Category: Choose Christ

What do you feel?


Have you ever wondered aloud about how God might feel about the state of the world today? What do you think He would say if you could ask Him? You know what? You can. Prayer is powerful and He does listen to all of them, but He also answers you back. Sometimes you will get His answer by the Holy Spirit and sometimes it will come to you by reading the Bible.

God’s Word is powerful and to the point in many ways which most of us don’t pay much attention to. Usually, it is because we don’t read it. Most people who go to church read scripture when the pastor tells them to and most of the time they only read the verse which he reads. So, how are you going to know how God feels about any subject if you don’t read what HE says about it?

I know there are some Christians who do read their Bibles regularly and it would be great if everyone did but the condition of our world and our society just doesn’t bear the evidence which comes from doing so. If we are going to ever have a world which reflects God’s kingdom, then we need to live every day as if we want to be a part of His Kingdom.

Truly, life is hard at times but with God on your side it is bearable. Don’t turn away from the love of God because He never turns away from you. So, how do you think God feels about the times when He really would like to hear from you…about anything but you’re too busy? You don’t have time to pray to God or you don’t feel the need. God is not a man and He is also not like us with our selfish ways. He is our Creator and He is holy, so we are to strive to be more like Him.

But in our culture and our society, most of us tend to place Him in a box or we try to squeeze Him down to our size, to be more like us so we can relate to Him better. What if God were like you or your best friend? What if He were more like your enemy? Then how do you think the world would be?

Thankfully, God is not like us!

He is perfect and holy and cannot look on sin in any form, so He can’t be like us. Jesus was more like us because He was born of a woman but He had the nature of His Father, God. It is that nature which makes a difference between us and Him. Human nature can be good but it has to really try to do well most of the time. It is easier to do bad things. When you give your heart to Jesus and learn to live like He taught His disciples to do, then those bad things which were easy are not so easy anymore.

Seek Him out while there is time to do so because none of us have been guaranteed a certain number of days. We don’t know when our last day will be, so seek out the One Who can make your days better and lead you into eternity.

Believe…


As it is written in God’s Word, “all you have to do is believe“. There are numerous instances of this specific word or one which has the word “believe” in it such as “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness“. Why do I bring this word up again on this site? Because it is needed and necessary for all who are looking for and seeking Jesus to believe in Him, not that He existed but believe in Him for salvation!

Even the demons and Satan know about Jesus and that He is the Son of God. But knowing about Him and believing that He existed doesn’t bring salvation. Consider this: if someone told you that you had been given one million dollars and that it was available to you, would you believe them just by their word or would you have to see it and know that it was there? Take that a bit further. You know it is there and it is yours but you never claim it, is it doing you any good at all? Not even a little bit.

That is the same place that many people today are in concerning their salvation. They have heard a sermon telling them that it is available and that it is free to claim. All they have to do is believe that it is theirs and claim it by asking Jesus for their forgiveness and that He should come into their lives and make them whole. The problem is that even though many know that salvation is available to them just as easy as the million dollars in the previous paragraph, given a choice they would rather have the money.

Why?

Because, in the world that we live in, money is immediate and useful. Salvation only means something to you if you are looking toward eternity rather than just looking at tomorrow. The problem with this type of thinking is just like the prodigal son, once the money is gone you are worse off than you were before. Money is like your life. It is a puff of smoke and it is gone in an instant of time but salvation takes you to an eternal home where life never ends and it only gets better.

Consider that and seek out the One Who can provide you with salvation and an eternal home too.

God is still in control!


The sun is still shining and the moon is still in its orbit. If they had actually been around 4.5 billion years, the moon would be a bit farther away from us than it is. There has been some research into the stars in our galaxy and the number of supernovas which have been counted and it doesn’t add up to the number which would be present if the amount of time suggested by the Big Bang is true and correct.

The universe was designed by God to support life and God is Life. Regardless of how out of control your life may feel at times, our Creator is still watching over you. Specifically, if you are a Christian and believe in Him for your salvation. Now, I am not saying that God doesn’t care about His creation outside of those who are Christians because He does. But, He knows which person will give their life to Jesus and which ones will not. That doesn’t mean that He chooses which people will be saved and which ones won’t but it does show that God knows your heart and which choice you will make.

There is a big difference between knowing which direction you will take and forcing you to take it because God will not force you to make one decision over another. Consider that the decision to follow Jesus is one based on faith and on the grace that you realize you have been given. Each of us who have given their hearts and their lives to Jesus knows the love which God has poured into their lives because of the gift of salvation. In the Bible, you can read about the depth of God’s love toward us and know that returning that love is not enforceable, it is made by decision of those to whom it has been given.

Giving love back to the Author of Love only makes it better and makes us feel His love for us even more. Sometimes it is a small gesture of love toward someone you may not know well. Sometimes it is a prayer or a hug to a friend who is going through a hard time. Being the hands and feet of Jesus in a world that is truly DESPERATE for the Love which He embodies is the kind of mission and ministry which all of us should try to be a part of. Sometimes it is only through prayer that we can make a difference or even through a post like this one which may bring hope to someone who feels that they don’t have any.

Each person who is a Christian knows someone who isn’t or maybe they have been away from the church for a long time. Invite them to church or to a Bible study, have coffee or hot chocolate ready to warm them up on a cold night. Because it is the little things that most people notice about us who follow Jesus, not the big show of the service or how beautiful the sanctuary is. Jesus didn’t preach in a beautiful church. Most of the time it was in a field or even at the beach and He was sitting on a boat. It was the love which He showed toward those who had little or none in their lives that got the most attention.

Are you His?


I ask this type of question because people, in general, don’t believe in God or the prophecies in the Bible. While it is true that there are many in the world who claim to believe in God, the “God” which they believe in is just a generalized idea of the real God and Creator of the universe. Even Satan knows Who God is because it was God Who created him! My question is in reference to your salvation or lack of it. Are you His and do you truly know Him?

The most important part of this is does He know you? Your eternity depends on the answer to that question. Granted, your soul is eternal and if you do not choose to serve Jesus and accept Him as your Savior, you will be in eternity one day but your eternity will be in punishment. Why? Because you have refused the offer of grace and mercy when it was offered to you.

I truly pray that more of you who read this will seek Jesus as your Savior because that is the ministry which I was called to. I was called almost ten years ago to be a voice telling others about our Lord and Savior, hoping that the Holy Spirit would draw at least some of you to Him. This is not a light nor easy ministry because there are so many who truly need salvation. I am not able to go to those places which this medium can reach, but I do pray that He will reach you.

God does love each of us but it’s up to us to love Him enough to ask Him into our lives and our hearts. He doesn’t force us in any way to come to Him because love and devotion cannot be forced, they must be given willingly and humbly by those who know that they don’t deserve the grace that they have been offered. The most well-known verse from God’s Word says it all:

John 3:16

Amen!

The Lord is my Healer and Savior!


Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Jeremiah 17:14 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/jer.17.14.KJV

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Timothy 4:2‭-‬4 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/2ti.4.2-4.KJV

Both of these have come to pass, even today the prophecy from 2 Timothy is coming to pass but many don’t see it that way. Some people seem to think that if a preacher is preaching from the Bible then his sermon is from God’s Word. That is usually true but not all of the time. Many sermons are put together by a program on a computer or even come from the preacher’s own “wisdom” with a verse or two of Scripture thrown in to make it sound like it should. These are the sermons which don’t tell us of our sins and weaknesses but they do tell us how good we are.

God doesn’t see us that way unless we are saved by the blood of Jesus the Christ! Our “goodness” isn’t part of the equation unless it is imparted to us through Jesus by our salvation through His blood. If you are not saved by your belief in Jesus and your acceptance of His sacrifice for your sins then your so-called “righteousness” is as filthy rags in the sight of God!

We cannot claim salvation on our own merit or the works which we may do!

You and I cannot just decide to get saved one day, it is God’s Spirit which touches us and brings us to the point of knowing that we need Him that causes us to seek Him out and confess our sins, asking that Jesus cleanse us and make us in His likeness. Although many people seem to think that they have that much control over their experience of salvation, it just isn’t true! It is God Who calls to your Spirit, your soul and brings you under conviction to know that you need Him. At that point each of us is given an amount of faith to truly believe that Jesus can save us, so we do and He does!

Some people tend to feel this touch in their lives, whether at a church or from a sermon on TV, and they do feel a need for Jesus in their life…but Satan whispers in their ear before they walk down and speak to the preacher. Then they will either grip the pew in front of them and refuse to accept Jesus or they may even walk out of the service altogether. They don’t want to give up on their comfortable, sinful life.

Even though prior to Christ changing our hearts and our minds we didn’t want to quit our sinful life either. Why? Because until Jesus and the Holy Spirit reveals your sins and what those sins will cost you in eternity, we don’t think that we need Him at all. Let’s face it, all of us who are Christians now were sinners at some point in time. I hear so much talk about “hypocrite churches” because there are people in there who used to do this or that!

We have ALL done this or that at one time or another!

Own your past life and leave it in the past so you can walk in the newness of Life with Christ into eternity!

A successful life


Can you live a Christian life today and be a success? Yes, if you live according to the Word of God. We are to renounce our “old ways” of living and turn our eyes and our hearts toward Jesus and living His way. What does that mean exactly? Here is what God told Moses during the Exodus from Egypt beginning in Deuteronomy 10:12-13

12And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Some of you might say to me “But that’s in the Old Testament, we don’t have to follow those rules now!” Why not? God hasn’t changed. It is only our perception of Him which has changed. We try to make Him into a “politically correct” god but He is God and He doesn’t change…not for you or for me or anyone else in the world!

In order for us to be forgiven and live a Christian life we are supposed to live according to His Word and follow Him every day of our lives until our death or until He calls us to Himself. It is not negotiable and He doesn’t conform to our ideas of Who He is! Until we realize that there will be many standing in that day saying “Lord, did we not prophesy in your Name?“

Make sure of your relationship with Jesus now while there is a chance because if you are one who is saying those words in His Presence and He says, “depart from Me, for I never knew you.”; it will be too late to change anything about your salvation or lack of it at that time.

Make sure of what you believe and in Whom you believe.

What are you?


Most of us who write these Christian blogs are or we consider ourselves to be…well, Christians. Most of us likely attend church on a fairly regular schedule and we study our Bibles but there is still a question that we need to be answered and that is: What are we? Are we really the church or do we just attend a service at church?

After Pentecost, the people who had been baptized and had believed Peter’s message had “all things in common” and no one was in need. If there was a need then it was met in whatever way was necessary. So why do most services feel like speeches about being a “good Christian” and there are needs in the community which go unmet? Is it because we don’t know how to be “the church” anymore or are we afraid of being the church?

I am not sure where we, as a group of believers, actually fall in the description of Jesus’ church. We are not perfect people. We are sinners saved by the Grace and Mercy of God through Jesus! Do we make mistakes or stumble in our lives? YES! But…we know it when we do and we confess it and ask our Father to forgive us for the fall or the stumble and then get up and keep going. Being the church is something which Jesus showed His disciples how to do and we have that example in the gospels. All we need to do is go out and live it in front of people every day, one day at a time.

Is it easy to do? I wouldn’t say it is easy, especially when you have just given your heart to Jesus. But, like everything else, it gets easier with practice and study of God’s Word and time. We don’t come up from our baptism knowing everything. We have to learn from God each step of the way, one verse at a time, then a chapter and then a book and then the rest of His Word. Then…read it again and pray about it and learn from it.

Being a Christian is a life-long process. The disciples only had three years or so with Him but they meditated on His teachings and God’s Word for the rest of their lives. So we should follow their example and do the very same thing. Be the church which Jesus wanted us to be, taking care of those in need of food and shelter but also helping them to find their Savior by showing Him to them with whatever our lives can show of our own “working out our salvation” because it is a daily process.

Life after life


If you have ever been to a church and heard a sermon or if you heard one on TV, then you have heard of the life to look forward to after this one. Have you given your heart to Jesus? Salvation is available for you if you will give your heart to Him. So, what will you do with your life here that will take you into eternity? Your own “righteousness” will not do the trick, just as Jesus told the Pharisees and as it was told in the Old Testament, “your righteousness is as filthy rags“.

God doesn’t want us all to go to hell, but there are those who will not accept Jesus as their Savior. God knows who will and who will not give their life and their heart to Jesus but it is not set in stone. When you feel the touch of His Spirit in your heart and you feel that you need Him in your life, don’t turn away from Him. Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross and we are able to be saved from the punishment which comes from refusing to accept the gift of salvation.

Granted, your punishment in hell is not just for refusing salvation but that is the main one which will send you there. Any sins in your life which aren’t covered by the blood of Jesus with your acceptance of His gift of salvation will be paid for in hell. But if you decide to give your heart to Him and confess your sins then your eternity is guaranteed in Heaven with your Savior.

Your salvation is available to you when God touches your Spirit and brings you to that place where you truly know that you need Him. You can’t just decide to be saved or ask Jesus into your life, He touches your soul and draws you to Himself. I pray that all who read this will seek Him in a church or in the Bible and come to the realization that you need Him in your life.

Make sure of Whom you believe


In 1 John 4 it says these words:

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

When you are committed to being and living as a Christian there is a part of God’s Spirit which comes to live inside you. He or She is the Holy Spirit. All of us who are His and belong to Him have a part of Him, as Jesus called Him-the Comforter and He is living in your heart (soul). God’s grace and mercy have been poured out in your life so that you can believe in the One Who has saved your soul, but it is God’s Spirit Who teaches you and helps you to understand His Word.

Without faith, we can do nothing in God’s Kingdom and without His Spirit, we would understand very little of God’s Word. We could read it every day but without His teaching and giving us the meaning of it for our lives the Bible would be just a book of stories and nothing more. For many years before I truly committed my life to Him I read chapters in the Bible and read along with the pastor at church but until I accepted the Holy Spirit into my life it really didn’t make sense.

Jesus’ sermon on the mount was just a bunch of blessings given to those who were looking for the Messiah until I looked at it from His point of view. God loves each of us and He wants the best for you and me. That doesn’t mean that He wants all of us to be rich and wealthy with no struggles, however. God’s best may be our eternal home with Him, not some fancy house with a mortgage here for us to struggle to pay. The same goes for all of the other “stuff” which the world around us sees as symbols of our success.

Seek God and His Son, Jesus, for your salvation because the time which each of us has is very short compared to eternity. Each of us has an eternal soul and you will spend eternity somewhere so make sure of your destination while you can.

The end of the Age


Learning about this from our Lord Jesus Christ is easy, just read Matthew 24 or the book of Revelation. But…how many will believe what they read? There are many who don’t think that the Bible is even trustworthy much less the actual Word of God. My point is that we are truly living at the end of the age. Look at the news and watch everything that is going on around us. Then, read Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 and at the beginning of the book of Revelation. See how much of it actually does sound like it came from the news today, then make your decision.

Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? If you haven’t then you need to seek Him for your very soul depends upon it! God cares for and loves each of us, even when we are sinners. He knows which ones of us will hear His call on their lives and those who will hear it and ignore it. But you need to be seeking Him to find Him and that is what this post is about.

Eternity is ahead of you regardless of your eternal destination although you do have a choice of where you will spend eternity. God doesn’t send you into hell, that is your decision because it is due to your rejection of Jesus as your Savior. Whenever you feel the call on your heart to give your life to Him, please don’t turn away from Him. Remember, He paid the price for your sins and mine but it is up to you to accept Him as your Savior.