Category: Believe like a child

Unreasonable expectations


In today’s world every person on Earth looks for something or someone who is unreasonable, impossible even because we are looking for that “perfect specimen”. We not only look for an immortal beauty but we want her to be strong but gentle and one who can fulfill all of our desires and our needs. No woman or man exists which can fulfill these expectations! Sometimes we get these ideas from watching movies or reading books like romance novels or maybe some other form of lesser entertainment.

But…perfection in all areas doesn’t exist in this mortal plane. There isn’t a man or woman on Earth who can be all of these and be in love with us because each of us is also imperfect. If the perfect man or woman exists then anyone or anything less than perfection, such as you and me, just won’t cut it! It is something which we learn as young adults usually to our own peril and disappointment.

Just as Galatea and Pygmalion, we too are bound by expectation and disappointment to some extent. In the story, he prays for her to be made into a woman who is like his ideal and his goddess grants his request. In reality, unless perfection is mated to perfection, the relationship is doomed to fail because an imperfect being, such as you or me, cannot fulfill the expectations of the other.

God can change you into a new creation when He comes to live in your heart, but until you are brought to Heaven there will always be a human who fails and falls in this life. Is it possible to have perfection in this mortal body? No, it is not. It is an unreasonable expectation of our existence to even think that it is possible.

Even God cannot look on us and we cannot look Him in the face without dire consequences. Perfect love and sinless Life cannot stand in our presence without causing our death because we are unable to be perfect in any of those areas. Perfection doesn’t exist in this realm of existence and since God exists outside our reality it only exists where He is. Did God expect too much of mankind? No, because He knew when He created them that they could not be obedient in all of their imperfect ways.

God does give us an image, an ideal to work toward in the person of Jesus Christ, and we can strive toward that goal but in this life we will never attain it. Learning about Jesus, following hard after Him in this life, reading and studying Scripture and prayer asking Him to grant us wisdom enough to understand Scripture’s true meaning, these are the works which guide us toward Him and His image.

As long as we don’t create an imperfect, human inspired image of Him, changing Jesus into a more attainable human ideal then we will do fine. If we do that then we are guilty of creating an idol of our own which resembles Jesus only in our minds, because it is not Him but an imperfect copy. Our copy or idea of Jesus or even God is based upon the only form that we are familiar with and that is ourself.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

Why don’t relationships work?


Truly the reason that this happens is because of the foundation. Many marriages begin on the wrong foot and certainly on sand or loose gravel for a foundation. Why do we pursue a relationship that ultimately will fail?

IAM-JesusWe do this because we haven’t found the Relationship which can’t fail. We are born searching for something or Someone but for years we search and look for things and people to fill that void, that empty place which always feels as if it needs…to be filled. It is a scientific principle which states quite accurately that “nature abhors a vacuum”. At some point, something will fill that space whether it is good or bad, God or Satan, it doesn’t matter which, but it will be filled.

If we try to fill it with a career or a family, that can work for a while but it isn’t permanent. If we try to fill it with drugs or alcohol, our life and our relationships are doomed to fail because those things are designed to destroy whatever they come in contact with! But…if we will seek out our Savior, Jesus the Christ, and repent of the attempts which we have tried before, and ask Him to come in and clean our heart up, then our life will be placed on the right path.

Following Him, learning about Him by reading and studying the Bible, praying about your family and your problems, all of these will begin to fix your pathway and your life in such a way that your foundation will become complete and solid. When this happens, your relationship with your spouse and your family will begin to level out and become less bumpy and more smooth. This is the foundation which should guide our lives today but we tend to follow along with the rest of the crowd at school or church, if we go at all.

If everyone at school or at church is just going along to get along for the sake of being thought of as a “pillar of the community”, that is the wrong reason. Trying to earn a place in the eyes of people and “fair weather friends”, no matter how you earn it, doesn’t help you in the long run. Why? Because it isn’t built on God’s foundation which is Jesus.

You can decide to ignore this advice if you wish or just don’t read this at all, it doesn’t hurt my feelings one way or the other. But…what if I am right. When your life is going to hell on a slippery slope, which of your friends could possibly pull you out of it? A rich kid that you went to school with? No, they are likely off enjoying life just as they think they should. What about your dear friend from work? Not likely, they come home feeling even more tired than they did last year.

The only One Who can get your life back on the right path and give you strength enough to make it through all of your trouble is Jesus. No other religion or “holy man” or prophet can do that because all of them are dead! He is alive at the Father’s right hand and He is able to help you in your time of need. Seek Him out and make sure that He is your foundation and your Solid Rock, your Savior. Because without Him, we can do nothing.

Get your relationship with God and His Son, Jesus, right and the rest of your life will be so much better than it has ever been before.

Relationships and feelings


In this life we have many relationships. With family, friends, children, spouses, exes and also with God, so which one of those should we concentrate on? It depends. Which relationship is the most important to you?

As a Christian, your relationship with Jesus should be the most important followed by your spouse and family and then your friends. But, do we look at our lives that way? Many of us are so caught up in life until our relationships with most of these that I listed kinda falls by the wayside. We get caught up in careers and paying bills and taking care of children and parents, trying to put on a show of being a Christian while living the best we can outside the church.

So what can we do? Well…first you have to get your priorities straight. Which of those that are part of your life is the most important? Some would say our children and our spouse or family. They are important but are they the MOST important? First, you have to get your life under His authority, seeking Him daily, learning more of His Ways and His Character by reading and studying the Bible. If your relationship with God isn’t what it should be, then the rest of your life isn’t going to be any better either.

The Israelites found this out on many occasions. They would listen to their leaders and follow God for a while, then when their judge or their King who was following God’s lead died, they would go back to worshiping false gods. Then they would be punished and get into bondage of some sort and after a while they would cry out to God. He would send someone to deliver them and for a while all was good…until their deliverer died. Then the process would begin again.

We, in the New Testament Church, are NO different. We come to Jesus and on some days everything is good, then our health has a hiccup. We go to the doctor and find something that may be bad, something which is going to cause a real problem in life. Sometimes it is a family member who gets the message or has a wreck or maybe even a problem in a marriage. All of these are problems and arrows which are slung at you from Satan. He hates you because you are willing to follow Jesus, you are willing to belong to the King!

He tried to knock Job out of his faith, he has tried this same tactic with so many in the church and at some churches. He has broken marriages, he has broken churches, he has broken pastors but we need to bring our faith into today, We need to graft our faith into the Vine of Jesus the Christ, our Messiah! He is the One who gives us strength, He is the One Who can make those diagnosis’ go away, He can fix a crumbling relationship IF it can be fixed. Give it to Him, pray over it continually and then watch Him work!

Are you angry with God?


Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1:13–14)

angerMany of us get angry when God doesn’t answer a prayer the way that we want Him to, but consider that He doesn’t have to answer your prayer the way that you want! God is Who He is and it is His prerogative and His desire to do great and mighty things with you and for you, but He doesn’t answer to you! We should not be angry with our Creator at all because it is His grace and mercy which keeps us and the rest of the universe in balance and alive.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2–3)

Life is full of disappointments but most of the time, those things which didn’t go our way are not God’s denial of something for you. Usually it is because of OUR attitude or our prayer life or lack of one. It seems that many so-called “preachers” teach that God can be bargained with or forced to give you what YOU want in life. Seriously? You or I can’t force the Creator of the universe to DO anything! He will bless you in the way that HE sees as best for your life and your situation, NOT the way that you want it.

God is not your grandfather, nor is He like Santa either! He blesses us with life every day that we wake up and gives us the energy and ability to do our job regardless of what that job may be. If you are a pastor like I am, then He gives you the words which are needed to encourage others to come to know Jesus and to learn more about Him. Which is where all of these posts have come from. I certainly couldn’t come up with this stuff on my own!

Being angry with God does you no good at all. In fact it will quench the Holy Spirit’s actions in your life. Why would you be angry with God after all? It may be that your child has died or your doctor has given you a diagnosis which is not good. Being angry with God for any reason is like being angry with a tree because it sits in a certain place, you could cut the tree down but other than that what good does your anger do? Anger toward God is like being angry with a wall of concrete. You can’t get rid of it, you can’t push it down and beating against it won’t do anything except hurt yourself. God loves you, regardless of your anger or your hate toward Him. Seek Him out and learn about His patience and love for mankind.

God can do all things which we cannot, but don’t expect Him to give you the desires of your heart if it doesn’t bring glory and honor to Him. When your will aligns with His, then your prayers in Jesus’ name will be fulfilled!

Church?


Today we look at buildings, great and small and call them our church or “the church”. What is the Church? Truthfully it is the people who worship God. It doesn’t matter if it is in a tent or a cathedral, it is the people who make up the church. Just as it was after Jesus went to be with the Father, it was the people who believed in Him and worshiped Him that made up the Church. It was NOT a building at all! Some did worship in a building, like other believer’s homes, but it didn’t really matter about the place of worship as much as it mattered about the hearts of those who came to worship!

You can come to church, to a building, for many years and play the part of a Christian from the time you are a child in Sunday school on up into your 90’s. That doesn’t make you a Christian, only belief in Jesus and a daily walk with Him can do that. Belief comes first, then the desire to worship Him and then the desire to learn more about Him and baptism is mixed in there as well but my point here is that you can live in a cardboard box and still worship Jesus! The building made of bricks and mortar and wood and sometimes steel beams is just a structure…it is the people who attend services and worship God in that building that make up the Church!

God is doing many miracles even today that many don’t recognize or may not know about because the media doesn’t report on things which happen without the influence of science. Unless it was something which was so BIG that they had to report on it, miracles go unnoticed by the majority of people and news organizations…but they still happen.

If you are not a believer in Jesus or God and you have everything that you need, you probably think that you will never need God even if He exists. But what about when you go to the doctor and he finds a mass or a spot on your lungs or your liver and it turns out that it is cancer, stage 4, and there is little he can do. What then?

You could just lie down and die or you could search the whole world for some treatment which may help. The best cure for this cancer is in the person and the power of Jesus! Cry out to Him, seek His Presence and learn more of Him. Why? Because He loves you! Praying that He will take the cancer away is not the answer, asking Him to come into your life and your heart and make you a new person is!

Could He cure you of the cancer? Yes, He can. I don’t know if He will and I am not going to tell you that He will, but your life will be so much more with Him in your heart even if He doesn’t. Why do I say this? Because your friends will see the change that He has brought into your life and they will likely want what you have. He will give you peace, even when your life is getting worse OR He may heal you and take the cancer out of your body. Then you can tell people what an awesome God He is!

They will ask you why do you believe now when you didn’t before? Because the Creator came and took my sins away and destroyed the cancer and I am alive to tell it, that’s why!! God loves each of us but we have a rebellious spirit inside of us from the day we are born. Until we realize that He is the answer to all of life’s questions and our problems too, we won’t seek Him out. We will keep doing what we did yesterday or last week or last year, but when our heart and soul tells us that we need Jesus we will seek Him out.

Give your life and your heart to Jesus because He gave His life for you! One day soon everyone will see Him and then many will either ask Him to save them or they will hate Him with an unreasonable hatred. Your life is terribly short compared to eternity, make sure of yours before you enter into it.

Romans 8:23: And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. The link for this passage has many of the Scriptures which will show you that you do need Jesus, if you will seek HIm for your salvation. I pray that you and all who read this will do so before your day comes.

Is it well with you?


Many times, in church and even on social media sites, I get requests for prayer either in person or by a message. Prayer is a necessary part of a Christian’s life, just like breathing or drinking water, yet many people don’t seem to think that God listens to them so they ask their pastor to pray for them. I don’t mind, but if you are a child of God you have the same privilege and right to step into His Presence at anytime.

1533781_811048015579131_2056361741_nSometimes, people just don’t exercise their right as a Christian until it gets to be so bad they just hit their knees in agony. God can and will answer your prayers, particularly when you pray about a family member’s illness or an accident. I don’t mean to say that He won’t answer a prayer about your children or your keys or other “small” thing, but God looks for ways to bless you in areas where He is the real solution for the problem!

So do you seek out God when things are going good or do you wait until He is the last resort? Don’t you think that when things aren’t going very well, you should seek out the One Who can do something about the situation? The Creator that made all of our universe and every molecule in your body can fix any problem in your life, regardless of the cause! If you will give Him the chance to do so.

When life throws a curve ball at you, swing at it because you might hit it. God can give you the strength and the ability to make it through any real problem in your life, regardless of whether it is one involving your spiritual condition or a medical problem. God is bigger than ALL of your problems or any of the problems in our world today or at any time in the future.

Each of us has a choice to make. To ask Jesus into our lives and repent of our sinful ways or to keep doing what we feel is right, what makes us feel good. To keep being selfish and prideful in what we can do and to do it without anyone telling us that it is wrong. In reality, the Bible doesn’t tell you anything like that. There are no rules about what to do or not, but when you truly realize that you need Jesus and you come to Him in repentance…then you will change. You won’t do it on your own but you will change by the influence of the Holy Spirit after you ask Him to live in your heart!

When that happens, and you begin to change into a new creation, a new person. Then you won’t crave those things which you did before. You won’t go to the places that you went to before. The rules have changed because you aren’t the same anymore. Not because of rules from the Bible, but because your heart, your soul, your inner person has changed and is changing. While you learn more about Jesus and read His Word and pray about this new life, you are changing and becoming the person that God has always known you were since before you were born.

When this change occurs then it will be well with you no matter how life turns out, good or bad. Why? Because you are an adopted child of God! The Creator and King of the universe! How could you possibly feel down or depressed or unloved when God loves you more deeply than anyone on Earth could ever understand? Yes, there will be days which you may be depressed, but with prayer and reading God’s Word it won’t last for long. Seek Him and His Kingdom and all of the things which God has prepared for you will be yours.

Despair and depression


I know that many veterans and others go through this sometimes leading to suicide, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There are many support groups for us and there is always God’s Wisdom in the Psalms and Proverbs.

12804782_1044929828955942_1233315242139204553_nI went through a deep bout of depression a few years ago and it still tries to come back at times. I had many people praying for me and I read through the Psalms during this time, sometimes I re-read a Psalm or two and they spoke to my Spirit in an awesome way that I needed at the time.

Our entire planet is going through an attack of despair and other troubles brought on by Satan and his evil group of rebellious demons. Of course, we don’t see them doing all of the influences in our lives so most people don’t believe that they exist. Remember that Jesus spoke about them in the Bible so if God’s Word speaks about them, then they are real!

Like we can’t see God or Jesus in our world because they occupy a different realm or dimension than we do, so do angels and demons. There are times when we see them, but mostly in this life we don’t see their physical forms. Depression is one of the tools which Satan uses to screw up our lives and cause us to take our own lives or derail our mission on Earth. Depression causes all kinds of problems and sometimes those problems go much farther in your life than just how bad you feel.

It can cause diseases, it can also lead to drug addiction and other destructive behavior. It can also lead to the breakup of families, so this is a very powerful tool which Satan has in his arsenal. God can cure each of these problems in your life with His Presence in your heart if you will just seek Him out and ask Him to come into your heart and change your life. This is the prayer which God hears no matter what.

I pray that any of you who don’t know Jesus as your Savior will seek Him and learn about Him so that you will ask Him into your heart.

Anguish and sorrowful times


There are many people in our world today who feel desperately sorrowful and depressed. Some for unknown reasons and some because of things which they have been unable to control in their lives. Sometimes these problems are because of the job which they have to do, like a policeman or woman. Some of them may feel this way because of being in a branch of the military and they are also doing things which bother them. I know that it doesn’t bother them during their fighting and battles so much, but whenever they get back home it is labeled PTSD.

Either way that you look at this, it is something which most of us have to deal with at some point in our lives. Whether it is from battle in a war zone or from an abusive spouse, PTSD is real and it doesn’t go away easily. Sometimes it takes long sessions with a therapist  or drugs to tone it down manageably and sometimes it takes faith and prayer. Whichever way you get treated for it, I pray that it doesn’t cause more problems in your life.

So many are having to live with anguish and sorrow in countries where Christian persecution is happening and where children are being taught to be “warriors” or suicide bombers who are told that this is the only way to bring about the coming messiah. It is NOT the way at all! The Mahdi is NOT the messiah, it is Jesus the Christ! In the Bible the end times are a time of turmoil and war and suffering like the world has not seen in thousands of years.

john317The three years at the beginning of the Tribulation is what is referred to as Satan’s wrath, the last three years are where the wrath of God is poured out on the Earth and those who follow the antiChrist. Those alive during those first years of the Tribulation, it will seem to be a time of plenty and peace at least for those who decide to follow the one who is in charge. Any Christians who were not taken in the rapture of the church will know who he is really but few others will believe it.

Their lives, your life will be in danger because soon everyone will have to take the mark of allegiance to him, likely a chip or some other mark in the hand or on the forehead. Christians will be in danger of being killed if they do not take the mark because if they don’t they can’t buy food or gas. If they do take it, then they are forfeiting their soul because they are aligning themselves with Satan’s pawn, his false Christ and if they do this then they “love their life more than Christ”.

Why do I bring this up in this writing? Because we are the generation which will be here when all of this comes to pass. What year or day this will take place I don’t know. God knows which day and hour it will happen but all of the prophecies which were to take place beforehand have already taken place or they are taking place now. Read the book of Revelation carefully and pray about what you are reading, then look at the news and all of the things that are happening in the world. Much of what you have read is happening in some way and in some place in the world. Make sure of your salvation before that day comes.

 

 

Why so much division?


Beliefs, creeds, denominations…it seems that our world is cracked into thousands of pieces when it comes to deciding about Who we believe in and serve. Why?

DivisionMostly it is because of the work of Satan. He has been at work in the world creating other “gods” for people to worship and also creating division in the church itself. Sometimes these are small cracks but over time and with a little help from willing people they get bigger until the church splits in two or crumbles into the dust.

In the first century, just after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples taught His Truth as The Way. Some called it The Truth. For many years it stayed that way until Catholicism and the Catholic church became the dominant form of worship in the crumbling Roman empire.

Until the Reformation, there were no Scriptures that a worshiper could have in his possession and read for himself or herself. Then, when the Bible was printed in English and German, many people were put to death when they were found to have one of these Bibles. The persecution of Christians by the church and by pagans, is found in the Book of Martyrs if you would like to read it. It is difficult to read, but it will show you what it took to be a true believer in Jesus, all the way up to recent history such as in the communist countries since WWII.

The fracturing of the church into so many denominations has caused many problems between believers. Some believe only parts of Scripture, some follow only a few verses in one book or another, when we are supposed to be people who believe in the entire Word of God! Not bits and pieces of it but ALL of it, the Old Testament and the New Testament should be taught in its entirety. Yet, many churches today seem to pick and choose what they will teach or believe and the parts that they will not.

This is not the way that Jesus wanted His church to be! We are not supposed to be bickering and fighting over parts and phrases, choosing which to teach and which to tell others that it is not God’s Word! If it is included in the Bible, whether it be a Jewish Bible or Orthodox Bible or a Protestant Bible, then it should be taught to everyone in the congregation, young and old!

I ask that anyone who is interested in God or Jesus and the Word in the Bible, please seek out a Bible teaching church and search out the Truth. God’s Word is true and has never been found to be wrong in any manner. Many try to bring parts of it to trial saying that it contradicts itself, but if you would seek the Truth it can be found that all of it is more true and accurate than many historical works. Praying that all of you who read this will seek Him out in the Bible and as your Savior. Amen.

What do you really believe?


It is becoming clear that many people in churches today, regardless of denomination, have no idea what being a committed Christian is. Some think it means going to church when we feel like it. Some seem to think that, just like the rest of the world, if they are good and read the Bible occasionally then God will let them into Heaven. There seems to be quite a few that think that they don’t really have to do anything except to believe that Jesus is the Christ and that will get them into Heaven.

Preachers have told us this for decades, that if you believe in Jesus you will be saved. The apostle, John, says mostly the same thing in his gospel. So, why does it seem that we should desire more of Him than we do? Jesus said that “apart from Me you can do nothing“, truly that phrase has nothing to do with belief. It has to do with our commitment to a daily life with Him.

Reading the Bible, prayer for all of the things that are good and needed in our world, seeking His will for your life in His Word, meditating on His Word after you read it and considering what it means to your life, these are processes which we need to do in our daily walk with Him. This sounds like far too much to do in a day, but it doesn’t need to be. Reading a chapter or two every day and then praying for the meaning of it to be revealed to you doesn’t take long. Thinking about what God reveals to you during the day is your meditation on Him and His Word, but it shouldn’t interfere with your daily life.

Being a dedicated child of God is not as easy as just saying that you believe in Him. It is a daily, sometimes hourly walk with Him through your day, every day. He walked with Adam in the Garden, so why can’t we walk with Him every day? He doesn’t get in the way, and He certainly won’t be a hindrance to anything that we do, unless you intend to do or be in agreement with sinful actions on a daily basis.

Being a Christian is not as easy as it is portrayed because even though becoming one is easy, the process is a daily walk with Him. As Jesus said, “take up your cross and follow Me”, sometimes that means that we have to put something else that we have been holding onto down. For many people today, that is not an easy thing to do. We are addicted to our computers, our tablets, our phones, our games and almost every other distraction imaginable. But, we only come to Jesus when it is necessary or when we have to.

Seeking Him and learning about Him and about our relationship with Him is something which we don’t consider important. We will worry about that tomorrow or next year or when the next revival service is at church. But…what if you don’t live that long? What if you were to die in an hour or two from now? You would be standing at the judgement of your life in front of God without any help at all.

God knows your life and He knows if you will come to Him and when. He is your Creator and He will not turn you away IF you will come to Him with a repentant heart and ask Him to save you from yourself. Ask Him to help you to become the person that you can be in Christ and He will do it IF you are sincere and truthful about your need for Him.

If this is just “lip service”, He won’t even hear you. But, this has to be done in this life. Waiting to take care of this on your death-bed won’t cut it because you may not have that chance. A car wreck, a heart attack or any number of other ways that you can die without any notice, might prevent you from making that last-minute decision. So, what will you decide?

Are you going to keep doing what you have always done, hoping that God will just let you pass? Will you just turn away, like the rich young ruler did because you are having too much fun and you don’t feel that you need Jesus in your life? Maybe you think that being a devoted Christian just doesn’t fit your lifestyle right now. But, if you were to meet Jesus at your judgement and He says that “I never knew you”, how will you feel? Eternity is a long, long time to be outside in outer darkness, away from the Love of God.

Think about it, pray about it if you are serious about your Eternal destiny and then pray some more. Seek Him while there is time, in this life, because when this life is over…your time to be His is up and your eternity begins wherever you are.