Category: Believe like a child

Belief…do you believe?


faithbeliefIn the world today, there are many who don’t believe in Jesus or the Bible itself yet it is the inspired Word of God. Although many people don’t believe even that the Bible is God’s Word but just a collection of stories written by a bunch of men. The Bible is so much more than that!

It was written under the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit and the words which are contained in it come from God. Yes, it was written by forty different men over a period of more than 1500 years. That in itself is amazing because if all of those men from different times, even centuries apart, could write a book which told of a Savior Who would come to save the world, then how could they have made the stories up?!

Belief is also bound up in faith because you can’t believe in the miracles or in our Savior without faith even if it is as small as a grain of mustard seed. The tiniest bit of faith can be used by God to accomplish many things, far beyond what you would think. When the will of God is involved in anything, it will be accomplished no matter the size of your faith!

Give your life and your heart to Jesus, as well as all that you have, and He will multiply it back to you and into His Kingdom in ways that can’t be imagined. I pray that this will encourage you to follow Jesus and ask Him into your life. Why? Because, I have to…it is my job to tell others about Him! I can’t keep quiet because He is in control and His power goes into the world to heal from this time forward! God has not stopped healing or mending broken hearts and lives.

Thank you for your time and may God richly bless you in all of the ways that you need, in Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.

Image problem


The idea that we can be Christians, have Jesus in our life and yet not experience the REAL relationship that we desire is never taught in church. Is it possible that we can do all of the things, be a “pillar of the church” and not be fully and totally committed to our life in Christ? Actually, it is totally possible and many Christians are doing exactly that without even knowing it. There are many who “go through the motions” for years in their self-righteous delusion and they may never find Jesus in this life!

We tend to trust God because the preacher said that we should and because it is in the Bible. But, is that enough? We also create God in our image and place our personality traits in the relationship and look at Him as if He is a reflection of us rather than the other way around!

We are supposed to be reflecting Him and His Son’s image to those who see us, not making God into an image of us. Then when something doesn’t go exactly according to the plan that we have in mind for our life, we blame Him when it is actually our “version” of Him that is the culprit and the REAL problem.

We actually have a problem with our image, not that the image of God isn’t perfect because the real image of God is actually us. The problem is that we, each one of us, tries to make God conform to our image of Him. We try to make Him look like and act like us.

God doesn’t work that way, but He will allow us to make a mess of things while we do this so that He can come in and show us exactly what He can do for us. The image that we have created of Him cannot heal us or bring us to a point of surrender with Him because our image of God is NOT God!

Can this “image” thing be fixed? Yes, but it usually gets fixed when we finally come to a point where we acknowledge that we can’t do it ourselves and things begin to fall apart around us. Then we get angry at the “god” who allowed this and hopefully we will come to the point that we see that we were the cause of our problem and also the cause of the answers not being delivered to us by God like we thought they should be. Why did all of our prayers and tithes and all of the service which we performed in His service not count for what we thought it should?

Because, we were doing all of those things for OUR version…OUR image of God, not the real God but a fake copy of Him which closely resembles us! Our idol, our image, our reflection of us into and onto God. We were trying to do pottery in reverse, and it doesn’t work that way!

Consider that we are like Adam was before God gave him the breath of Life. To a perfectly holy God and our Creator, we are like a clay man or woman. Dirty and not useful for much more than planting things in, but if we realize that God is nothing like us because He is our Creator then we can come into a real relationship with Him. We should get to know Him as a friend and our Teacher, because it is necessary that we learn from Him the way to truly live in Him and allow Him to live in us and through us every day.

Our image is nothing compared to His and we shouldn’t try to imagine Him in our image because we are bringing Him down to our level at that point, in truth we should be striving to be more like Him!

The One Who can Help…


Lord, I know that you know all things. Please, touch those who read this and let them know that you love tthemissingpiecehem no matter what.

Life is easiest when you have all of the pieces in their correct places, and Jesus belongs in your heart! You have felt that emptiness for a long time, just as I did, and you know that nothing fills it which we try to put in it.

Jesus is the ONLY Person Who fits in that spot, so if you feel that empty feeling and you know the One Who fits, then ask Him to fill you and He will!

An ending and a new beginning


We come to the end of another year. One that has been fraught with so much pain and suffering on the part of police and race relations. Also, many have died for useless reasons which did not have to happen. I pray that the next year will be a bit more tolerable in relations with others, with our police and with other nations.

God knows what is happening and He is in charge, yet the forces of Satan are influencing much of what we see and hear on our planet that is so frustrating because of its cruelty. Yes, it is being done by humans, but those are being influenced by anti-Christian forces such as Satanic spiritual forces. These forces, spiritual in nature, are around us whether you believe in them or not. Frankly, I am glad that I can’t see them because the violence and hatred which they encourage in us toward other people is unpleasant enough.

Yes, we are coming to the end of one more year and the start of a “new” year, but the problems which we all face everyday don’t change. The problems which we had last week or yesterday will still be here after midnight tonight. They don’t magically go away just because the date changes.

That is why we need to rely on God and His strength to get us through the most challenging times. We can push through on our own, but things work out so much better when He is guiding your steps and giving you the wisdom to get through life’s challenges. God loves us and He does want the best for us, no matter what, if we will follow Him and seek out His way of cultivating a relationship.

The reason I put “His way” in that last sentence is because we tend to place our ideas of God in the way of our relationship with Him. We tend to see Him in our “mind’s eye” as being like us with our faults and problems and yet we imagine that vision or idea as God. What is wrong with that? Everything! Because God is SO MUCH MORE!

He is more compassionate and understanding than we can be. He is our Creator and, if you are a Christian He is our Savior! His ways are not our ways because He doesn’t have the prejudices which we have, nor does He bring baggage into the relationship with us. Why is this true? Because, He lives outside of our time and He put us together in the womb. He knows us better than we will ever know ourselves and He knows how we think and how we can be an asset in His Kingdom.

Give your heart and life to God and let Him show you how great your next year can be!

The nearness and presence of God


It is something which many Christians and non-Christians have considered and thought about over the years. How near to us is God really? Consider that He is everywhere, as David wrote in his Psalms, “if I make my bed in the depths of Sheol, you are there“, so in defense of Jonah “where could you go?”. When we seek God, He is near us, it is the act and action of seeking Him that brings us together.

God has always sought out a relationship with us, from the Garden all the way to the 21st century, and He is still seeking to have a relationship with each one of us. Although, many today don’t seem to be seeking Him as they did in years past, He is still near to you whether you know it or not. God’s Presence, His Spirit, is always near us and it is the one concept that many Christians can’t understand. It is the aspect of God which I never understood until recently.

Why should this be so hard to grasp?

Because, God is the Creator. He is the One Who stretched out the Heavens like sailcloth when He placed the galaxies and stars in their places! It was He Who hung the Sun in its place as well and all of the planets too, so why can’t an Omniscient and Omnipresent Creator be everywhere at all times? He is everywhere at all times and He is near to each of us, at all times.

When we feel that He isn’t near us, it is because that we aren’t near to Him in our spirit and in our own relationship with Him. God has not moved away from you, He is still right next to your heart. Waiting for your embrace so He can embrace you in return!

A relationship with your Creator is not a hard thing, but cultivating an intimate relationship with Him takes effort on your part. Many people want this kind of relationship with God, but few are willing to put the effort needed into truly cultivating it.

What is in a name?


Immanuel meaning “God with us”

Isaiah 7:10-16 King James Version

10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.

13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Even today there are many men named Yeshua, Jesus, and other Biblical names but that doesn’t give them the ability to be that person. God foretold that Immanuel would be born and that He would be the Messiah, the Christ. In order to be the Messiah or Christ, He would have to be God in man’s flesh, there is no other way to do this! This only happened one time!

When you have or are given the name of a famous person, does that make you into that person? Of course not! A name is just a name, unless it is given to you by God Himself. Then it becomes a calling and a purpose for your life. God had seen this from the beginning and He knew that Jesus being born of a virgin would literally be “God with us”, as the prophecy had said that the seed of the woman would be our Savior. That is Who Jesus is and always has been!

Why did He have to come in this manner? Because, only a perfect and sinless sacrifice could cover the sins of the World and the only way for this to happen would be for this Man to have the Spirit of God in Himself, not the spirit of sinful man. God could’ve made Him a body of sinless flesh, but He chose to do it by natural birth by a woman because Jesus had to be born under the Law in order to begin a new Covenant with sinful mankind.

Are you under His influence?


We talk about being in love with someone when we are in a relationship with them and for most of us that is how it goes. But, have you ever considered that your life should be under His influence ALL of the time?

When we consider people who are “under the influence”, we usually think of someone who is drunk from alcohol of one type or another. Being under the influence of God and His Spirit is something totally outside the ideas and experience of many people because they just don’t know how to handle it or even if they can!

My inspiration was a comedy routine by a Christian comedian and it fits perfectly. When you give your heart and your life to Him, you are supposed to be under His influence spiritually from that point on. We are supposed to die to our own lusts and ways each day and walk with Him so that we are walking as He did! Doing the things that He did for those that He helped during His ministry!

That is the very definition of a Christian, to live and be more like Jesus the Christ! So, are you under the influence of His Spirit? If you are not, then you aren’t living your Christian life to the fullest that it can be! It can be so much more rewarding in many ways, for you and for others that you will touch with your witness for Christ!

His influence in your life will cause you to be more like Jesus in everything that you do. Whether it is being a father or a grandfather or a husband, His influence in your life changes a lot of things. Things which people see in your life can change their lives and the lives of many people around you, so give His influence more influence in your life with Him!

Magi, who came to see the King


threemagiIn the days of King Herod, there were three magi (not kings) who came from the East. When we think of the East with respect to Jerusalem, many people in the past have portrayed these magi as the rulers of their countries. Many times they were also portrayed as Oriental and possibly from India, the truth is much different from fiction.

These three magi are also portrayed as astrologers, but they were not in the sense that we know it today. They watched the stars for signs of a King. Most, if not all, of the magi came from the area around Babylon. The school of magi which Daniel began when Israel was in captivity for 70 years is where they were from. They studied the scriptures which foretold of a coming King, One Who would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem.

Specifically, they were studying Isaiah and that is when they saw the “star” and decided it was time to go and see this King born in Bethlehem. These magi did not do magic nor were they into the occult, they were simply educated men who had been studying the prophets of Israel. It was those prophecies which brought them to Israel and then to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, looking for the One Who would be King of Kings!

The announcement went out to the shepherds that night when God put on flesh and came to be near His Creation, so that He could pay the penalty for our sins and make right what had gone wrong at the first. He was the only One Who could pay the penalty for ALL of mankind, past, present and future. All that we need to do is believe in His sacrifice and accept the grace given to us.

A little at time


This is exactly how I recommend for people to learn about and read God’s Word…a little at a time. Why? Because our Creator’s Word and His Wisdom is better suited to learning and understanding a little at a time. That being said, we should all try to read the entire Bible in a year’s time, but it only takes a chapter or two every day!

Like the old commercial said, “A little dab’ll do ya!”. I am showing my age. 🙂

In any way that you want to look at it, God’s Word is worth more than any education, any college course you could take today! It covers finance, life situations, business, religion and relationships so there is no need for any self-help course or book! God loves us and has loved each of us since before the world was formed, He doesn’t give you bad advice and He wouldn’t harm you in any way.

Satan, the serpent from the garden, God’s adversary and ours, will seek to destroy you and he will send all kinds of problems your way in order to steer you away from God and His blessings for your life! Make sure that you know which one is hurting you or trying to steer you in a direction which is counter to what you know God would do. If it isn’t good for you and it is causing problems in your life, then it is from Satan and his demons, so get rid of whatever it is and seek God’s strength and His provision to do so!

He never leaves our side, but He will only come to your aide if you ask Him to. God doesn’t jump into your life and take over, He is only waiting to make His blessings available to you when you ask Him to, although some of our blessings are given to us as life itself. Breathing, walking, talking, thinking, going about your everyday work and play, all of these are blessings which most of us take for granted. We don’t look at any of them as blessings, yet that is what they are.

God gives us those blessings a little at a time just as we should learn more about Him a little at a time. He is the Creator in the first part of Genesis, He is a friend in later chapters of it. As the Word evolves and we learn more about Him, His attributes become clearer and sharper to us, eventually making sense to a point. Why do I say it that way? Because, we will never understand God on this side of life and we may not fully understand Him even in eternity, although we will know Him better.

God loves you and me with a love which we can’t comprehend because there is no human analogue for it. We can’t know a love as deeply because He is God! So, we can’t truly understand His love for us in the light of His being our Creator! He knows us fully and knew us this way, even before our world was made or anything in our world was even formed. The atonement which was given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus is given to everyone, freely, all each of us needs to do is ask for His forgiveness (which we have already), because we can’t receive it unless we ask for it.

Please, seek out His Truth in the Bible. There is no other book on Earth which is like it because the words in it came from Spiritual inspiration by God!

Are you sure about that?


I think many people are asking this question or they are being asked by those who are going to give them something for Christmas. Have you thought about it yourself? There are so many “deals” out there today because it is Cyber Monday and of course last Friday was Black Friday! I try not to participate in either one if I can help it. Go one step farther than just a gift at Christmas and think about a gift that has been provided for us all…and it doesn’t cost us anything!

Jesus came down from Heaven to be born as the Christ-child in a human body and from the very beginning, before the Earth was formed, He was chosen to be slain on a cross to pay for our sins! Blood from animals paid the price before He came, yet they were an imperfect payment because their sacrifice had to be performed each year, every year. His sacrifice was perfect, since He did not have a sin nature and didn’t sin during His life, yet He gave His life to the Father’s will so that we can come to the Father through belief in Jesus the Christ!

As Hebrews 7:27 says:  27 Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.

Jesus gave His life so that we might have eternal life with Him. It is a gift which cannot be bought by us, but it had a high price. The price of the Son of God and His life, death and resurrection to purchase our pardon if we will believe in Him. This is a story which has been told through thousands of sermons over the years since His ascension to be with God, a story which many have believed in and on for their salvation.

Today it seems that we have many who have been in the church all of their lives, hearing this message, sitting in the church week after week, who have not taken the steps to finalize being a Christian! Many believe wrongly that because they have been in the church and heard the message and read the Bible that they are saved. They may even be fine upstanding members of the church, volunteering for all kinds of selfless positions and committees in the church. But…are they saved? Are you saved?

Are you sure?

Why do I bring this up now? Because, you and I need to be absolutely sure of our salvation! Why? Because, there are no second chances! If you left the church one Sunday morning or evening and just before you get home, you had a terrible accident which took your life. How would you feel standing before God and seeing your life and your opportunities shown before you, yet you are not saved. You didn’t act when the Spirit moved you in the revival meeting or when you felt Him touch you during a service because you thought you were OK. What a terrifying feeling it will be to hear, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”

Your eternity lies before you, but it won’t be an eternity in Heaven. It will be one where you feel the burn of loss and the frustration and anger which can only be turned upon yourself because you thought that you already had something and you really didn’t. Nothing can change that now because your decision was made before your death.

Have you decided which direction that you want to go? Most everyone you ask on the street thinks that they have been a good person and they deserve to go to Heaven. How will you feel if your righteousness is not covered by the Blood of Jesus? Is your righteousness better than that of the Pharisees or about the same?

Think about it and consider doing something about it! If you felt the call of the Spirit and didn’t act, make sure that you do…soon!