Category: By faith

Be ready, look up!


Look up…

When the trumpet of God sounds, what will you be doing? Are you working for His Kingdom or just working to pay your bills? Well…it depends on what time of day that He blows the trumpet. If it is in the night, most of the world or at least half of it will be asleep. If it is the early morning, like right after sunrise, then many will be getting up and preparing for the day to come. Whether it is getting ready for school or work, that is what they will be doing, regardless of their age.

What about the people who don’t know Jesus yet? Truthfully, they will be doing mostly the same things that we are, except some of us will be reading God’s Word and doing our daily Bible study, if we are in the habit of doing that. It is a shame that many Christians miss out on the freshness of God’s Word in the morning simply by NOT studying His Word before going to school or work. Why do I say this? Because reading and praying for God to reveal His wisdom for you from His Word is just a good way of starting the day off on the right foot.

Are we commanded to do so? Well, no, God doesn’t tell us that it is a commandment but He did say “Meditate on the Scriptures day and night”; so in a way, He did say that we should read His Word daily. Whether we choose to do it in the early morning or in the afternoon or evening is our choice, but it would get the day started better if you would begin your day by being in His Word.

God loves us beyond our measure and yet we don’t usually seek Him out until something is wrong or something is going wrong in our lives. Many people seem to be brought up with that sense of not needing God until ?. It isn’t good for us to try to live our lives daily, let alone throughout the year, without Him as part of our lives. What good does that do you?

Your Father in Heaven is the Creator and if you don’t want anything to do with Him don’t you believe that hurts His feelings? I know there are some who don’t believe in God or Jesus or a Creator and that is fine, but it is foolish. Our universe did not just create itself and it didn’t organize itself without God’s hand guiding it to be what He intended it to be and to do His will.

On that day when the trumpet sounds, will it be audible for all to hear or will it be audible for only those who have given their hearts to Jesus? Honestly, I have no idea! It could be the loudest trumpet blast in history or it may be only audible to the ears of those who have been waiting for it eagerly. Either way, it is going to happen soon and by that, I mean within my lifetime.

So, look up expecting to hear or see something beyond amazing but also terrifying. Why? Because, if you see it happen or hear it and you are not part of it, then you will need to seek out God fast! Because the world is going to go into a tailspin and there will be a delusion, sent to the Earth, which will allow people to believe the lie that they will be told about what happened. This is what the Bible speaks of in 1 Thessalonians 4, about being taken up in a moment: 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

This is the rapture of the Church, of those who believed in Jesus and His message. No matter the denomination, those who have truly believed and have been changed by the Holy Spirit will be taken up into Heaven, changed into our immortal bodies and be with Him forever. Jesus told the thief this while they were on their crosses before Jesus said: “It is finished.” He said, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise”. No waiting for the end of the age when all will be awakened to their punishment or their reward,  and when you die you will be taken from your body to be judged to receive your reward or your punishment.

Make sure of which one it will be while in this life, because after death there will be no second chances.

What kind of love do you have?


God loves each of us with our faults and our imperfections, we can love our children without a reason other than they are our kids. I love my wife because she is a gift from God! Have you ever considered what kind of love do you have in your life?

I do realize that there are people who have not been loved very much in their lives and it is a very sad thing. Because, if they have never felt loved by their parents or grandparents or their spouse then how can they love themselves or others? Love is one emotion which multiplies when it is given to another, most of the time. If you give your love to someone and they don’t return it in kind, then it is like a water hose hitting a rock, it splashes a lot but it will take a long time to penetrate.

Life feels empty and hollow when there is a feeling of being unloved. Here is the only case study that I could find to show the effect of a lack of affection:

CASE STUDY

In the United States, 1944, an experiment was conducted on 40 newborn infants to determine whether individuals could thrive alone on basic physiological needs without affection. Twenty newborn infants were housed in a special facility where they had caregivers who would go in to feed them, bathe them and change their diapers, but they would do nothing else. The caregivers had been instructed not to look at or touch the babies more than what was necessary, never communicating with them. All their physical needs were attended to scrupulously and the environment was kept sterile, none of the babies becoming ill.

The experiment was halted after four months, by which time, at least half of the babies had died at that point. At least two more died even after being rescued and brought into a more natural familial environment. There was no physiological cause for the babies’ deaths; they were all physically very healthy. Before each baby died, there was a period where they would stop verbalizing and trying to engage with their caregivers, generally, stop moving, nor cry or even change expression; death would follow shortly. The babies who had “given up” before being rescued, died in the same manner, even though they had been removed from the experimental conditions.

The conclusion was that nurturing is actually a very vital need in humans. Whilst this was taking place, in a separate facility, the second group of twenty newborn infants were raised with all their basic physiological needs provided and the addition of affection from the caregivers. This time, however, the outcome was as expected, no deaths encountered.

Here is the link to this if you would like to check it for yourself. Truly, we need nurturing development regardless of our age. The same goes for your relationship with your spouse or with Jesus. Your spouse can withhold any or all of the affection that is needed in a relationship, but your relationship will suffer greatly because of it.

Jesus doesn’t keep His love from us because He showed His love to all of us by His death and resurrection! He did that even though most of us were still sinners. Why do I say this? Because the population of the world at the time was much smaller than it is today. Yet, He died for our sins whether we were actually living at the time or not! “But, that doesn’t make sense?” you might ask. It does when you consider that God can see ALL of history since He is outside of time. He can see and know every person that ever lived even though they may not be physically alive at this moment.

That is why He says to one of His prophets: “I knew you before you were“. God loves each of us because of what He knows about us even before we are born. Make sure that your life reflects His love toward anyone that you meet daily. Begin your day with a reading of His Word, maybe just a few verses to begin with. Working up to a chapter each day will wash your mind and heart with His Word before any other stuff happens in your walk with Him.

Seek Him through the Bible, learn His voice by reading His Word, pray and ask Him to give you an understanding of His Word and when the Holy Spirit draws you to Him…please don’t turn away from His call.

Are you worried?


Anxiety and worry is the contemplation of your future without God in it. Who would do this in this day and time? But, worry and anxiety cause much stress and disease in the day that we live in today. Jesus said that we should not worry, leave your worries with God and He will take care of you. Yet, do we believe it? Really?

Pleanuts-worry-cartoonWith all of the self-help books being sold by “Christian” writers who make many thousands of dollars because of our anxiety, I don’t think we leave our worries and anxiety with God. Can we become more or less worrisome? I suppose it is because of our own pride, we want to be the fixer of the problem, we want to take the anxiety away from our family…but can we? Is it possible for one of us to actually do that thing?

In today’s society, no matter where you might live, money is the one blessing that can take away most of our worries and our anxieties. With the exception of diseases like cancer or deadly infections, money actually can take away our problems. In some ways, money can help with those diseases or infections because if you have enough you can find the best doctors and the best care, no matter how far you have to go to get it.

Contemplation of a day without God in it is a day which I would not want to live through. We need God in our lives every day, every night and at all times.

Denis Lyle, a Baptist pastor in Belfast, Northern Ireland, tells the story of a tourist who visited a beautiful mansion on a lovely lakeshore in Switzerland. The house was spotless and surrounded by well-kept gardens connected by tidy pathways. There wasn’t a weed in sight.

“How long have you been caretaker here?” the tourist asked the gardener. “I’ve been here twenty years.”

“And during that time, how often has the owner of the property been in residence?” The gardener smiled. “He has been here only four times.”

“And to think,” the visitor exclaimed, “all these years you’ve kept this house and garden in such superb condition. You tend it as if you expect him to come tomorrow.”

“Oh no,” replied the gardener, “I look after them as if I expect him to come today.” Denis Lyle, Countdown to Apocalypse (Belfast; Ambassador Books, 1999), 21.

All of us who are watching for our Lord’s return should live our lives as if He were coming today! Yet, most of the Christian world doesn’t. Many of them pray and read a little Scripture and some of them do this on a daily schedule, but the majority of people who claim to be Christians don’t. Why do you think that is with all of the things going on around the world today?

I think that instead of being anxious or worrying about our Lord’s return, we have become apathetic about it. Why? Because there have been many people in the past few hundred years who claimed that Jesus was returning on this date and time and it didn’t happen. Too many people get the idea that they know because of signs and seasons and the trials which are being felt in some churches that God is going to send for His church on a certain date or time. Of course, the problem with this is that only God knows when that day and hour is, we do not.

Truly, we are not supposed to be anxious about His coming or the rapture of the church, just be ready! Yes, it could happen tomorrow or it might be next year or maybe in six months, but live your life as a Christian in light of the nearness of His coming so that He does find you working or telling others about Him.

Who is driving?


Have you ever seen those bumper stickers which say something like this: Jesus is my co-pilot? Do you realize what that even means? In a Christian’s life, Jesus is not supposed to be the co-pilot, He is supposed to be THE Pilot! The problem is that we have a very hard time when it comes to giving God or Jesus control over every area of our life. Most of us walk around or drive around with a prayer on our minds or maybe a Bible verse on a sticky note on the console to remind us that we are supposed to be like Jesus.

WalkingwithJesusThe problem with that is that God is not and doesn’t want to be your second, He wants to be first in all that you are and in everything that you do, no matter how small you think it might be. Our lives are small compared to the majesty and glory of our sinless God, but He wants to be part of your daily life, not just someone that you call on in a time of crisis. God loves you deeply or He wouldn’t have given His Son’s life for you and every person on Earth! While it is true that Jesus didn’t stay dead, thankfully, the shedding of His blood was part of the sacrifice which had to be given in order to bring salvation to all who will believe in Him!

No, God doesn’t want to be your co-pilot, He wants to be the driver of your everyday life. Yet, many people stick Him in a place which only gives us a little taste of being a Christian. We visit Him in church on Sunday and Wednesday nights, but we leave Him in the church when we leave. We take a memory of Him with us on the way to work on Monday, but by Thursday we have forgotten that He is there anyway.

We should ride along with Him each day, no matter what may be going on in our lives. He came to the Garden and walked with Adam every day, Adam could probably see His feet in the grass or see His back as they walked along. Could we have that kind of relationship with God? I don’t think we will see any part of Him until we meet Him face to face in Heaven, but I am looking forward to it.

Why do I bring this type of walk with our Lord up now? Because I don’t think that this type of relationship is being taught in Sunday school. God does want a relationship with us that is much more than a once or twice a week visit. He wants to be a part of your life and mine every single day, from the time you wake up until you go to sleep at night. Some people may find this weird, but ever since I accepted the calling of being a preacher I have tried to live my life with Him in it every day. Some days I fail at it pretty badly and some days it goes along pretty smoothly.

The only person Who ever walked with Him perfectly was Jesus, so we are not expected to be perfect just strive toward that goal. Will you fall down or fail at this? Yes, it is very likely but He will help you up and then you can begin again. You don’t lose your salvation just because you trip and fall or give over to a temptation which comes your way. God is not going to kick you out just because you tripped up today or last week because He loves you!

Be not conformed to this world


Why not, you might ask?

All of the wonders of this world are ours to enjoy, so why should I just ignore them? Because, if you have given your life to Jesus then you are not part of this world. You belong to Him. But, Jesus did not say that we couldn’t enjoy the world with all of its wondrous beauty. He meant for us to stay away from the worldly pleasures of drinking and using drugs and the sin that those can lead you into.

LoveOfChristBe not conformed to this world is an admonishment against following the crowd and doing what everyone else seems to be doing. Walk your path through life with Jesus by your side and realize that once you have given your heart to Him, He is always near you regardless of where you go. Jesus is the potter and we are the clay and we are to allow Him to mold us and make us into an image which closely resembles Him in almost all respects.

Why should you follow Him this closely? Because He died to save your soul and if you truly are a Christian you will want to be near Him and take Him everywhere with you. He died in order that you might be set free from sin and its deception in this life and to give you access to an eternal life which we cannot imagine or comprehend from where we are now. There have been a few people who have been blessed with visions or even a spiritual trip to Heaven for a little while and when they come back to finish their life here…they can’t explain nor describe the colors or sounds that they heard and saw there!

I think the little boy, who died for a few minutes in the book Heaven is Real, saw the people in his family so that he could come back and tell us that our life up in Heaven will be unbelievable to people here unless we can make sense out of Heaven. He did make sense of it because Jesus wanted him to know and be able to give hope to people when he came back.

God loves you so deeply that He sent Jesus to die for your sins and everyone else’s sins too. He may not call every person on the planet to get to know Him, but He loves you just the same. If you diligently and earnestly seek Him in the Bible and by prayer, I don’t believe that God would refuse your prayer of repentance and request to allow Jesus into your heart and life.

Does God know which of us will ask Jesus into their heart? I am sure He does or He isn’t God! Does He know which of us will actually accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Yes, again if He doesn’t know that, then HE isn’t God! God doesn’t say that He will refuse you when you pray earnestly and mean every word of your prayer. But, if you pray in a manner which is just a mockery of God and essentially laughing in His face then He will not listen to that prayer.

The Bible does say, “be not deceived, God is not mocked” because whatsoever a man sows in his life, that is what he will reap. God is the Creator of ALL, and He is terrible when He is angry so I wouldn’t recommend that you try His patience or His anger. He loves us deeply, far more than we can imagine or comprehend, so please ask Him into your life before it is too late. After you die, there will be no second chances.

Face(Bible)time


In our culture today we have put the Bible down and we turn to social media such as Facetime from Apple and Facebook online in order to see what is going on with our friends and sometimes family in our community. We have abandoned God’s Word and many in the church don’t even believe that it is the inspired Word of God.

What happened?

Have we truly lost our way as far as God’s Word is concerned? Have we moved so far away from God until we will accept almost any religion or doctrine? I pray that we haven’t gone that far!

God has never left us alone or without His Presence and yet America seems to be moving away from belief in Him. Not only America but much of the world doesn’t give Him any credit for being our Creator anymore. It seems that there are more Christians in Korea and China and even India than there are in America today! What went wrong?

At one time America was sending out missionaries to many places all over the world. Now, there are missionaries coming to America to bring Christianity and other religions here. I had always thought that the church or the body of believers in America was larger than it is, but I suppose I was wrong. Just because a person claims to be a Christian doesn’t make them a Christian.

Much of America claims to be a Christian but lately, some statistics show that the real percentage is much lower than the seventy percent which is claimed. God has not given up on us, so why are we giving up on Him or the verity of His Word? As Christians, God’s Word is our lifeline and the standard by which every instance in life is supposed to be judged by. Thinking that the Bible is only true in certain situations is like saying that the Sun may come up tomorrow, but I am not sure of it.

Get into the Word of God so that your walk with Him will be more productive. If you are wondering why that will happen, then you haven’t read the Bible enough. You can’t be productive as a Christian without knowing what God’s voice is like and you can’t recognize Him unless you have read and studied His Word. Especially if you only read it during a sermon or on the weekends.

God loves you and He will never leave you in a situation that He can’t get you out of or at least give you the strength to get through it.

 

 

God loves you!


AllRoneinJesusDuring my life, I have seen Christian attitudes change. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse, but the love of God is for everyone, regardless of your nationality or creed. This is the message that Jesus taught and it is the same message that all believers in the world should be taking to the rest of the world today! Why should we do this? Because Jesus would do it if He was still on Earth doing His ministry today and that is why we are supposed to take His message to ALL over the world!

There is no reason that we should not tell others about our Savior, regardless of where we might go or who we are talking to. Everyone needs Him, regardless of their religion or their doctrine and they need to make that decision today. Why? Because today could be your last day on this Earth. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so seek Him and believe in Him today! Your salvation and your eternal destiny depend upon your decision here and now. Once your life is over there is no second chance to make it right.

Make sure of your salvation now while you have the time.

Why did Jesus come?


According to the Word of God, He came to Earth in order to die, and He did die for your sins and mine. But…He also came out of that tomb three days later and taught His disciples what they should do and where they should go after He had gone to Heaven. He told them to stay in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit and then they were to go into all the world teaching and preaching the gospel of God!

That mandate has not changed because we have been given a fantastic gift through belief in Jesus and that gift is eternal life with Him and through belief in Him. We can be saved from the penalty of our sins and our sinful life through belief in Jesus. Then we are to take that with us and tell others about Him and what He has done for us and for all people.

Why? Because God loves you and He wants every person to know that He loves them. Jesus came into the world for that purpose to pay the penalty for your sins and for mine, and for every person in the whole world! It is your choice whether you believe in Him or the atonement which is provided for you or not, but if you choose to go your merry way then you may not get another chance to give your life to Jesus!

We are not promised tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation because in hearing the good news of His love for you, then you are responsible for your decision. Once the message is heard and understood by you, if your heart is convicted of the sinful life that you have lived, then it is your choice which sends you either to Heaven or to Hell!

God doesn’t choose to send you to hell, that is your decision and your responsibility and accepting it and believing it is your responsibility because God doesn’t force you in any way. Your eternity is based on your decision to accept or reject Jesus and His atonement for your sins.

There is no amount of work or prayer or money which will do anything toward saving your soul from hell. Only belief in Jesus as your Savior can do that! It has to be a heartfelt belief in Jesus, not just knowing Who He is but accepting Him as your Savior and asking His forgiveness for your sins. Because without accepting Him as your Savior and repenting of your sins, changing your life from what you were before to being a follower of Jesus…then there is no salvation at all.

When you read about Jesus or hear about Him, knowing that you will be in Heaven after you die IF you accept Him as your Savior, then there shouldn’t be any hesitation on your part at all. He is what you have been searching for to fill that empty space in your life that you know has been there but you couldn’t find what fit in it until you hear about Jesus. He is the key to filling that empty space, the longing in your heart that wants to be full but you have searched all over and you have never found what could fill it.

Jesus is the answer to that question. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 )

What happened on Easter?


The story which is celebrated in much of the world has to do with pagan ritual. Eggs and rabbits and things like that. These have nothing to do with our risen Savior.

Jesus told His disciples that He would rise again on the third day. Many people disbelieve that story today, even in the church. I mean, how can you manage to get three days between Friday and Sunday? Going by Jewish calendars and tradition it is simple. A day begins at sunrise and ends at sunset, at least to us. But, to Jewish people who lived in Jesus’ day, the next day begins at sundown on the day before. So, when the soldiers arrested Jesus in the garden on early Friday morning, part of that day had already passed by.

The sunrise brought the priests and the High Priest before Pilate to accuse Jesus and He was flogged, but that wasn’t enough. They wanted a crucifixion and the Sabbath began at sundown. From about the third hour until the ninth hour Jesus was on the cross, that would be 9 am until 3 pm for us. Counting from sunrise to sunset is the timing that they used because the preparation for the Sabbath had to begin at sundown, counting as the next day.

empty_tomb11He laid in the tomb from just before sundown on Friday, all day on the Sabbath, and most of the day on the first day of the week on Sunday. So Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are three days!

So…what happened on Sunday morning at around sunrise? A miracle to those who witnessed it for sure! A bright light which was brighter than the Sun in its strength, which pierced even the cracks around the rock which covered the entrance to the tomb. The stone which had been rolled over the opening of the tomb and sealed with the Roman seal was rolled away.

We don’t know what the soldiers saw at that moment. They could’ve seen the risen Jesus in His glory or maybe an angel, possibly two angels who told the disciples and Mary that He has risen just as He had told them that He would. I want to believe that those soldiers who were guarding the tomb saw Him in His glory and likely believed that He was the Savior, the King of the Jews and their Messiah. But, until we get to Heaven we will not know for sure what they saw or what they believed.

Our Savior is alive and is at the right hand of Power on High! There is no other name by which we must be saved to be in His Presence! The only requirement is that we believe in Him and in what was written about Him in the Bible, ask Him for your forgiveness and repent of your old way of life and follow Him daily. That is our job, our responsibility as believers and as Christians! To tell others about our Savior Who died to give them the ability to become Christians and partake in His Kingdom too. No amount of money or work to do to be eligible for salvation, just believe in Him.

Are you a disciple?


This question has haunted me ever since I gave my life to Jesus and I still struggle to answer it. The Bible calls us “saints” although I don’t feel like I fit that description either. I was called into the ministry almost seven years ago, so I actually identify with the description of a disciple more than any other. What about you?

In many ways the first time I felt a call from God was about thirty-six years ago and at that time I wasn’t ready at all! I hadn’t been reading my Bible and I only attended church services a few times during the year. I felt that I wasn’t worthy to be called into any kind of ministry so I did what Jonah did…I ran away from that calling. I ignored it for many years.

Then, I got a call from a preacher who had been teaching a Bible study in a small church close to home. He told me that he needed me to fill in for him on Sunday (He called me on a Wednesday or Thursday, I really don’t remember). Anyway, I didn’t have much time to prepare. I was scared to death. I didn’t like speeches nor standing in front of a crowd to speak and you have to do that every week if you are a preacher.

God got me through that sermon, even though it only lasted about 8 or 10 minutes! I am still preaching there and today I can speak for about thirty minutes, sometimes a bit more. Why am I telling this? Because, as shy as I was in high school none of my classmates would think that I would ever do something like this! But, I have been there for six years and nine months so far. I pray that my sermons are doing some good for the Lord.

That is why I come here to “preach”. I don’t have to stand in front of people and I can write what the Spirit gives me to say so that others might come to know Jesus as their Savior. God loves each of you so much that He sent His Son to take the punishment that you and I should have been given. In many ways, you can see in the news today what is happening in our world with all of the murders and shootings and all of the wars and terrorist bombings going on. All of this is due to people who have made God fit their image of Who He is and what He demands of them.

God doesn’t demand anything besides your obedience once you have given your heart to Jesus and decide to follow His example in your daily life. Living your life through Jesus example is the best way to live because only He could fulfill the Law and the Ten Commandments perfectly. Please seek Him out while you have breath and time to do so because there is no second chance when you leave this life for eternity.

Romans 6:22-23 says this:   22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.