Category: Choose Christ

Worry, doubts and fears


It seems that every day people are bombarded with more things which cause fear and anxiety. We doubt ourselves at times, and we have fears which cause us to worry about things which we can’t control. What can we do about this? Can we do anything about this situation? It depends upon your situation and your faith.

Some people claim that they can handle their own lives and they don’t need to have “blind faith” in religion to help them get through life. The problem with this kind of attitude is that when push comes to shove and things get a bit out of hand, most will seek out a “higher power” for comfort and direction even if they claim that they don’t believe in a “higher power”. God is that One Who is higher than all, Jesus is the One Who can relate to our suffering and our pain and they can help in all of life’s situations no matter what!

With all of the news that is available to us on the Internet and television today, there is very little which goes on in the world that we can’t keep tabs on whether we truly want to or need to or not. All of this information can cause us to worry far more than is healthy, and the worst part is that we shouldn’t worry about it at all. God is in control of it all. He is watching and guiding your life and mine toward that day when He will call us home.

Yes, one day the whole world will see that we are important to our Creator. Important enough that He will be returning soon, much sooner than most think. Many people are going to be surprised and terrified when that day comes and the church, the believers who are waiting for His call, all disappear and are taken to Heaven. Then they will want to believe, but it will be harder to do so. Many explanations will be given which have nothing to do with God or the Bible’s prophecies but just as in the days of Noah, when the door to the ark was shut the only ones saved were the ones inside.

We don’t have “blind faith” in a God Who is not there. He is the Creator because there is no way that all of this universe could come into being as it is because of an accident. Our own solar system, out of all the ones that have been discovered, is the only one that is stable and with orbits for all of the planets that allow for life to flourish. All of the hundreds of solar systems that have been discovered are too close to their star or too far-flung to harbor life.

God loves all of us, no matter what your skin color is or your culture, but we refuse His provision and His grace when we try to take His place. When we think that we know better than He does how to fulfill our lives in this world, we are deluding ourselves. Seek God in the Bible or at a church which teaches from His Word. Pray that your life can have meaning in and through Him and seek His wisdom every day. This is the best way to relieve stress and worry because He is the One Who holds tomorrow in His hand. All that we have is today.

Live today for Jesus and then do it again tomorrow, then repeat until He comes again. That is the prescription which will conquer worry, doubt and fears far better than anything that a doctor can give you.

Is your life broken?


We hear about people who are broken in spirit and in their lives too. Broken is, sometimes, a state of mind but occasionally it is a state of being. We feel as if life and the things which we are doing just don’t work anymore, so it feels broken and cracked. Sometimes the brokenness is felt spiritually, like our prayer life and our connection to God just doesn’t seem to be working anymore.

Breaking news! It isn’t God Who broke the connection, it is something in your life and mine which does that. Something that we have said or thought about or maybe even something that we did that is a…sin. It puts a wall up around us and our daily living until we confess it, ask forgiveness for it and then get back into our relationship with God. That is when the mending begins. Sometimes the cracks in our life appear as sorrow for something that we can’t put our finger on. Occasionally, those cracks come to us in the form of depression which can make them seem even bigger than they really are.

A state of brokenness is survivable, whether it feels like you can get through it or not is your own perception. God can help you to get through it and you will be stronger in your faith and your connection to Him for going through it. It isn’t fun, but it is necessary sometimes. We get to a point and feel like things aren’t going our way anymore, and we don’t know why. We can’t pinpoint it, particularly the cause of the “not right” point, it is just elusive and out there like a feeling that we have and we just don’t know what it is.

God can give you the peace that you seek in this circumstance, but you have to seek Him first. His position hasn’t moved but ours is all over the place at times. There are days when we aren’t very far from Him and then we have days where we don’t even feel His presence at all in our lives. Those are the days where we feel as if we have fallen through one of those cracks in our lives, and sometimes it feels like it is over a mile deep. We may survive the fall, but when we hit the bottom it seems that there just isn’t a way out. Like we have nothing to hold onto.

We do have God, even in those dark places. He is there and His Word is always available if we will just cling to it and read it, study it, meditate on its wisdom and pray, PRAY, PRAY!!!

Is it broken? Can it be fixed? Your life and all of the parts of it that seem to be broken can be fixed, but not by you. God can fix it. I know the newspapers and magazines say that He hasn’t fixed it yet, but He will and He can. He hasn’t fixed our world because there are so many people who don’t care to know Him and aren’t listening to Him and His messengers. Life is broken to an extent because of the fall in Eden, but also because of our disobedience to God’s laws and His Word. God did not break your life or mine, we have done that.

We go through our days and weeks thinking that everything will be OK, regardless of what we do but God is still in control, especially when we aren’t. If you are not a Christian then your life is your own or it belongs to the worldly lusts and whims that you pursue. Most people don’t want to hear about or know that Satan is alive and well on Earth and he is completely happy with you not knowing God. As a matter of fact, that is his job…to keep you from knowing and giving your life to the service of God and Jesus. Your life goes right along like it should for the most part, but there is always that little bit of tension.

At some point that little bit of tension breaks, and causes an argument or a shooting which will blow your life completely out of the water. This is exactly what the world wants and it’s what Satan wants. To bring your life down around you so that your witness won’t matter, your ministry won’t matter because your life, your family, your health is gone. This is what happens when you get on the list and when Satan targets you and your family…something breaks and becomes broken. The only fix for it is to trust in and turn to God. Amen.

Inspiration comes in small doses


inspiration5Some days I see a picture or just a few words in a comment here or on my FB page. Some days the inspiration comes from reading God’s Word or while I am in prayer for our country or the community that I live in. God uses little prompts, soft nudges which, if you are paying attention, you will be inspired by to write down something which comes to mind. Some days, it is a sunrise or sunset that brings inspiration with it.

Life itself is an inspiration to me. When I see a child running with all the abandon of childhood, it blesses me. When I see a sunrise like the one above, God is having a great day! He does this every day because HE can see what is going to happen before it happens. His days are never surprising to Him, they may be to us but as long as you begin your day with Him, the day will be a good one.

So much of our life is taken for granted, especially today. We look forward to tomorrow or next month, even when we have no idea if we will be here at that time. I know, expect to live tomorrow because expectation is a part of a faithful life. But, making plans without consulting God about those plans is foolish. He may have some other place or person in mind for you. His plans may not fall into the same time frame as yours.

Consider that He holds yesterday, today and tomorrow in His hands and He can see the outcome of those decisions that you make, with or without His consent. The direction for your life, in business and at home, always turns out better when He is part of it. God created you to be a part of His creation, His Kingdom and He is the One Who holds you and your life together.

There is a molecule called laminin that is part of our cellular structure and it is described as the glue which holds all of our cells together. Here is part of a wikipedia page quote which tells about these molecules: The laminins are an important and biologically active part of the basal lamina, influencing cell differentiation, migration, and adhesion.

Here is a picture of that molecule: laminin

It explains itself in a way. Jesus went to the cross to save us from our sinful nature and to give us eternal life through Himself. He also placed within our bodies a representation of that cross in the form of a molecule which is part of our structure which holds our cells together. God is present in all of the details of your life and mine, whether we know it or not. Ask Him to make Himself known to you through His Word and to become a part of your life from this day forward.

He will and your life, here and into eternity, will be more meaningful and more peaceful because of it.

What do you truly need?


Life is given to us when we are born, but our person and our soul arrives before that event which is why God said, ““Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;“Jeremiah 1:5

All of our needs are met by God with our life, our breath, our living on this Earth. True, there are people who are hungry and without shelter in the world and in our country, but that is a society problem. One that could be taken care of without a government program, if we would resolve to take care of our own instead of everyone else.

Life and our needs are the things which we are blessed with by God. With each breath and each blink of our eyes we see the horror of life which happens around us and we also see the beauty in a sunset or the smile of a child. So, how do you respond to all of the stimuli that you have thrown in your life, in your face by social media, by news or other programs? Do we, collectively, respond positively with an attitude which can lend a hand to others?

Many times we don’t in today’s society. We protest that there is not enough being done. We march around and parade in the streets and bring wrongs to the attention of the media, but…we could be doing something about these things. Not being dependent upon the government to take care of us, but actually helping each other. Teaching our children, showing them how much we really DO care about their education rather than depending on some stranger to tell them what the “education system” says they need to learn.

What does our country need? People who will roll their sleeves up and get to work to fix the things that need fixing! The government doesn’t know how to fix its own problems, how can they fix yours and mine?

Your life and mine belong to God. Whether you have given your heart to Him or not, He is still the Creator and whether you believe this or not doesn’t cause that fact to be false! We will face Him either when we die or at the judgement seat, but your belief in Him or your lack of belief in His existence doesn’t have an effect on His existence.

He provides for us, whether we acknowledge His presence in that process or not. Our needs are met, but our eternal need is for salvation and that only comes through Jesus and belief in Him. Seek Him out, learn of His Truth in the Bible and ask Him into your heart. How long each of us has in this life is just a puff of smoke compared to eternity, which will be your life after this one. Make sure it is one that you will enjoy rather than be in punishment during that time. It is only a small decision, one that a child can make yet many refuse to believe that it is that simple.

Don’t put it off.

Begin…


This is the day that we need to begin not tomorrow because you don’t know what it will bring or even if you will be here tomorrow. Begin something whether it is your dream for your life, or it may be stepping out to finish a degree that you wanted to finish. Life is a beginning, a new day with its sunrise is a beginning and if you are alive then you should begin!

Just as the proverb says that “a trip of one thousand miles begins with one step”, we need to begin. When God called Abram to go away from his country to a country that he knew not…he began with a step in that direction. When the Israelites were freed from slavery, they would never have gotten to the wilderness, let alone their promised land, without taking the first step.

In your life, every day, your day begins when you wake up. But…nothing gets done in the day until you begin it! You have to get up from the bed, put your feet on the floor and take a step, then another and another until you get to your destination. God knows His plans for you and they are plans to prosper you, but your prosperity doesn’t come to you without stepping out on faith and doing something about it!

We all have to begin to do something every day, regardless of the situation because in this life things don’t get done without a beginning! You can’t eat without picking up the fork, you have to begin your meal with an action. Like picking up the plate and the fork and putting the food on it and then thanking God for what we have to eat. Even then, if you don’t begin to eat with that fork, that plateful of food won’t get into your mouth without you beginning to eat it.

The thing about beginnings, regardless of the type of beginnings they are, is that some kind of action is required. In a relationship with your wife or husband it has a beginning, just as life has a beginning. When we decide to live our lives for Jesus or rather WITH Jesus, that life has a beginning too. So where do you and your family or spouse begin? That depends upon where you want to end your journey. Any trip or journey whether in life or as a vacation has to have a starting point…a place to begin and an ending point. So consider where your journey should end or at least where you would LIKE for it to end.

Regardless of your beliefs, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim or any of the other religions, there is always a place where your eternity also begins. For all of us, eternity begins when this life ends regardless of your beliefs. Some of you who don’t believe in an eternity will find that contrary to your lack of belief, there really is a God and you will meet Him. When your eternity begins, where will you spend it? If you don’t believe that there is one, then you will be surprised and not so happy about your eternity. If you are a Christian, then I need to ask this question:

Have you followed Jesus every day since you asked Him into your life?

Why do I make it that personal? Because a relationship, whether it is with Jesus or your family, is personal. To be in that relationship totally, you have to be present every day not just once or twice per week or once a month! How would your spouse feel if you treated her or him that way? Your relationship wouldn’t last very long would it? If it isn’t a daily walk with Jesus, then you might need to check with your pastor to see if you are saved! Sitting in a pew, reading a daily Bible verse, giving a tithe now and then, these are all good things but they are the motions that you can do that show others that you attend church…that’s all. Your relationship only shows when you are in it for real! Don’t be like the Pharisees were, so religious they couldn’t have a relationship with their Messiah.

The end is the Beginning


In some ways, it is difficult to make sense of those words. How can the beginning be at the end? It is a conundrum and a puzzle for sure, but to a person who is a Christian it is a simple and glorious thing! At the end of a long life, your eternal life begins! It isn’t an end, other than being the end of physical, Earthly life. The beginning for Christian believers starts when they give their lives to Jesus and ask His forgiveness of their sins.

You are reborn into a life of learning, love, sacrifice, and service. Learning from God’s Word as you explore the love of God for His people and for the world, learning Who He is and His meaning for your life. The love of God is all around you and once you realize it, you can feel it and see it in our world, in natural processes, in life itself. Sacrifice is when you live according to the life and teachings of Jesus, by giving away your faith, telling others about Him. To be true to the calling and life of a Christian you don’t really have to sacrifice anything, you just have to live your life according to Jesus’ teachings and to do that you have to read His Words and learn from them. Service happens when you are doing those things mentioned above, it is not “works” in order to be saved or to earn your way into Heaven.

Works don’t give you any extra “points”, only the saving power of Jesus and your faith and belief in Him will give you your Salvation which allows you into God’s Presence. Seek Him, trust in Him and believe in Him through the Bible, or by attending a Bible teaching church will show Him to you so that you can know Him if you will not harden your mind and heart to the love that He offers.

The Beginning at the end is what you get to experience if you are a Christian. If you choose to follow your own path, or another way of living not found in the Bible or any other religion then your eternity will be very different. Whether you believe in God or Jesus or the Bible has no bearing on the reality that you will find yourself in at the end of your life here. Your eternity will be waiting for you when you breathe your last breath here, so make sure of your destination before that happens.

Why did Jesus come?


4thpage.jpg“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 These words were spoken by Jesus from the cross as He was crucified for our sins. Not just yours or mine but for every person in the past, in His present and in the future. Why did God do this? Why would God allow this to be done?

The simple answer is because of His love for us, all of us. This is a kind of love that we cannot comprehend…we cannot understand this depth of love. It is so far beyond our pitiful ability that it would be like explaining the concept of love to a shark or a snake. It cannot be understood and it can’t be comprehended by our limited minds. Of course, there are some who will contest this way of thinking but if you really think about it, the depth of love that it would take I mean, our human mind can’t comprehend a love like that.

That is the reason that Jesus said that we would have to come to the Kingdom of God with faith like a child. Trusting that God knows what is best and that we can give Him our life and our heart no matter what!

God created this universe so that we could experience the awesome reach of His power and know that He is the Creator and there is no other. No amount of spiritualism or pagan pseudo-religion will be a substitute for God, period. You can call the Bible a fake and the Word contained in it to be fantasy, but Christians have died believing in the God of the Bible and His Word. Of course, many people who don’t believe in Jesus will also say that they were delusional but people wouldn’t die believing a lie.

I know, sincerity breeds belief and beliefs are what those people ultimately died for BUT if that was the way that things have been taught for nearly two thousand years, what of it? At least Christians are not trying to kill all of those who won’t convert to Christianity. If we are wrong, then our lives have only been wasted doing the work of Jesus while we can. If there is no Heaven or hell, then why did Jesus come to bring the good news to the Jews and to the rest of the world? If the Bible is a lie, then the Torah is a lie and the Jewish religion is a lie.

Nothing about the Christian religion can be disproved. You can choose not to believe any of it if you wish, but the history contained in it has been proven by archaeologists. Science has proven many of the truths in the Bible as well. Such as the ordinance given to circumcise a child on the eighth day after they are born. A baby doesn’t have the capability to clot blood until that day is past, but that wasn’t proved until recently.

God loves each of us, this is proven because we live and breathe. You can laugh at this if you wish, but it truly is by His grace and mercy that our world hasn’t come to an end yet. When the time is up, every eye will see the result and hear it around them but if you haven’t made the decision to come to God by belief in Jesus…it will be too late.

Mary, did you know?


When the angel came to tell of the baby you were going to have, did you know that your heart would change completely? All parent’s hearts change in some way when their child is born, but your Child is special. He was and is not a child born of human procreation, but One Who was prophesied since the beginning, to be the Savior of mankind.

The story is told in Luke 1 beginning here:

26…the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Jesus came to a humble family, but one that was descended from the lineage of David of the tribe of Judah. The babe was sent into the world to announce to it that God had come down to mankind to offer salvation to all who would believe.

The story continues here:

Luke 2 (King James Version)

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

The shepherds went out telling all of the things which they had seen, just as we are supposed to do. Amen.

Love unlimited


This is the kind of love which God has for all of us. Why do I say this? Because, He wouldn’t have sent His only Son to Earth to offer salvation to us through belief in Him and the sacrifice that He made if He didn’t love us this way. God did not love just one nation or people this way, but He loved all of us in this way. He told Abraham that the whole world would be blessed through his descendants and He was speaking of the blessing of salvation brought to us through Jesus and His sacrifice.

Unlimited love and compassion brought the “seed of the woman”, the Messiah, into a manger in Bethlehem to be the Savior of the world! That is the blessing to all of the world through the seed of Abraham and David that we have today. The world has had this blessing since the time of Jesus because of God’s love for us.

The Messiah, the Creator, the Living Word of God brought down to mankind in the form of a baby. He was not born as a King, but as a commoner, a carpenter’s Earthly son but He was and is the Son of God. Your life can be changed and will be if you will come to Him and ask Him to come into your life. Your eternal life begins when you are born into the family of God through giving your heart to Him and asking Him to come into your heart!

You are loved by God far more than you can imagine. He would’ve sent His Son even if you or I were the only person yet to be born or saved, that’s how much God loves you and me. Heaven is going to be full of millions of people who have given their hearts to Jesus in the past and today. Give your heart to Jesus this week, today, because He loves you more than you know.

People tell me that a mother’s love is t he greatest love that we can experience on Earth. Yes, our parent’s love is a reflection of God’s love toward us, but it is a dim reflection. We cannot imagine or comprehend the love of God, but it is there and available for each of us. All that we have to do is ask Him to come into our lives. That is the gift that you can get from God, eternity and forgiveness. You will give Him another child to bring into His house one day and all of Heaven rejoices when one more comes to know their Savior. I know that I am looking forward to that reunion and many others are too.

Won’t you join us in our Father’s house? He loves you more than you can imagine and He will be near you regardless of your circumstances or what life throws at you from this point on. If you need confirmation of this, read Luke 2. It is a description of the birth of our Savior and the birth of God’s Son, the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

Merry Christmas!

So much strife, remember…


In our world, in our everyday lives, we experience problems of all sorts. Pain, heartaches, anxiety, fears, the list could go on and on. Remember, God loves you, and remember these promises as well:

PromisesfromGodsWord

I know, during this time of year many people aren’t really concerned with their eternal destiny but you should be! Why? Because it is going to last a LOT longer than this life will! God does have a plan for you and me, and it doesn’t stop when your life on this Earth stops. Consider this, God said that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Present tense, not past tense! Meaning, they live on into eternity and you will too…if you have given your life and your heart to Jesus. Ask Him to come into your heart and save you, because HE came to seek and save those who are lost which includes you and me! I accepted Him a few years ago, and I pray that you will too.