Category: By faith

The wages of a sinful life


In Romans 6:23, Paul writes that “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”.

Why would God give us such a gift? It is worth more than we could ever begin to pay because there is no way that we can earn our way into heaven! But God sent Jesus Christ to Bethlehem as a human baby born to Mary the wife of Joseph. He came into the world as the son of David through His Earthly father and mother but He had the nature of God the Father. He came with no sin and He never faltered throughout His life. Just so He could go through the punishment of a criminal and be scourged and then hung up on a cross to die for humanity’s sins.

God the Father sent Jesus the Son to bear humanity’s shame and punishment, paying for our sins before most of us had even been born. I don’t know what the population of the world was at the time but He had looked down through history and He could see many people who needed salvation which could only come by His sacrifice. Clearly, God loved and still loves each of us far more completely and more deeply than we could ever imagine.

Your salvation and mine only comes by our belief in Jesus and our taking that belief into our hearts. Repenting of those sins which all of us have and seeking His Kingdom and His teachings so that we could be His until our death and then into eternity. It is our choice to do this but God already knows who will make that choice and who will not. God strung together your DNA in order to send you and many others like you and me into the world to be doctors or teachers or farmers or nurses but in doing so, He also knew which person would be a good fit for being a Christian. Your personality, your strength and your witness were all known before you were born. Just as God told Jeremiah, “….in the womb you were consecrated to Me”.

God loves each of us so much that He sent His own Son to die for our sins, paying the penalty for them and making atonement for us so that we could be allowed in His Presence one day. Isn’t that AWESOME! It is also humbling because the Creator of the universe cares about us on this little ball of dirt that He created for us. Life on this planet didn’t evolve from a single cell into multiple cells and then one day become all of life on this world! It was created in the mind of God and brought into existence by Him and for His pleasure. Why? I have no idea, but God does. Give Jesus your heart and make sure that it is done as soon as possible because not one of us knows how long we have to live and that decision has to be made while we live.

There are always two


It sounds like I’m channeling Master Yoda but what I am speaking or writing about is that there really are two, sometimes more but always 2. In our world the Lord shows us that in every situation there are 2 sides. Dark and light, good and bad, black and white, morning and evening. So how do we navigate in the gray areas that our culture insists on? God doesn’t show any gray areas. You are either in the light or the dark with no gray area in between.

How do we fix this? Truthfully, we can’t. It is a choice that we must make and it is an individual choice, not a collective one. Each of us must choose the side that we feel is the one that God is calling us to. I know that many people don’t believe in God as their Savior, but life requires a choice regardless of your beliefs. Because there is evil in our world and there is overwhelming love and goodness too. You see it and hear about it on the news or on your computer every day. Many people wonder why God allows the evil and the hatred that we see around us? That is where our choices come into the picture.

There are always two choices and just like the cartoon where the little demon was on one shoulder and the angel was on the other, those really are our choices every day. We can listen to one or the other and make a choice and it is that choice which determines how our day or our week turns out. When you look at the world with your spiritual eyes you can easily see that there aren’t any “gray areas” at all. You are either saved through faith in Jesus or you are not. You either believe in Him for your salvation or you just believe that He exists because it says so in the Bible which does not save your soul.

Our eternity stands or falls on one of two choices. Believe in Jesus for your salvation or choose not to believe in Him and go to hell. These choices have to be made in this life today! Why? Because we are not guaranteed a certain number of years before we die. I could die before I finish this or I could live another twenty years or so. With the pains that I have in my hands and my neck now I really don’t want to add another twenty years to it. My point is that we don’t know when our last day is, so choose which way you are going to go now…today.

Life is different today…


What do we do during this crisis? We live through it each day, one day at a time. Some days we even live hours or minutes at a time depending on our health and that of our loved ones. Life is very different today than it was six months or a year ago. We are trying to fight a virus that doesn’t kill everyone who is infected but those who have other “health challenges” such as diabetes or heart disease or COPD may not live through the infection. Sometimes it seems that it is age-related and sometimes it isn’t because there have been many young people who have died because of it.

Why? I think this time in history and the things which we are going through are God’s way of telling us to wake up and seek Him. Get out of your rut and the feeling that you are the only one that is experiencing what is happening in your life! God loves you and He is trying to get everyone’s attention but if you feel that He is calling you…please don’t walk away from it. Yes, life is different today, much different than we have had to endure in the past but God is still in control.

I know the questions: “Why are we being testing with this disease?” “Why does the world have to endure this?”

Because sometimes it takes a little hardship and the fear that comes with the virus to cause each of us to look at our lives and realize that there is more to this life than the self-centered way we’ve been living it. God is waiting to show you what He has in store for you. Not bad things but an abundant life into eternity with Him. God doesn’t place burdens on us that we can’t handle but sometimes we need His strength and His Spirit to get through the problem better than we could ever do it on our own.

We will not be beaten down by this problem regardless of the country you may live in because God is bigger than any problem or disease that we could ever face. Stay close to Him, follow Him and ask Him to be your Savior because He can heal every disease and give you strength to get through every problem in your life here and into eternity!

What will you do?


One day the church, all believers, will be taken out of this world. If you don’t believe in Jesus for your salvation or even in the Bible or God either…you will be left here to go through what the Bible calls the Tribulation. This time will last for seven years and the beginning of it will be a seven year treaty which will be signed by all of the nations which want to destroy Israel. After the church, all believers in Jesus for their salvation, is taken up there will be all sorts of “explanations” for this, none of them will come from the Bible. Many people in the world will actually celebrate the fact that “the church” is gone, or they will think it is.

God will still call some people during this time to give their hearts to Jesus and be His witnesses around the world but they will be persecuted severely. My advice to those who are left here is to find a church and go inside it and locate a Bible, especially if you don’t have one. There may be other literature that will also help you to understand what you read and what it means for your salvation. Take advantage of these resources because the Antichrist and those following him will be destroying any book or building which had a congregation of believers. They do not want you to find hope in Jesus!

The last book in the Bible is the book of Revelation. In it Jesus told John to write many prophecies down which would only come true after the church, the believers, have been taken away because they are the bride of Christ. It tells of the churches which will be around at the time or just before the rapture of the church, some of which we have today. One will be a church which thinks they are working for God and His Kingdom but they aren’t doing a very good job of it. One church has lost sight of their first love which is Jesus. One church was on fire for the Lord but they have lost that fire and become “lukewarm” in their teachings and their works for Him. In a sense they have watered down the message so that it no longer means what it should mean. We see evidence of that today.

I pray that anyone who reads this will seek out your Savior now! Before the church is taken up because the threats of death during the Tribulation and the strong delusion which will come upon those who are still here, even if you have knowledge of the Bible, will cause you to take the mark of the beast. If you do that, your soul is lost and you will be thrown into hell one day…if you survive long enough. The time of the “church age” or the age of Grace is coming to an end, very likely in our lifetime. I pray that anyone who reads this blog will seek out Jesus as your Savior, give your heart to Him and even if it is after the church is taken away keep your faith in Him.

Don’t wander into the belief that the current “savior” is the one. Read and study the Bible if you can find one. Find a place that you can grow your own vegetables and try your best to stay off of the grid if possible. Why do I suggest this? Because without the mark, you won’t be able to buy or sell gas for your vehicle or food or electricity but your soul has a place in heaven! I pray that anyone who may be searching for a Savior will seek Jesus Christ in the Bible and give your heart to Him. God has never left us and He loves you more than you can imagine. Read His Word and seek Him out before the day comes when you will truly have to choose between life with Jesus or death by beheading because you don’t have the mark.

Are you confessed or conceited?


There’s more hope for a confessed sinner than there is for a conceited believer. Whoa!

Why? Because of pride. Now, wait a minute. Why should I think about pride?

Pride is the root of every sin and every decision which causes us to try to be more than we can be. Pride causes us to try to do it ourselves and not seek God’s help until we really have to.

A confessed sinner has come to the point where he or she knows that they have sinned and they’re ready to ask for God’s forgiveness. A believer who is conceited has allowed his pride in his “salvation” or even in the fancy church that he belongs to, to cloud his view of his sins.

Why would a person who is saved be so prideful? It could be because they only think they are saved. Pride is the original root of all sins. That’s why Christians should endeavor to stay humble. Don’t ever think or believe that you are more important to God than anyone else! God loves each of us and He cares for each of us far more deeply than we can understand. We are not just “animals” that He placed here! God formed Adam with His hands and then blew the Breath of Life into him so he would become a man with a soul.

The truth found in God’s Word is the truth that our world, and everyone in it, needs to hear. Whether they will understand it and take it to heart enough to seek their Savior is another thought entirely. God knows who will and who won’t accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and one day soon He will send the angels to blow His Trumpet and call His Bride, the church, home. The bad thing about that day will be those who thought they were saved but weren’t. Especially if it happens on a morning that church services are going on.

What is salvation?


Well…it depends upon what a person is being saved from? Salvation can be many things to many people. You can be saved from physical death by a seat belt in a car or an air bag or both. You could be saved from a life of being filthy rich by your circumstances or by God’s grace, whichever you prefer. Salvation, for a Christian, is being saved from the punishment of hell that we deserve but by God’s grace our faith in Jesus atones for all of our sins and allows us to come before Him with no blemish of sin on our person. You could receive salvation from drowning by someone throwing a lifeline with a float attached to it.

So you see, salvation can come to each of us in different forms and at different times but the one that most of us are seeking is our salvation from the punishment that we deserve for our sins. God is our Creator and our Savior which is why He came to live as a human for about thirty three years. He came so that He would know the temptations that we experience not to judge us for those but to call us into a life with Him. Sometimes the call that we hear from Him comes when we are young and sometimes we don’t hear it until we are a bit older.

There is one illustration that I would like to give here which points out the reality that our Savior gives to us and to no others in Creation.

“The life of Christianity consists of possessive pronouns” says Martin Luther. It is one thing to say, “Christ is a Saviour”; it is quite another thing to say, “He is my Saviour and my Lord.” The devil can say the first; the true Christian alone can say the second. Resource, July/August, 1990.

To claim our salvation we must come to a realization that we need Jesus in our heart to save us. God does that when His Spirit reaches down and touches your heart, breaks it and re-molds it into a heart that is ready for His gift. Sometimes this is painful but sometimes it is something that we have sought for a long time and in that instance it feels so good to get the burden of years of carrying the guilt and the shame with us all of the time.

Only a Christian can say “Christ is my Savior and my Lord”. If you can’t confidently say that is feel in your heart that it is true then you may want to seek the Lord for confirmation of your salvation. Do you believe it or are you just saying words? God came down as a helpless baby to live as we live so that He could identify with every emotion and temptation that we have. He saw and healed many diseases while He was teaching His disciples about the Kingdom of God and that He has healing for every disease if we will believe in Him for our healing.

Some people only say the words. Some people read the Bible but they don’t believe a word of it. Its just a book of stories and the history of the Jewish people. It is so old that it doesn’t apply to us today.

All of the statements in the short paragraph above are false with parts of truth in them as well. “Now, hold on preacher! The Bible is the Word of God, it can’t be a lie!” The Bible is the history of the Jewish people but some people read it like a book. Some just think it is too old to apply to us now, and there are many people who truly don’t believe a word in it came from God.

Why is that important? Because, God inspired the prophets and kings to write the words which make up the Torah, which is our Old Testament. The apostles wrote their accounts of Jesus’ ministry and Paul wrote most of the prison epistles from a Roman prison but even they were under the influence of the Holy Spirit. If the Word, the Bible, is inspired by God and His Spirit, then it is true and there is no other way to interpret it.

Finally, salvation comes to us by faith in the Holy Spirit which convicts us of our need of salvation. Then He points us in the direction of Jesus Christ Who is our Savior and Lord to believe in Him for our salvation to become real and genuine. After that we should read God’s Word to know what we should do with all of this joy and grace that we’ve been given!

One thief lived even though he died


Jesus didn’t have to save the thief on the cross beside Him but He did it out of love because that was the reason He came for…to seek and to save the lost. Just the same as He does for us today. When you come to church on Sunday if you are not a Christian yet you are likely thinking “What am I doing here?”. Most of us wonder about the reason that we are in church but when God’s Spirit has touched you and let you know that you need Jesus in your life, there is very little which could’ve stopped you from being in church that day.

I don’t mean to say that it is an irresistible call but it truly is. You might skate by this Sunday but one day soon God will get you into a church to hear the gospel preached. Because you will be drawn to Jesus at that time. God didn’t have to send His Son to bring salvation to mankind but He did it because of His love for us. Will everyone be saved? No, because there are many in the world who won’t hear that small voice calling them or they will ignore it until it goes away.

Don’t be the person who has heard God speaking to your heart, asking you to come to Jesus but you didn’t feel like it or you had something else you wanted to do. Sometimes God will keep calling until you answer the call but sometimes it is just too late. An accident or a stroke or heart attack will take you from this world when you least expect it. Not one person knows when their “time is up” until it happens so if you haven’t made your decision yet then it is too late at that point.

Jubilee


How many of these have been celebrated since Jesus went back to heaven? The Jubilee year is the year after the 49th and it is complicated because of the Jewish calendar but for all practical purposes it is the 50th year. If you divide the past two thousand years by fifty you get 40 and if you bring it forward to the year we are in now, 2020, it is 40.4. What does all of this mean? It’s God’s math and I can’t tell you exactly what it means. In 1967 Jerusalem was brought back under Jewish rule. It had been one Jubilee since the Jews had been allowed back into Palestine as it was called and that happened in 1917 at the end of World War 1.

Fast forward to the 21st century and 2017 is a Jubilee year since Jerusalem had been brought back under Jewish control. Forty is a significant number in God’s Word, seven is also a significant number, 49 is a significant number, so where am I going with this? I’m not sure but since scientists usually take an answer out to the second digit past the decimal this year would actually be 40.40. Does that mean anything? I’m not sure but if I were you, I would be making very sure that you know Jesus as your Savior and especially make sure that He knows you!

God loves you!

No matter what you may have heard about God not caring about you, the verse in the picture above shows very clearly that He does love you and me and everyone else. It is our choice to believe in the One Who paid the price of our salvation and atonement or not. I pray that you will seek Him out as your Savior. Thank you for reading this little bit that His Spirit prompted me to write.

Remember…


Today is a day that America can’t forget. Some people do seem to forget about what happened on that morning 19 years ago but when they are reminded…it all comes rolling back into your memory like the clouds of dust and paper and concrete that filled the streets of New York. Many people died that morning. Most of them were at work or going to work. Some were on the planes which were hi-jacked to be used as bombs. No, we can’t forget that day and the horror of it and the fear of what is coming next.

Just like the attack on Pearl Harbor that Sunday morning in 1941, those who lived through it could never forget where they were. But the difference between the two attacks, separated by sixty years, is a very dark one. The one which happened at Pearl Harbor was done by a government and its soldiers and pilots. The attack which happened in New York was done by religious fanatics. They didn’t belong to one single government or country. They were united by an ideology of hatred. That is why the war on terror has been going on for so long. There is no specific place or people to look for or to blame other than their religion and the ideology which is taught by it.

I don’t blame the religion of Islam for this because just as they have told us for years, most of them are peaceful. But also God doesn’t want blame to be placed on this religion or that religion. God does love everyone in the world but He doesn’t love the sinful ways that many of them live in day in and day out. God provides a way for you to find peace and joy in life if you will repent from what you have been doing or worshiping and seek your salvation in Jesus Christ. Believe in Him like the thief on the cross, believe in Jesus like a little child because your salvation and your eternity depends on it.

Whether you believe in Jesus or God or not right at this time doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we are not guaranteed tomorrow so the time to seek your salvation in Jesus is now! Today is the day for your salvation. Read the book of Romans and 1 Corinthians because Paul told every person that he met that your salvation and your eternity depend on Who you place your faith and your belief in and that Person should be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Cling to Jesus!


I’ve heard this most of my life but until I read about how it should be done it truly never occurred to me. African-Americans have been wronged in so many ways, not just in America but even in their mother country as well. Many times it was one tribe who had conquered another tribe for their land or some other resource and then they would sell those to men who were willing to pay for them to be slaves in another country far away from their homes. Many of them didn’t even survive the trip in the ship because of such cramped conditions. Of those who did their life, if you can call it that, was miserable, hard and filled with pain and suffering.

My own ancestor came from either Ireland or Scotland, I’m not sure which, as an indentured slave to someone who could afford the trip to the New World as America was called at the time. I don’t know my ancestor’s name but since his skin was white he or she may not have had such a terrible time of it after arriving here. But I have read that some were just as cruelly treated as any other slave, regardless of skin color. Sometimes they might get a nominal education in order to do the job that their master needed them to do and sometimes they didn’t. Either way, regardless of their skin color, life was hard…much harder than it is today.

The one common thread that weaves through the Word of God is that faith and belief in God and the salvation that He offers grows tremendously when there is persecution involved. The Israelites held on to their faith when they were in bondage to Egypt. The early church was persecuted in horrible ways during the first few hundred years and in some countries today they still are, but the church itself grew in number even then. Faith seems to seek out the Savior when there is uncertainty and hardship regardless of nationality or skin color.

This is exactly what America NEEDS today…right NOW!! We need a solid anchor in the Truth of God’s Word. One that will not move and is always true in every instance that we need it for. Salvation, security, peace, hope, love, mercy and grace are all found in God’s Word and today the whole world needs these to be active and ALIVE in the church even if the church is located in someone’s home or basement.

Is slavery wrong? YES!! In every sense of the word. Child slavery, sex trafficking, and a host of other types of slavery that I didn’t mention…these are all wrong! Should we search out and destroy the places where this is practiced? That would be wonderful but I’m afraid that many in America would be surprised by how close to home this really is. We would be shocked and horrified by the realization that it involved someone we know or maybe even someone that we attend church with. I don’t know this for a fact, so don’t quote me here. But…it is possible.

The only person that could fix this is our Savior and our King, Jesus Christ. Many of these rings which conduct business in the middle of our cities and towns are only known as legitimate businesses. Even people that we do business with at least once or twice every month. It may not happen in small towns but it is possible

Every member of the church should dig deep into God’s Word and learn how He does things and then let your voice be heard. Make sure your voice is heard because if we don’t then the other side will and the country that will rise from their influence will be worse than the one we have now. If we aren’t going to make our voice, as the church, heard then we aren’t helping anyone. God sent His Son to pay the price for our sins and the least we can do is follow in His footsteps. Letting others know about our wonderful Savior and His love for them. If we don’t do that then we aren’t really His followers at all.