Category: By faith

Do you live in safety?


angelswatchingoverusIt is a scary thing to think that you are safe and then find out that you are not. When a gunshot goes off near your home or maybe someone breaks into your house and steals some of your possessions, your feelings of safety go away in an instant. Then what? Do you react to this and get a better door or a better lock for your door? Do you get a gun to protect yourself and your family? Should you get some training to use that gun in case it comes to that one day?

All of these questions are valid in our time today, but what good will it do? People who rob your home usually do so when you aren’t at home. If they confront you at the gas station, what good will that gun and training do if you can’t reach your gun? Safety in our world today is fleeting and tenuous and the only productive way to deal with it is to allow it! What??! Just back up and let them have your stuff!!

Yes. Stuff can be replaced up to a point, your wife and son and your own life cannot be!

Living in safety is an illusion in the best of times and the times that we live in are not the best of times. Yes, there are people who can pass a background check who snap and then they do a lot of damage and kill many people. Many times, we never find out why they did it because they either kill themselves or they cause the police to kill them and there is no real explanation for their violence.

Hate, racial tension, racist views of all kinds are sometimes considered to be the motivation of these tragedies. Sometimes even religious fanaticism is the reason behind them. Safety in our world today depends upon our diligence in being careful about our surroundings and how we present ourselves in those surroundings. Does prayer help? Yes, it does. Does being a Christian help you to be safe? I think so.

Why? Because God watches over those who belong to Him. He sends angels to watch over each of us who are part of His family. Their presence is felt by those intending to do us harm, whether they are demons or spirits or even people who are being influenced by those spirits. I don’t say this so that you can fly to Iraq or Iran and insert yourself into the area thinking that you won’t be harmed because of God’s Presence in your life, I mean lets use a little common sense!

God does want us to take His message to the world, to those who don’t know Him yet, but we don’t have to be idiotic about getting into a war zone or in an area where Christians are despised by most and killed on sight by some! There are places in America where I wouldn’t get into at night or day because of the violence which is happening in those areas either, but wouldn’t Jesus go there if He was here in person?

Yes, He would but He is the Son of God and our Creator! He can’t die! As I said, we aren’t supposed to be lacking wisdom in our endeavors for His Kingdom. But we are supposed to try to take Him to as many as possible while we have the time. God cares about us and our safety, but He cares about those who will die without knowing Jesus even more. Take Jesus with you everywhere. At work, at school, to the McDonald’s or whichever place you go out to eat, anywhere that people see you they should know that you are a Christian.

Am I asking you to get up an preach in all of these places? No, but give thanks for your food and someone will notice. Read a scripture on your Kindle app on your phone or on your Kindle. Wear a T-shirt which loudly proclaims that you belong to the King of Kings! Why? Because everyone around us is proclaiming their views and their beliefs and this is no time to be timid about being a Christian! Should we be radical about it? No! I don’t mean to march down the street with signs and shouting or bombs and such, but this is not the time to be the meek of the Earth either! God loves us and everyone else, but if you don’t tell them…how will they know that He loves them?

Why worry?


Good deedsJesus told His disciples not to worry about tomorrow or about things which you have no control over, so why do we do it? During my life I have noticed that we tend to worry about things which are just out of our reach and our control and it seems to be just part of the human condition to do so. Worry serves no real purpose except to spur us on toward attempting to fix different problems.

Occasionally, fretting about something will help us to seek the solution, maybe even give us a bit of insight into an eternal solution for our real problem. What about when your anxiety turns into something which almost feels like you could be a killer? What do you do then? At this point I think we should step back and read in the Psalms for a while, clear your head and your soul of the negative emotion which anxiety can bring on and just meditate on God’s Word.

Why is that important? Because, God’s Word can heal your mind and open your heart to His grace and mercy. That’s why it is important to keep His Word close to you and read it when you are having problems, no matter what the size of the problem! Anxiety and worry are two sides of the same coin and they are both concerned with things which you can’t control. Some of those worrisome thoughts are of a kind which can derail almost any plan.

But, God is faithful to heal your mind and shield you from the enemy if you will keep your part of the equation going. By that I mean reading His Word and meditating on it every day, particularly when things aren’t going the way they should.

God loves each of us and for those who have given their hearts to Jesus, we have access to His strength and His comfort through whatever life may put in our paths. Will it make life easier? No, it will make some things harder to do because Satan and his demons will try to stop you or place things in your pathway to slow you down. When you are a Christian, the world does not like you. Satan hates you because you belong to Jesus now and you may cause other people to become Christians too.

Each of us has a part to play, just as each part of your body does its part to work and run together effectively. Each one of us is capable of doing that in the body of Christ while we are doing His will in our lives. The only way that we can do these things for God’s Kingdom is to allow Him to work through us, every day. No matter where you may work or what you do, do it as if you were doing it for Jesus.

Don’t get discouraged because of bills or your health, just pray about them and give them to Jesus. Let Him work in your life, in your bills and in your health and in His time to bring about His solution for you. Don’t get ahead of Him and don’t try to do it for Him either because, even though that is hard to do, if you do try to do it for Him, your solution will fail because you didn’t let Him do the work.

What is your comfort zone?


Many of us have one and sometimes it extends to the point of making someone else uncomfortable. Is that your comfort zone? Would you extend your own story into someone’s life if they asked you about your life? What if they just wanted to start a conversation? Would you listen to them or would you walk away or make an excuse to get away from them?

VineandBranchesWe are tasked with getting out of our comfort zones each day. Some of us more than others, but at some point we do step out of our “zone” during the day either at work or at the grocery store on an airplane or a bus. We will come into contact with a person who needs to hear something from us and that is where the voice of God speaks up and tells us to talk to that person or this one!

Are you comfortable enough to say something to them? Will you say what God wants to say to them? Regardless of your feelings about talking to people, God has given you a voice to use for Him, so do that. While it is true that many of us are introverts and like to spend the day away from people, some of us don’t have that luxury. God loves you and the person sitting next to you on the plane or the bus. He also loves the drunk who is passed out on the corner and the lady who is pushing an old buggy around with all of her possessions in it.

Will you talk to them? Pray about it and if the chance comes up, don’t hesitate, tell them what Jesus did for you and for them too. It doesn’t take a long, King James prayer, just one like, “Lord, give me the words to say. Amen”, will be sufficient. That is the same prayer that I pray when I begin writing here! Surely you don’t think I have come up with all of this on my own? I am not that good!!

I don’t claim to be a prophet or some Old Testament-type writer, but I do ask that God give the words which He knows are needed and necessary for our world and those who might read them here. Are you comfortable with telling others about your Savior? You should be. Why do I say that? Because I was very shy when I was much younger, and when I began preaching about seven years ago I was still shy. But, for the most part, God has helped me to get over that.

I don’t mean that I would be comfortable preaching before a huge crowd, but I am a lot more comfortable than I used to be.

We are capable of doing more for God’s Kingdom than we realize, if we will let Him use us in this ministry. Sometimes we just have to step outside our own comfort zone in order to be useful in the ministry which He knows that we can do.

Which Jesus do you know?


There are many versions you know. Some of them are radical clerics who will tell you that Jesus wouldn’t vote for this candidate or that law or this proposition. Some will tell you that Jesus, or at least the One that they preach, wouldn’t condone the killing of babies in the womb, that one I do believe! Sometimes the Jesus which is preached in pulpits on Sunday or even on Saturday if that is your Sabbath day, sounds as if He would go along with almost anything that the right or the left or whichever direction your pastor is leaning which is being reported this week.

Have you ever really found out about the Son of God and Who He is? Does your pastor even know the real Jesus or His viewpoints on sin and salvation? In many churches it seems that there are many Christians, pastors, deacons and members alike, who really don’t know Who Jesus really is today! This is the very reason which, in my opinion, is causing the decline of so many churches in attendance and causing them to close their doors. Is it possible that we have created our own version of Jesus and placed Him at the head of the table, in front of the congregation and declared that this is your Savior?

When He walked through Palestine almost two thousand years ago, Jesus sought out those who were marginalized, those who were persecuted, those who weren’t allowed to climb the steps of the Temple let alone enter it to worship! He taught those people who we would consider outsiders and even vagabonds, the ones who were lame and addicted to substances even then. He went to the lepers who had to walk around yelling “Unclean!”, what an embarrassing way to have to walk through town.

The clothes which Jesus taught in werePsalm23 dirty from the dust and the water at the shores of Lake Galilee. He didn’t look like He just stepped out of a dry cleaners, with His clothes all white and glowing. In many of our churches today, Jesus would not be allowed in because of His dress and His hair and beard, because He would look like a homeless person. Even He said that “the Son of Man has not a place to lay His head“.

Would Jesus be seen as a radical cleric today? In many ways, yes He would. He would be in the shelters and in the parts of the city where “church people” are afraid to go. Why are we afraid to go to these places? Is it because of our dress? Is it because of our jewelry or our cars? Why can’t we enter into the places where those in need are? Is it because we don’t feel that we belong there or that we won’t fit in because of our race?

In today’s society and the culture which has developed in our country in the past few decades, it is true that we are divided by race or skin color and also by culture. We are not a society which has gotten past our collective wrongdoing in the past, simply because we have ignored it or brushed it behind the door or under a rug. We have done this with the pretense of being enlightened and better than our past, but we never really learned the lesson of our past.

When you choose to ignore a lesson in school or in life, you will repeat it. There is no possibility of not repeating it. Life and experience are hard teachers, just as Jesus was a taskmaster in the Temple when He ran the money changers from the court of the Gentiles! Except, He was doing this from His love of the people who were coming there to worship and not out of bitterness.

God loves us, regardless of our clothes or our car or our house. Stuff doesn’t matter to the Creator, it is your heart which makes the difference and where your heart is in serving Him. If you are in conflict between being popular and having money or serving God and His Kingdom, pick God’s Kingdom. Stuff like popularity and money are temporary and only work here in this life. Eternity is a very long, long time and if you aren’t prepared for it by trusting in Jesus and His atonement for you then you are wasting His time.

Humor, it is a difficult concept.


It feels strange writing words which I heard first in a movie about the Federation of Planets and Star Trek. My blog has nothing to do with science or fiction, but I thought I would start off this way, if for no other reason than to get your attention.

joyHumor and laughter have been proven to be beneficial to our health, mostly in ways that doctors can’t really explain. It does release endorphins which ease pain and it has been shown to help in healing with some cancers and other injuries such as surgical and other breaks in the skin and bone. Here is a quote from one of many sites which give the benefits of laughter: “Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.”

In the stressful times that we live in, sometimes humor is not appropriate and it may cause hurt feelings and anger. Used wrongly, anything good can cause problems, even humor or religion. So, how do we live our lives daily in light of the effects of our beliefs or the effect of laughter? Some might say that you have to live circumspectly. What the heck is that? It is a big word meaning “cautious” living. The definition of it is this: Near synonyms are prudent and cautious, though circumspect implies a careful consideration of all circumstances and a desire to avoid mistakes and bad consequences.

Why should we be cautious in our living on a daily basis? Because today everyone that you meet has a small movie camera and a recording device called a cell phone. Anything that you say or do in front of people is very likely to be posted at some point whether you like it or not! But…Jesus told us to take His Message to the world! So, how can we do that?

One person at a time. I know that is limiting in our reach to those who don’t know Him, but in any town or city today there isn’t a huge crowd of people who will be receptive of His salvation message. Many of them will call it “hate speech” and try to have you arrested or maybe beat you up like they did Paul and Silas. Yes, in these days that we are living in now, life and living is getting to be a hard to understand prospect in light of our mission given to us by Jesus.

God loves each person, regardless of their belief or lack of belief in Jesus or even whether they believe that God exists. Yet, we are supposed to take His message to the world as best as we can. Whether we do it by means like this or by going in person and telling others about our Lord and Savior. One person at a time is the best way to go, maybe two if you can get them to listen. Jesus said to His disciples: Go into all the world; and that is what we should be doing, every day.

Do you see?


At times, we do see the problems around us or at home or at church, but at other times, where we seem to be blind to the happenings and the life which is there…right in front of us. Why can’t we see? Sometimes it is because we are being selfish, other times it is because we choose not to see. But if you are a Christian, why would you choose not to see what is wrong with the world around you?

Elisha prayed so that his servant would see that they were not in as much danger as he thought. In 2 Kings chapter six where this took place, Elisha had preached in Israel what God had told him to, but the king of Syria, Ben-Hadad, warred with Israel. Just prior to this encampment, Elisha had prayed for Naaman who was a leader in Syria’s army who had leprosy. God healed him and when he departed, Elisha’s servant had gone out to receive some of the payment which he had brought to Elisha.

Greed can blind you to many things and that is what happened here. Gehazi was coveting the silver and the garments which Naaman had brought as gifts for his healing. The Lord struck him with leprosy just as the Syrian had when he came for his greed. In many ways, we are like this servant. We desire something in this life which doesn’t have any spiritual benefit to us or for those around us such as wealth or lands or just more stuff. You can hear and see that stuff has become a real problem in America today because of all the self-storage units that are being built every month.

Getting back to our story, even though Gehazi was stricken with leprosy for his greed, it seems that he served his master for many years. No doubt because Elisha prayed for his healing after he learned his lesson about greed. It isn’t mentioned in the Bible, but considering that leprosy was a death sentence on anyone who had it, I believe that he was likely healed later.

The topic is “Do you see?”, so what do we see in this world? Poverty, hunger, wars, famines, loss of life in many ways, actually the list could go on and on from here. My point is this: why do we not see? In America, we have been spoken of in history as a Christian nation because that is how our country came to be. People in England fled their country because of religious persecution so they could worship in freedom and in the way that they chose.

So, why don’t we see the things around us which we could do something about? Do we choose not to see the things which we could help with because of our greed and selfishness? Are we so blind to the suffering around us because we don’t want to see it or just because we walk in this world with spiritual blinders on? In the link above to a part of 2 Kings where Elisha’s servant is anxious about the army surrounding Jerusalem, he cannot see what Elisha can. So, Elisha prays for him to be able to see into the spiritual world and he finds that God’s army was far more formidable than those who surrounded the city.

In our lives today, we can’t see what is happening in our world spiritually. Some would say this is a good thing because we would be scared out of our wits if we could see the spiritual warfare and the beings which are here and all around us on a daily basis. Honestly, I believe that it would open many people’s eyes to the fact of their own frailty and the reason that they need Jesus. But, God has chosen not to allow our sight to be opened in that way for a reason.

Pray that God will show you His will in your life through His Word because the days are drawing closer to that time which is prophesied at the end of the age. We don’t know the day or the hour until that time comes, but God doesn’t lie and the time is swiftly approaching, so don’t hesitate. Call on Jesus for your salvation and seek Him out for your deliverance because He is the only way to be saved from the punishment which comes after you leave this world.

Today’s sermon for all


Romans 15 & 16

Taking up where we left off last week, at Romans 15: 17 and following through chapter sixteen, Paul is writing his message to those in the Roman church but he is also writing to us as well. The Roman church was soon to undergo some terrible persecution as were many Christians in the Roman empire. Paul’s words of encouragement and hope helped those who were weak or new in their faith to bear up under the horrible ways which Emperor Nero would kill those who would not worship him.

17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:

21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.

Paul’s Plan to Visit Spain and Rome
(1 Corinthians 16:5-9)

23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. 25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. 28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. 29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Paul is writing here as an evangelist with a purpose and it was Jesus Who gave him that purpose. The same Savior who saved us all, if we will only believe, saved the chief persecutor of “the Way” as it was called to begin with. Jesus uses some of the most unlikely ministers at times, God has used a donkey in the past to bring a word to a stubborn prophet as well, so nothing is impossible for God. Even when we try to limit Him with our own ideas about Him in this life, at some point God will show you Who He is and what He can do, if that is what it takes to get your attention.

Chapter 16 is the end of Romans as a book, but what a book it is. Written by a persecutor turned evangelist and one which wrote more than half of the New Testament which we all have today, most of it written from a prison cell.

In this final chapter of the book of Romans, Paul is giving credit to all of those in Christ who have helped him is his ministry. He salutes them with words like a brother or a proud father might, and in a way he is. Many of his helpers come from people or house-churches which  his preaching had started, or were members of those small congregations.

Paul ends his epistle with words of encouragement and love brought out in his soul by Christ:

Beginning with verse 17 we see this:

Avoid Divisions
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Greetings from Paul’s Companions
21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.

23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Doxology
(Romans 11:33-36; Jude 1:24-25)

25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. {Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea.

So, you see in the ending of this epistle that Paul had many helpers who wrote for him when his hands could not. They carried the epistle to the churches which he could not go to in person due to chains or other restraints laid upon him. God used all of those around Paul who had been converted by his preaching very likely, God used them to further His Kingdom and these letters are still being used in the 21st century to bring others to Him. We are the fruit of much of Paul’s labors in Christ, the church today would not be what it is without God’s choosing of Paul to be His voice to the gentiles…us.

We are supposed to carry on this work in our lives, whether we are preaching to a congregation or to our families and friends with our life in Christ and the labor which we do in this life just by living out the ways taught in the Bible. This is the way of life, which so many early Christians who died for their faith, lived in front of those around them. It is also the life which we are called to live in Christ Jesus. Not living as if tomorrow is just a day, but that it may be the day that Jesus calls us home!

God uses even those of us who are weak in our faith, or believe ourselves to be, to carry out His purposes in our lives for Him and His Kingdom, not for our own gain in this life. We are to trade our life in Christ for bringing other lives into the Kingdom of God. How?

By living our Christian life as a reflection of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit one day at a time. People will notice, and whether they ask of you or not, if your walk with Christ is sincere then they will be drawn toward Him. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but when the Spirit touches their heart, they will because your witness for Christ doesn’t have to be in the sanctuary of a big church, but the sanctuary of life itself. Living our salvation and our walk with Jesus out one day at a time and one step at a time.

Which in truth is all that we can do.

Where are we in our lives?


Strange title, huh? Well, I wanted to name it as such so that we who read it might think about where we are. Are you in a relationship, personally with God or do you despise Him and His laws? Maybe you don’t believe that He exists at all! You are one of those foolish people who thinks that everything in our universe, all of the trillions of galaxies and stars and planets came from a compact singularity long ago and just “evolved” from that big bang.

mygodisawesomeMaybe you even believe that we come from a pond of proteinaceous soup which formed from a random comet impact billions of years ago and all life on Earth came from those proteins. If our planet had more time than it is estimated to exist, it may have happened this way, but it did not happen like this.

I know, evolutionists will want to argue this point but according to God’s Word, He created all of these things with His Words. He placed the stars and galaxies in their places. God created all of these in His time, not ours. Life is sustained by Him, the stars are sustained by His strength, your strength is given to you by His Grace for you each day.

God does all of these things because He loves us, whether we love Him or acknowledge Him or not. Although, He did provide a way for our salvation and our life in Jesus and through Jesus Who gave Himself for us and for our eternal life, if we will only believe in Him. Seek Him while there is time and don’t delay because we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Please, for your eternity and your life in it, believe in Jesus and the atonement that He paid for with His blood and He did it willingly for all who would believe.

themissingpieceBut don’t just take my word for it, read it from God’s Word in the New Testament. The gospels all tell the story of His ministry and His birth, death and resurrection, some tell different aspects of it or from a Jewish perspective and one from a Greek perspective in Luke’s gospel. He was a physician who traveled with Paul and he gathered the story of Jesus meticulously, as a physician would.

God uses each of us with our own voice or talent in telling a story to get the Word out and tell it in the unique way that He gifted each of us with. Some of us can tell it better or maybe more to the point, and some tell it like we see it through our eyes of faith in Him. To each of us, God gives a unique voice because He knows who will listen to that voice and what they will get from it.

That is why Jesus went to common fishermen who were devout Jews. He didn’t go to the Pharisees or the others who were sanctimonious in their faith, because they were “safe” in their blood lineage of being Jewish. They were “sons of Levi and Abraham”, they didn’t need some carpenter telling them how to serve God!

Many of us live our Christian lives this way today. We create god in our image and we give him aspects which we are comfortable with him having and we convince ourselves that this is the God of the Bible. But our “god” is nothing like God and we would know this if we read and studied His Word and prayed to Him to reveal Himself to us in it! How many of you do that? Would you do that? Are you brave enough to ask God to show up in your prayer life? What would you do if you actually heard His voice in your spiritual ears while praying?

Many of us would fall over wondering just what or Who that was which spoke to us! Many others would think they were imagining it and just ignore Him. Until He spoke again. In the Old Testament God usually called to someone three times. Sometimes it took that many times to get their attention, but often it was because God wanted to impress a point on them.

Make sure of whom you are hearing and know that it is God. The only way to do this is to get to know His voice by reading His Words in the Bible. The more familiar you are with His Words and His Word, then you will be able to accept that the Voice speaking to you is Him.

He makes me lie down….


Psalm23Today I am speaking from a position not so unlike the title. I had a doctor visit this morning because of some allergies and a possible chest infection, so I am taking meds for it and I am writing to you from a bed. Before anyone asks or thinks about this, I am not in such health that I can’t get around but I am trying to listen to my doctor’s advice.

God does the same thing to us at times and just as the Psalmist wrote in the 23rd Psalm, He does make us lie down at times. Usually it is for our own good but sometimes it is to get our attention or to get us to hear Him like we should. God enjoys hearing our prayers and our needs, although He already knows what they are, but He also enjoys it when we are willing to listen to Him. Why did I put some of those words in bold-face? Because, many times we really DON’T listen to Him or even listen for His voice!

We say our prayers and end it with “in Jesus’ name, Amen” and then go about our business. I am not saying that we shouldn’t expect an answer when we pray sincerely about a need in our life or someone else’s, but ending it like that is like calling your Mom or Dad telling them what is happening, how you feel, and could you send me some money or help, thank you, goodbye!

How would you feel? I don’t know how you would feel but I wouldn’t answer that prayer or request at all, but I am only human. If you don’t ever let God speak to you when you pray, that is what it seems to me would possibly happen. Of course, that is looking at it from our point of view and our way of thinking and that is not how God thinks or feels at all. He knows what we need and when we need it, so He will likely answer that prayer anyway, but it may not be when you want it answered.

He is our Creator, our Redeemer and our Father in Heaven and just like fathers here on Earth, He likes to hear from us but He also likes to speak to us as well. Give Him a chance! You wouldn’t pick up the phone and call your Dad and tell him all the stuff that isn’t working in your life and ask for help in fixing it and then just hang up would you? It is likely that you wouldn’t get a very good call back after that either.

God, thankfully, isn’t like us with our petty hurts and feelings. He loves us so deeply that He sent Jesus to take the punishment for ALL of mankind, so we, meaning everyone, could have a relationship with Him IF we will believe in Jesus and His atoning work on the cross! He did it for us, all of us, and yet we as the human race have rejected Him for a long, long time. Even Christians make up their own “god” and rules which he will follow, thinking that by going to church their “god” will allow them to get into Heaven one day.

Of course the problem with that thinking is: we have made an idol in our own minds to be our god. It is not fashioned with gold or silver or carved from wood, but we have placed god in a box which limits him to a being which is more to our liking and comfortable. But…that is NOT God! He won’t share the throne or any of our worship and praise with that puny idea in our heads!

The Bible is God’s written Word and His way of speaking to each of us and we need to take it as literally the Truth from the Holy Spirit which is part of the Trinity. God did not mince words when He spoke the world and all of the animals into existence nor did He mumble when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses! If you want to know God, read the Bible and learn from Him about Himself!

Seeking your Savior


Have you thought about your need for a Savior? Has it ever come up in discussions around the house or with other family members? In much of the world’s cultures, individuality is expressed and encouraged more than a need for a savior so many people never search for one.

themissingpieceUntil that day comes when you feel that there is something missing and you can’t put a finger on what it might be. Sometimes this feeling hits us when we are teens or young adults and we try to fill that space with many things. Sometimes we try to fill it with sex or drugs, other times we try drinking, but eventually (if we survive all of the experimenting) we begin to look for something or someone meaningful to fill that void.

The problem rises up again when we find that people can’t fill that area of our lives. The only Person Who can is Jesus. “I’ve been down this road before, I don’t want to go again.” or something like it is what many of you are thinking right now.

The problem with that kind of thought pattern is that it doesn’t come from you, it is coming from a demon or another spirit which is trying to lead you away from Jesus. Following those thoughts can lead you to a life with many rewards, as far as the world can see. Like money, fame, a good marriage maybe, prestige but all of these are also patches or things which make you feel good about yourself and your place in the world but they have no lasting benefit.

What do you mean “lasting benefit”? If I had a million dollars in the bank, what else would I need?

See…that is the focus which Satan and his demons try to get you to focus on! Money is just a tool and it is mostly a tool of Satan because he can dangle all sorts of bills in your face and they look really good for a while, but just like the prodigal son, when the money runs out so do many of your friends. In spite of what you think about your friends, if you are wealthy to any degree, many of them are only there because of the money and the good times afforded to them by your money.

So, what can you do? Money can’t give your life meaning on its own and people can’t or won’t do enough for you, particularly in a time of trouble. Even your spouse can’t help you when you truly need his or her compassion and support, even though they will give you both of those if they love you truly. Who can help in these desperate times then?

Jesus can!

Jesus came to take God’s punishment on Himself for ALL of mankind, past, present and future. He did this on the cross and then was raised again on the third day, finalizing the victory for us! When the Holy Spirit convicts you of your need for Jesus, listen to Him and seek out a Bible teaching church and read your Bible! If you don’t have one, there are quite a few online but you can buy one easily enough, if you don’t live in a country where religion is restricted. Find out about His sacrifice for you and believe in Him for your salvation. All you have to do is ask Him to save you and He will!

God loves you more than you can realize and He doesn’t leave you in the cold when you need Him! He is always there, even if you can’t feel Him, pray to Him that He will be near you in a stressful situation and ask for His help in every situation and He will always be near you. He said that “I will never leave you or forsake you”; He is always near those who believe in Him and will give them strength to get through whatever is in your path, amen?