In some way this is true. Some people are more broken than others and some may not realize that they are broken even a little bit. Life tends to do this to us in one way or another. It may start out as a small crack when we are bullied in school or maybe someone close to you dies for one reason or another. Then, later that crack gets a bit wider and a part of us feels broken, like it may never heal.
Brokenness in today’s society is accepted to a certain extent. We are usually surprised if we find someone who has not had an issue in their life that left a scar or a crack. So…why is that? It began about sixty years ago (actually it has been 59 years this year). The year that John F. Kennedy was killed and a great writer died, C.S. Lewis. They died on the same day actually but one died of natural causes and the other was killed by an assassin.
Their deaths left a crack in the world I believe and it is one that hasn’t really been fixed. It is likely that it will never be in my lifetime. In America, JFK’s death caused a ripple effect that has lasted until now. The hope and youthful exuberance of his Presidency died with him that day and America has been mourning it ever since. This may come as a shock to some who follow this site but I believe that much of our cultural problems began with that gunshot in Dallas and they continue until this day.
We kinda gave up on religion in a way on that day as well. It just seems that our entire country lost their faith in God which had seemed to keep us going before that day. I realize that this post is not as encouraging as most of my other posts but I do want to end here on a positive note. Jesus said that He would come back to take all of us who believe in Him for our salvation to be with Him. That is the Hope that I am holding onto today and I pray that you will too.
There are many today who would read that and wonder “what is he talking about?”. Jesus said that He would return and take us to a place that He prepared for us. He is coming, although the world around us doesn’t seem to know it. They are more concerned with everyday things. What they are going to eat or drink when things become scarce? This is the question they are worried about. Jesus said that we shouldn’t worry. The birds don’t worry because God provides for them. The flowers of the field are more beautiful than any clothing designers sell but they only last a day or so, yet we tend to worry about our immediate problems. Why?
Can you change your hair color or make the flowers bloom? God is in control whether you acknowledge it or not. Believe in Him for your provision and live it every day because He loves you more than anyone else! God has a plan and His plans always work out no matter what the rest of the world is doing.
Jesus came to offer and give us life in Him, all we have to do to claim it is to believe in Him and repent of our old ways. Become a disciple of His and daily walk with Him because He loves you and He will provide for you. What makes me say that Life is in Him? Because God is the author of Life! He is the Creator and He gave you life. Just as He gave life to every person and animal and creature on the Earth and He offers eternal life to each of us if we will repent of our ways and follow Him believing that He can and will do as He promised in the Bible!
There is no life in hell. No water, no chance to rest, no “good” thing at all is available to you there. Regardless of all of your “friends” who say that there will be an eternal party in hell, that is not how it will be. Joy and happiness do not have a place there at all. If you want to enjoy life into eternity I suggest you seek Jesus to be your Savior now while there is time because if you die before accepting Him there are no second chances.
https://bible.com/stories/3531
This is a group of pictures that create a story for you to follow while you are learning to listen to God’s voice. All of us who are Christians have gone through this at some point. We wonder, “How can I know that I am hearing God’s voice?”. The learning process that you have to go through is not something that you are told in Bible school or even Sunday school and it is this omission that causes many people to walk away after they’ve become Christians. They don’t lose their salvation but they do miss out on the joy of getting to know Jesus and His Father, God.
There is a learning curve to it and the road to knowing God does have some ruts and bumps in it but Jesus told His disciples that they would have tribulation in the world. Troubles always come and when you are trying to learn better knowledge of God, it seems that they come in waves…sometimes very big waves.
Why do I say that there is a learning curve to being a Christian? Because it’s true. Making the change to being His is not a “snap your fingers” decision nor is it that simple. The Holy Spirit touches your heart and you feel the need for Jesus and the salvation that comes with Him. Then, once you have accepted Him as your Savior, your walk with Him begins. That is why He said to “take up your cross and follow Me”. Your daily life with Him requires you to place your old ways and your old self on that cross every day because your life is not about you anymore.
You have to look at the eternal picture and see that your life with Christ is never going to end. There will be a transition from this life to your eternal life but when you consider the other eternal destination had you rejected Jesus I believe you will say “It was worth it!”.
O praise the LORD, All ye nations: Praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: And the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 117:1-2 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.117.1-2.KJV
The entire world knows about God, whether they choose to believe in Him as their Redeemer and their Savior is an entirely different matter. According to the Bible or the Torah, God created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh. Although many people deny the truth found in the Bible, one day they will be shown the error of their thinking. The reason that I find it strange that people choose not to believe in God is that they call on Him when there is a dire need in their life. Sudden death or illness in their family will cause even the most devout atheist to seek help from a Higher Power.
Why should we praise Him every day? Because He placed each of us here for a reason and it is our job to seek Him for that reason and become the person to fulfill it. God gives each of us a certain number of days and years to live and only He knows how many we have. If you woke up this morning and you are reading this then you have today to praise Him and be useful to Him for today. You don’t know if you will have tomorrow but He has given you today, so do your best to be useful to Him today!
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, And filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:8-9 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.107.8-9.KJV
God is with me even on my bad days. I don’t feel like doing anything or writing much but He has inspired me to do it anyway. Why? Because He is my Savior and my Friend. He is Life and the Author of it, so whether you are feeling down or depressed or just “not feelin’ it”, He is still there with you every step of the way. God loves us whether we are good or not and He can bring our lives to the point of being even better than they could be without Him.
So…truly with Him in your life, there are no bad days just days where you don’t feel as “up” as you did yesterday or the day before. That’s the best way that I can describe it. One of the performers on AGT in the past few years really touched my heart when she came on. Her “stage name” was Nightbirde. I say was because her cancer came back before she could make it to the finals and she passed away. But her spirit was infectious and happy even with cancer hanging in the background. Her advice after her audition was this: “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before deciding to be happy”… Nightbirde
The only thing that I would add to her advice is that “You can’t wait until life is great to feel joy”. Joy is the giddy cousin of happiness and you can feel it even when you don’t really feel happy.
The Living Message of Christ 