is it possible to teach parents and grandparents about Jesus and God and the wisdom found in the Bible? Of course it is, if they will attend and come to learn. The churches are becoming sparse and many people in the next generation won’t be coming or even be a member of a church if we don’t teach them more about Jesus and why He came to save us! He didn’t do it because it was going to be fun, He came because He loves each and every person on Earth so deeply that He was willing to give His life for each of them!