Category: By faith

Our Good Shepherd


In Psalm 23 David begins with “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”. There are many ideas and interpretations of that phrase but mostly it has to do with your Spiritual life not your physical one. The Lord provides physical food and the ability to do your job and get the things which you need, but the last four words do not mean that you will be wealthy. It means that you won’t be in need of anything beyond His will to provide it for you. God’s will overcomes all obstacles from disease and famine to relationships between Himself and you or your family.

That doesn’t mean that He overrules your choice or your right to choose because God doesn’t force His will on us. But He does provide for us in every way and in every situation. There are times when we don’t see His hand in our lives and we feel as if He has left us to fend for ourselves but God is still close to you and me. We are never truly alone if we are Christians. If you have rejected Jesus as your Savior, God is still close by but He isn’t as close as He could be in your life. Particularly if He knows that you can do something in His Kingdom that nobody else can do. God will keep touching your life until you finally realize that you need Him as your Savior.

God has loved mankind since the dawn of Creation and before. We will never know the depth of His love for us until we are in His Presence and even then it may be too much to take in, even with our glorified bodies. Jesus came to bring His message of love to everyone, Israel first and then the rest of humanity, but many people rejected His message and still do. Is it too simple or is it just simple enough? I don’t know. I do know that some don’t place much faith in salvation in which we don’t have a part in bringing it about. They don’t like “free” gifts from God. They would rather work for their salvation to help God save their soul but our works are not necessary because Jesus did everything that needed to be done, all we have to do is accept it and believe that He did it for us!

Salvation is a gift from God to us through our belief in Jesus for our eternal soul. We can’t save ourselves and our idea of working for our eternal soul is flawed because of our fallen state. Any righteous act on our part and apart from Jesus is nothing more than rags. Because when we do anything in our own strength to “help” God save us, we are stepping out of His will and into our own. God doesn’t need or want our help in redeeming us because Jesus already accomplished it. All we have to do is believe that He did and repent of our sinful lives so we can follow His footsteps to becoming more like Jesus every day.

God knows your heart


How many of us have considered the fact of the Scripture which says that “God searches the hearts of man”? What does that mean to us in the 21st century? 

Many people seem to look at Christians and think that we are backward and that we follow a “god” in blind faith but that is not true. We have faith in God, the God of Creation, and we have the faith which says that we believe His Word and His Works on this Earth. It is not a faith that is blind, and although you can’t see God you can see the works of His hands all around you. Does He know you and me? Yes, He does! He formed us in our mother’s womb to be the people who we are. We were born to parents who could nurture us in the ways and knowledge of Him. 

While it is true that some of us didn’t have parents who would do this, God knows our hearts and He will bring us into His service when it is time. For some of us, it will take a little while longer than others, but eventually, we will learn that we are special to God and our talents were given to us for a reason. Our abilities and our faith in Him will bring us to the point of being useful for His Kingdom. It took three years for the disciples of Jesus to learn enough about the Kingdom which He was teaching them about so that they could go out and tell others about His love for them. But the Holy Spirit, which Jesus sent to them after He ascended to the Father, worked through them and the church grew substantially during the first few years and continued to grow from that point on.

Is the church still growing today? Yes, it is although in some countries it is slipping a bit like it is in America. We have become complacent and apathetic in our pursuit of Jesus and the culture that we are living in now doesn’t think that God’s Word and His message are relevant today. Why is that? Mainly because we have been silent on the issues and outside the church. We haven’t been taking the whole Truth of God with us into the world. We come to church and get our fill of His wisdom on Sunday and then we leave the church building and our faith until the next time we meet.

Jesus told His disciples to be “fishers of men” but it seems that the church today has lost the meaning of that command. Making disciples of those we come into contact with is our mandate from God. God knows your heart and your sins whether you have confessed them or not. Make sure of your salvation in this life so you will have Life eternal with Him in the next one.

Do you live like Jonah?


In the book of Jonah, the prophet tries his best to run from God’s calling to take a message to Nineveh. Not because he doesn’t want to take the message, although that was part of it, but because he wants God’s judgment to fall on them rather than a revival coming to their country. He knows that God is merciful and He will forgive them if they turn from their sins and seek Him because of the warning that God told him to bring to the people of Nineveh.

Jonah 1:1-4 says:

1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”

3 Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

The Great Storm (Jeremiah 6:10-21; Jeremiah 25:15-33; Acts 27:13-26; Romans 1:18-32)

4 Then the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship was in danger of breaking apart.

Wickedness or sin is lawlessness or transgressing the Law of God and it cannot be hidden or covered up, but we try to do this every day.

Proverbs 28: 13 says: 13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

God is willing to forgive our sins regardless of their “size” because all sin is abhorrent to God and Jesus paid the price for our sins to cover them and forgive us of their consequences. We look at our sins and think that that “little white lie” isn’t so bad. Not nearly as bad as the man who has murdered someone at least. But in the eyes of God, even though murder is a more grievous sin, any sin weighs the same because it is a transgression of God’s laws. When you break one of His laws it is the same as breaking them all.

Any sin in your life that has not been confessed and forgiven puts a door or a barrier between you and God until it is confessed and forgiven. God warned Cain before he slew his brother that “sin is crouching at your door and it desires to have you, but you must rule over it”. Genesis 4:7

God will judge our unacknowledged sins (Romans 2:16), “God will judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ”. I know it sounds like a harsh comparison for mankind to be judged according to the sinless Son of God but we, as Christians, are supposed to walk in His ways and seek to live a holy life. In our humanity and by our own strength we can’t do this but by reading God’s Word daily and carefully taking each thought into captivity we can be effective witnesses for Him.

Hiding sins, whether they are “small sins” or “Big sins”, isn’t possible because God knows your heart and your mind. Even if you haven’t given your heart and life to Him, when you stand before Him to be judged, every word and thought will be brought out into the open. That is a scary thing to consider since we rarely have complete control over our thoughts and many times we say things which we should’ve thought about first (but we don’t) and we end up with our foot in our mouth. In God’s economy and under His Laws, every sin weighs the same. We consider some as small and some as big but to Him they are all spots and blemishes on your record and they hinder you from enjoying life as He wants you to.

How far have you taken your faith?


In every place that you go, if you are a Christian, you take your faith and your beliefs with you. So make sure that you take Jesus with you every day and everywhere you go.

God loves each of us so much that He gave us this world to live in. Even though sometimes it is hard to live in, He loves you and He gives you the strength to make a difference. Take your faith with you no matter what someone says about your faith because Jesus knows your heart and He will give you the words that you need at the time.

He said that there is excitement and joy in Heaven when even one sinner comes to know Jesus as their Savior!

Everything that we have has been given to us by God. The air we breathe, the clothes we wear, our job, our family and our health are all gifts that we have because God deemed us worthy to have those gifts. We should go out into the world with our faith in Jesus and let others know about His love for them and to tell them that Jesus died for their sins so that they could have eternal life through belief in His sacrifice for them.

How much…


In a song back in the 70’s (ancient history, I know) there was a lady who wanted to buy the stairway to Heaven. In some ways it seems that there are people today who think that they can purchase their salvation or work their way up the ladder (stairway). It doesn’t work that way. Jesus came to Bethlehem as a baby and He lived His life as one of us, without sin, so that He could pay the price for ALL of mankind’s sins. If you believe in Him for your salvation then you will be in Heaven one day. If not…then you will be in hell with those who chose that pathway.

There is no gray area and no place where you can be saved and yet go back to your old life. If you are truly saved by Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes in and changes your heart, then you can’t go back to the “old way of life”. If you do, then you are likely not saved at all. You just thought you were. God knows the difference and you can tell it too, so make sure of your salvation while there is time, because when this life is over the chance to change is gone.

We must find our way to Jesus while we are yet alive here because when you cross the threshold of life and step into eternity there is no going back. Your eternity will be whatever you chose in this life. Whether it is to be in the Presence of God or to be punished in hell with those who didn’t make a choice (which is a choice) or who chose to follow their own “god”. Why we follow our own idea of “god” rather than believing the Word of God I’ll never understand. God made us in His image and yet we try to live our lives as if we made Him in our image. That is idolatry because you are making your own image of God and He cannot be God as you see fit to make Him.

God is our Creator. He is the Creator of all that is around us and in the universe. We cannot and should not try to place Him inside our little box which has limits on what “he can and cannot do”. God is limitless and unknowable except through the study and reading of His Word. He reveals as much of Himself as we can handle through it and when we get to a point where we can handle more of Him, then He will show us that much more of His character.

Make sure of your eternal home while you can so you will know what is in store after this life is over. Heaven with Jesus and friends or in hell with Satan and his “friends”. Either way it is your choice, so choose wisely. Eternity is a very long time.

What is a life with Christ?


A life with Christ is not what most people think about when they think of Christians. Many people seem to think that being a Christian is a life of lack, one in which all of the fun things in this life are forbidden. God has given us a life of abundance but not one which we should live as the rest of the world around us lives. God calls us to be “in the world but not of the world“; Christians should live in this world but we are not to follow those living in the world. The world around us follows the ruler of this world, Satan, who deceives the whole world because that is his purpose. This is why we should keep our lives separate from those living in the world.

A life with Jesus the Christ is one which should mirror His life on Earth. We may not be called to be evangelists or healers or teachers or even preachers, but we are called to be “set apart” as His followers. If for no other reason than to be a beacon of light in a world of darkness. Sometimes our speech shows other that our progress in following Jesus still has a way to go and that is when people wonder about our conversion and whether it is real or not. God can come into your heart and change you so completely until your manner of life, your speech and your personality, is completely changed but you have to be willing to walk with Him to get to this point.

God doesn’t force us to change because love cannot be forced upon anyone. But the very idea that Jesus came to give His life so that you have a chance at being accepted by God into His family should humble you to the point of your asking Him to mold me and make me what You want me to be. Because it is only by becoming the person that God wants you to be and the person that He knows you can be so that you can be the most useful to Him. Why does He want us to be “holy or set apart” from the world around us? Because if our life isn’t much different from the world and those living in it, why would anyone be interested in becoming a Christian?

It is only because of the lives that are changed that people can even tell that there is a difference between a Christian and a Muslim or a Buddhist. If we walk and talk like they do or even like those who do not believe in any religion, then how will people know that we are different? Why would they want to know what makes us different? Yes, we can say and tell others that we believe in Jesus as our Savior but if our speech and our life doesn’t actually reflect that then how can they know? Will they actually believe that what you say about your Savior is true if you still talk and act as if you don’t know Him?

A life with Christ in it should be a life with love and compassion for others in it. It should also be a life with more of God’s Word in it than the words of the world around us. Seek His wisdom today to help you to see what may be missing in your life and ask Him to come in and clean out the old stuff and make your heart and life fresh and new and completely whole in Him.

Is anything too hard for God?


In Genesis chapter 18 and verse 14, God asks “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Why do we test Him with our “burdens” when He can take care of them with no effort? It seems that we don’t think God, in this Internet age and in the 21st century, is the same God Who split the Red Sea and brought the people through on dry land. We know from Sunday school and Bible school that God is the same yesterday, today and forever but most of us only know this intellectually. We know it in our head but we may not believe it fully in our heart.

God created the whole universe with a word! Genesis even says it this way, “and He created the stars also”. It sounds like an afterthought doesn’t it? But when you look at the pictures of the universe and everything that is out there…you know that God doesn’t do afterthoughts. He knows the name of every star out there, not just the ones that we can see in the constellations. Every star in every galaxy in the entire universe, trillions in number, God knows them all and it is His power which holds all of them together in their orbits and their courses.

The problem with humanity is that we read this in His Word but we can’t prove it. We can’t see it happening. Like the servant who thought that he and his master were about to be killed and his master prayed for God to open his eyes so he could see that “those who are on our side are greater than those against us”!

Nothing is too hard for God of course. But why do we question whether He will do what His Word says? Do we truly doubt God’s promises or His ability to do what is promised? In today’s world, Satan has caused humanity to doubt God’s existence and His abilities. Even though many don’t even believe that Satan exists either. Of course, that is his plan as well. That of course, brings into question the whole Bible itself and that is also his plan. If he can get us to question God’s existence or the veracity of His Word then belief in Him and His plan of salvation will also be questioned.

There is nothing too hard for God and everything that is happening in our world is allowed by Him because it is part of His plan to bring as many as possible to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Many people outside the United States are coming to know Jesus as their savior while there are many in the United States who are walking away from the church and their belief in God. Because our country has been pushing God out of many areas of education and family life for years. I pray that there will be an awakening and a revival of faith in our country but that is completely in God’s hands now.

God created all of these stars and planets. The size of them should inspire awe in us because He brought them into existence with His Word and nothing else.

Lifetime service


Do you think it takes a lifetime of service to get into Heaven? It doesn’t take any time at all really. Consider the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He asked the Lord to remember him when He came into His Kingdom and Jesus said “you shall be with Me in Paradise today“. He didn’t get a chance to be baptized or to witness to anyone personally, although he has witnessed to thousands or millions since then. No, being of service to Jesus doesn’t take years and it is not required or necessary to be granted passage into Heaven. All that you need is a repentant heart and a belief in Jesus as your Savior and you will be saved.

When that day comes for you, please don’t turn away from Him. You will feel His touch in your life and you may even know for sure that it is Jesus. Don’t turn away from His call for you to be adopted into God’s family. He loves you and He paid the price for your salvation and it is a gift waiting for you to accept it.

Your soul means so much to God until His Son died just to give you an eternity with Him. Our God is AWESOME!!

It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past, your future is secure in Jesus if you will ask Him to come into your heart and change you into the person that you can be. He knows how effective you will be in your ministry, He is just waiting for you to accept the job!

A Joy that you cannot lose!


In the world that we live in, it seems impossible to say those words but if you are a Christian and you know without a doubt that you are saved by the blood of Jesus…then you should feel that joy! Why? Because no matter what your circumstances are here on Earth, your future, your eternity is sealed in Jesus Christ. All of us who believe in Him for our salvation have that assurance in Him that our home is secure regardless of what happens here on Earth. If we are here when the Trumpet sounds we will meet Him in the air. If we are dead, we are already with Him but our body will be united with us at that time. Our home and our hope is in Him and His promises are sure and they always have been.

God does not lie so when you read about a life in Heaven with Him for eternity it is true! We will work for Him and with Him for all of that time because for us time won’t mean anything from that point on. Some people may think that it will be boring but the disciples weren’t bored during His ministry for three years and I don’t think we will be bored or unsatisfied while we are in His Presence. God loves each of us with a love that, right now, we can’t understand.

But, if you can imagine a river with living water flowing in it which quenches every thirst and every desire that you could have and just drinking from it does exactly that! Every desire, every want or need or every sorrow quenched and filled to overflowing just by drinking it or stepping into it…how unbelievably wonderful that would be!

The living water you experience when you read His Word. Maybe not as complete and unbelievable as the river in heaven but if you allow God’s Spirit to show you what His love is really like it could be. Most of us today tend to read a few verses or maybe a chapter or two and listen to a preacher tell us what has been laid upon his heart to say about these verses and then we close the Bible and go home. What a waste! God’s Word has so much to say until reading it every day for nearly a decade I’ve not scratched the surface yet. I always find something new or fresh when I read it.

If there was a fountain on Earth which had living water in it, there would be wars fought for its possession. That is why it is only available to those who go to Heaven. Jesus died to pay the debt of our sins so that we could have a chance to be in Heaven and have salvation through Him. Please don’t turn away from the call of the Spirit when you feel it because you may not get another chance.

Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life. Please don’t turn away from Him.

Too much…


Do you believe that your life and your sins are too much for God to love or to forgive? No, there is no sin which God can’t or won’t forgive. The only sin which God won’t forgive us for is our sin of neglecting our salvation by refusing to accept Jesus as our salvation. It is OUR decision to refuse this gift of God and by refusing to accept His gift of salvation we are condemned already. It is not God or even Jesus who condemns you to hell but it is your own action and your own decision to refuse God’s gift to each of us through the sacrifice of Jesus to take the punishment for your sins. He paid the price so you would not have to, but by refusing to accept and believe this you condemn yourself to hell.

There are more sins and heinous actions which have been done in all of the time which mankind has been on Earth and yet Jesus’ sacrifice covered them all, if the people would accept Him as their Savior.

Truthfully, there is no pathway to Heaven except through belief in the work and the person of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. Repent therefore and turn away from your sins, even if they are many, and you shall be saved. In Jesus’ name I pray for all who read this. Amen