How much and how far…

God has lots of patience with us because He has been waiting for nearly two thousand years. So how much more time do you think we have before His patience wears down or until the last person on His list is saved? How far will He allow us to go with our rebellion and the majority of people on Earth rejecting Jesus as their Savior?

These are questions which I can’t answer and neither can you. Jesus told His disciples that when that time comes the world will resemble the world just before the flood which Noah survived in the Ark. Are we there yet? Well, millions of children are killed each day in abortions all over the world, not just here in America. The number of children killed in America only amounts to maybe 850,000 or so every year. That is not an exact number but it is a number which should bother people but most will fight you for their right to kill their “fetus”.

Today we have so many terrorist groups, home-grown I might add, which are doing much the same as those on 9/11 did except not with airplanes. Abraham Lincoln said that our country would tear itself apart from the inside out one day because we wouldn’t be attacked from outside our borders. We have been attacked from outside our borders but it seems that the attacks which do the most harm are those from within.

None of this is outside of God’s notice because He sees and hears every word and every deed done on Earth. One day we will pay the price for our pride and arrogance. I just pray that many more who read this may find their way to a church or to a bookstore and pick up a copy of God’s Word. Read it and pray that you will be forgiven in Jesus’ name because when the time comes it will be sudden and without warning. Those who are ready to meet Him in the air will go and those who are not will be left here to endure the wrath of Satan and the wrath of Almighty God.

For Biblical proof of what is coming and some of what is happening today, read Matthew 24 and all of the book of Revelation. Then pray that you won’t have to endure those dangerous times.

What would you give?

In Psalm 84:11-12 it says: 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

God gives to us everything that we need. He doesn’t give to us our wants and our demand, yet many people seem to think that He owes them their desires just because they are “following” Him. God doesn’t owe us anything at all! He protects us and keeps us in this life because He loves us. We have air to breathe and water to drink and most of us have food to eat, so what is there to complain about?

Jesus said that she gave more than the others.

God never said in any part of His Word that we would be rich or well off because we serve Him in some small capacity, whether it is as a teacher or a mother or a police person or even a preacher. It is only because of some “twisted scripture” or scripture taken out of context which people use to get what they want out of other people that we see so-called “servants of God” who are wealthy. You also hear some people saying, usually during times of hardship, that they would give anything if their loved one would recover. Sometimes, God takes them at their word and heals that person but when the healing is done their “promise” is forgotten or it is reduced to a very tiny portion of what they were thinking at the time.

God gave His Son to atone for all of mankind’s sins. We may not be able to give a sacrificial gift like that but we could give our time or our prayers or volunteer in a nursing home or a hospice. Anything that we do for others is considered more than we think it is worth. Many times we will do things and we may never think of it again. We may not find out about the good that our giving accomplished until we get to Heaven and find someone that reminds us of something that we considered small but it made a big difference in their life at some point.

If you ask someone who doesn’t have a home or food or maybe even shoes what they want most in life, what do you think they would give for an answer? A mansion? The finest clothes that money can buy? Maybe the best and most comfortable shoes? Most of the time, in my opinion, the few that I have heard interviewed on TV, they would like to have a warm meal, a warm bed or a cool place to sleep in the summer, comfortable, simple shoes and maybe the most important thing…someone to talk to and who will truly listen.

Jesus paid the price for our sins and our salvation because we can’t do it on our own. Think of the love that He and the Father have for each of us to make it possible for us to have an eternity to love and be loved by our Creator and our God just because we believe that He did it for us because He loves us. Some may say that they don’t want to live an eternity like that. You don’t know what that eternity will be like. God did not save us to sit around meditating on Him, although we could and it would be wonderful. God’s love for His creation is so deep and unknowable until we will be in awe of Heaven’s beauty for many, many years because of what He has perfected there. Your home, if you are a believer, will be so wonderful even if it is a tent (which I don’t think Jesus would do that to us).

Every prophet or disciple who has been given a glimpse of Heaven could scarcely find the words to describe its beauty. It was so much more than what we can see here until even the most beautiful places on Earth pale in comparison with it! I pray that all who reads this will seek to know Jesus as your Savior and Lord and I pray that I will meet you there one day.

Does God care for us?

There is so much evidence for His love for mankind until I would imagine that it hurts His heart when someone asks this. He loved us enough that He created Earth for us. He placed it at the right distance from our Sun so that it isn’t too hot or too cold. He put the right mixture of gases in our atmosphere so that plants and animals of all kinds could grow along with us. Our planet has an abundance of water and the right nutrients in it for all of the life in the oceans and rivers.

God also sent Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin debt so that we could live into eternity with Him one day if we will place our faith in Jesus for our salvation. That is the one gift which we have that no other part of creation has or can understand…the gift of God’s love and His atonement for our sins through His Son, Jesus. This gift from God is by no amount of worth on our part. We cannot earn it nor can we purchase it in any way other than our deep belief in Jesus as our Savior. That is the easiest purchase that we can ever make because we don’t have to spend anything for it. Just believe in Jesus for your salvation and ask Him for your forgiveness of your sinful life before you knew that you needed Him.

God calls us to come to Him through His grace and He gives us enough faith to believe and repent in order to be saved. It has nothing to do with your idea of being saved or your decision of going to church to be saved. When His Holy Spirit convicts your heart of your need of Him, you will respond one way or the other. Choose the right way and trust in Jesus for your salvation. Time is growing short and when He comes for His church you do want to be in the number of those called home to Heaven.

Your strength comes by faith

In Isaiah 41:8-10 it is written: 8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness

This promise was given to the people of Israel during a time when they were persecuted and today Christians are persecuted because our faith in Jesus is mocked and ordered to be silent. In truth, we should not be silent because Jesus would not be silent about the atrocities and the killing which is happening because of a group of people who are angry and upset. The reason for their anger is a righteous one true enough but the looting and killing and burning will not help the situation and it will likely make it worse in the long run.

Jesus did not like the Roman occupation of His country and the killing of His people during His day but God had placed them over Israel as a test and as a way to bring them to a point of wanting a Messiah. The problem at the time was that they were looking for a leader and a king like David and Jesus didn’t come into the world to overthrow a government that was put there by God’s hand.

Every President and Prime Minister are placed in power by God’s hand in order to bring about some part of God’s plan. We may not know which part, but the reason will be shown to us at some point one day.

Jesus came into the world in order to bring the good news of His gospel to all men. That is exactly what He did during the time with His disciples. When some of those who followed Him wanted to make Him the King, He removed Himself from them so that they couldn’t force that decision on Him. In Romans 13:1 it says: 1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

God places all rulers, whether they are Kings or Presidents, in their offices for a purpose that only He knows. Sometimes we agree with His choice and sometimes we don’t but we are to follow them and be subject to them while God has them in power. God gives each of us the strength to do the work that He has given each of us to do. We must rely on Him for this strength and wisdom to carry us through each day and every day. We can’t decide to follow Him on one day and then turn away from Him the very next day or until we feel we can’t handle whatever we are facing that day.

Following Jesus and God’s wisdom and listening to them every day is a practice that we have to get up and determine that we will do this today and then do it again tomorrow and the next day until it becomes as natural as breathing. God loves each of us and will not keep back any blessing for those who are following Him in this life but in order to “take up your cross”, you must decide to do it every day. It isn’t something that can be taught in Sunday school, it must be learned by doing it until it is something that you don’t think about you just do it. The strength to do this comes from Him through your faith in Him. It is not something that you get from a sermon but you do get it by reading and studying His Word daily.

God’s Promises

God has given us many things and many promises in His Word and yet many people who claim to be saved through their belief in Jesus ignore them or don’t believe that He will deliver on them. God is not like we are. He doesn’t lie because if He did He would not be God. This message is for those of us who have given our hearts and our life to God through Jesus His Son. If you have not done so, then these promises don’t apply to you until you do.

The first promise that I’ll begin with is this:

Romans 5:6-11

Christ’s Sacrifice for the Ungodly

(Genesis 22:1-10; John 3:16-21)

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Jesus came to Earth as a baby, born of a virgin in Bethlehem, of parents whose lineage could be traced back to King David of the tribe of Judah. All of these were foretold years before He came and He fulfilled all of these prophecies and more. The people who choose not to believe God’s Word or even any part of it have no claim on even this first promise. The promise that you, as a believer, are a child of God. You have been adopted into the family of God through your belief in Jesus as your Savior.

This is God’s promise and it doesn’t matter if you believe in man’s doctrine of once saved you are always saved or if you believe that you can lose your salvation. God’s promise stands regardless of your belief in man’s doctrine because it is His promise and that settles it. As long as you believe in Jesus as your Savior in your heart and you live your life in accordance with your belief, then you truly are His child.

This promise is from God’s Word and it applies to each of us who are His. During these troubled times in which we are living, we need to lean on our Lord for His strength and guidance because without it we are lost. Our faith in Him should bring hope to those around us and yet we see every day the despair and hopelessness in the world. Those who have no hope cling to what they know and most of that is fear and anger and revenge for anything that is happening to them. Even if it is a virus that mankind has not caused but it brings fear into their lives and then other men bring hatred and murder to people only because of the color of their skin. Fear stirs up hatred and hatred lights a fire that won’t be put out easily.

Can the church and the believers who make up the church have any influence in this troubled world? Yes but only by living our lives daily so others can see Jesus in what we are saying and doing. If we live our lives as if we aren’t the church and like those who don’t believe in Him then we shouldn’t claim to be His at all. Yes we were sinners and we still are sinners but as Christians, we are forgiven and we need to live like it. Don’t leave your “Christianity” at the church building on Sunday. Your life was supposed to change when Jesus came into your heart so live your life as a changed Christian who can be seen as a Christian and not labeled as a hypocrite.

When you accepted Jesus as your Savior you were adopted into the family of God. The Holy Spirit came to dwell within your heart to teach you about Jesus and about your life in Christ, so act like you received the most precious gift of all instead of a burden or something that you never wanted to begin with. The gift which each of us has been given through belief in Jesus for our salvation is worth more than all of the wealth in the whole world because we have a home with Him in eternity. This life doesn’t matter except for what we can give to others by our faith in Him. Any gift which has no beginning in Jesus Christ means nothing.

What is your foundation?

Do you have a real foundation? In our world today many people seem to be devoid of a foundation. They seem to have no concept of even needing a foundation to base their lives and their beliefs on. Yet, America was founded upon Christian principles. Granted many of those were twisted out of context to legalize all kinds of wrongs such as slavery and prostitution and murder and rape. When I said “legalize” I don’t mean that these wrongs were legal in the eyes of the law but they used principles found in God’s Word to either justify what they were doing or to make themselves feel better about something that they knew was wrong in God’s eyes.

The foundation of our principles is based on God’s Law but it is also based on our conscience which God gave to us by way of reading and hearing His Word preached. Whether it was done by a preacher in a church or by your parents or your grandparents it really doesn’t matter. As long as you have heard the Truth from God’s Word then your conscience will let you know when you are doing something which God does not approve of.

We are made in the image of God and have been since the beginning in the Garden of Eden. That has not changed. Man is the only part of God’s creation which is formed from the clay. To form something you have to put your hands in it and make it into a shape that you approve of. Every other creation on Earth was called forth by the Word of God.Mankind was formed from the clay by God’s hands. Can you understand what that means?

When a potter or a sculptor takes a lump of clay or a piece of stone and makes something beautiful out of it they call themselves forming their vision of what is already there. They can see in their mind the man or woman or some other shape and then they either remove the stone or wood from around their vision. A potter looks at the clay and sees what it can be when he lays his hands on it. A master violin player can take a dusty old violin and tune it and make it sound like it came from heaven. God looked at the clay and saw us and all of the good that we could be. Unfortunately He also saw the bad and evil that mankind would be as well.

The only way that we can be what God saw before or during His formation of man is by His grace bringing us to conviction so that we know that we need Jesus in order to be the people which God saw. We need Him and His righteousness in our hearts so that we will live and be more like Jesus than ourselves. Adam was created perfect and sinless and so was Eve until they allowed Satan to twist the words which God has said. They were duped into thinking that they could become more like God. Except in doing so they disobeyed God’s command and in doing so they became more like Satan himself.

Our foundation has to be laid on the rock of salvation through Jesus and our belief in Him as our Savior. If we don’t start our true life off on that foundation by being forgiven and sanctified by the blood of Jesus then we are fooling ourselves and we are wasting out lives. God knows each of us far better than we know ourselves and He knows how far we will go before He needs to bring us to the point where we recognize our Savior and Lord as Jesus the Christ. I pray that many of you who read this will take it to heart and use it so that someone may come to know Jesus as their Savior. If you do not know Him then please seek Him out as your Savior.

Colossians 1:23
if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Jesus is also the foundation of our faith.

disturbing news

I read an article today which unnerved me. According to the Barna group there are an increasing number of people, including many who claim to be Christians, who don’t believe in absolute morality which is taught in God’s Word. I know that many people don’t like what is taught from the Bible or even how it is taught. But when a Christian says that they don’t believe in absolute Truth or Morality it is the same as saying that they don’t believe what God says in the Bible. If you are questioning God or His rules about morality or truth or anything else in God’s Word then you are questioning the validity…the Truth of what God says. If that is how you feel about God then why do you go to church? God is our Creator and the Creator of everything. He cannot lie, so why would you question anything in His Word? If you don’t believe in Him that is your prerogative and if you don’t believe in Him then His Word is suspect too I suppose.

But…what if you are wrong?

God has brought the nation of Israel back to its homeland after nearly two thousand years with their language intact. This is a miracle in itself. All of the prophecies in the Bible have come to pass except for the return of Jesus and that will happen soon. Likely much sooner than many people think.

Is God’s Word, the Bible, true and trustworthy? If it isn’t we might as well be using a book about a wizard or a dragon as our “guide for life”. God and His Word is true and it is absolutely Truth and absolute about the way we should live. The laws of most civilized countries have their foundation in His Word and the laws found there so if we throw the Bible away as untrustworthy then all of the laws should be nullified as well. Then what kind of moral compass will we live by? I don’t think I would want to live in a world like that.

Consider this: God Word is Truth and it is completely true. Jesus died for your sins and everyone else’s sins in the world. Your salvation only depends upon your conviction about being a sinner and knowing that you need Jesus and your belief in Him as your Savior has to be complete and not “maybe so”. One day Jesus will send His angels to gather the church, all believers, to be with Him in Heaven. If you are not part of that gathering and you see it happen, it will prove that the Bible is true and you just missed out on being taken to Heaven before all hell breaks loose on Earth.

Do you seek the spotlight?

During this time of video classes and video services from churches without people, are we seeking to be in the spotlight? Some people may be like fireflies in front of a camera and some truly are but for those who are trying to take the message of Jesus to others, shouldn’t we try to make sure that it is His message which is in the spotlight? It is our pride which causes us to seek the spotlight because we want the attention. It is pride which is the tap root from which all sins grow from and Satan knows how to nudge us in this direction.

Jesus didn’t seek the spotlight but He did spotlight the message itself so that people would hear it and seek salvation through belief in Him. It is our own pride which carries us into hell because we try to do everything ourselves. We even try to be our own savior because we believe that our works and our “righteousness” would gain us entry into the presence of God. It isn’t easy to be humble before God because we can’t see Him. We don’t know His majesty or His holiness and we can’t look around us and perceive Him in all of His glory.

We look at all of the accomplishments of mankind and we think that man has done so many great things. In some areas we have but if you look closer you can see all of the failings of mankind’s stewardship of our home. The pollution of rivers and the ocean and the cutting down of rain forests, which clean our air and make it breathable again. In the past few hundred years we have done much harm to our home, most of which cannot be fixed or replaced. Yet, we think that we deserve to stand in the Presence of God because of our “accomplishments”. How brazenly bold and prideful we are.

God loves each of us but those that He has called to be His aren’t doing their job as they should. Some are true enough but many of us seem to look at our salvation as nothing more than “fire insurance”. When we should be working for our Savior and Lord until that day when He comes to take His Bride, the church, home. This is the expectation of our Savior and our God but if we don’t read His Word we won’t know until it is too late.

Just as in the parable of the talents, when the Master of the house comes we should be found diligently working for Him and not being lazy and only bringing his one talent back to Him. Think of being a worker who will be richly rewarded if we are found working hard for our employer on the day when He says, “Enter into the rest of your Master my faithful servant”. Our time here is a very short time compared to even ten thousand years and that is only a moment in time compared to eternity. Make sure of your salvation and get to work while there is time to do so. Once your time is done here you will give account to God for every word and deed which you did for Him or not. You decide which side you will be found on.

Do you listen to God?

There are many people in church and outside of church who will tell you that “God doesn’t speak to us anymore!”. Really? Who do you think is speaking when you read the Bible? It isn’t the person who wrote the words down because it is God’s Holy Spirit which has inspired them to write and speak and pray and write some more. The words in the Bible come from God so how can you say that He doesn’t speak today? No, He doesn’t use His “God” voice because most people would fall down dead if He did! (maybe not dead, but it would scare a lot of people).

God speaks through the words which we read from the Bible but if you don’t read His Word how will you know what He sounds like? God loves us and He has loved us since the beginning of everything. He knew Adam would not be able to resist the Tree of Knowledge. That was not a surprise to God at all. Jesus, His Son, was the Second Person of the Trinity and He knew that He would have to go one day and pay for all of our sins and He willingly did it. His human body and mind didn’t want to but His will submitted to His Father and did it anyway.

Was it painful? Yes! He bled and died for our sins…but He rose to life on the third day and now He is waiting for His Father to tell Him to “Go and get your Bride”. God is giving each of us a chance to be saved but it is up to us and our decision whether we will accept His gift of grace. Salvation is a gift from God just as your life and your health is a gift from Him. Whether we actually accept it or not is our decision. Can God force it on us? He could but that would prove nothing. Forcing obedience from someone is slavery and God doesn’t want slaves, He wants followers and people who love Him because He loved us first!

Love cannot be forced it is given from both parties in the relationship. If it is not or if the love is only flowing one way then pretty soon the stream dries up. A loving relationship is a two way stream and if both parties are not contributing to the stream then pretty soon the relationship will become one sided and then it will die. God doesn’t begin relationships with us in order to let them die. He is the Creator and the Author of Life so a relationship with Him is a two way relationship. He gives and we give as well. We give Him our life just as He gave His Son’s life for us to be sanctified and holy. Did it cost God anything? Of course it did! He felt the nails. He felt the whip as it ripped into Jesus’ body. He knew the suffering that Jesus went through to bring salvation to all who would accept it.

But…not everyone will accept it.

I pray that you who read this will accept His love into your life and accept Jesus as your Savior because one day soon our period of grace will be over and the time of testing and tribulation will begin.

Life…doesn’t last long here

Life in this world and in this body doesn’t last very long.

We live maybe sixty or eighty years by God’s grace. It sounds like a long time to someone who is five or ten years old, but one day they will understand.

If you have ever had a pet, especially a dog, from the time they were a puppy until they passed on then you know that life is short. Even when a Dachshund can live to be twenty or a bit more, you are their world. You are their caretaker and their friend and to them you are the Alpha of the pack that lives in your home. If you treat them like family they will love and take care of you just as they would any other part of the pack. This applies to any breed who shares your life because they are family even if they have four furry feet.

Our lives are not long when you compare our few decades to the time that the Earth has been here or how long some people believe it has been here. God knows exactly how long your life will be because He formed you and He gave you the time and talent to be what He intended for you to be. Whether that is a doctor or a lawyer or a plumber or a policeman or woman or a nurse or maybe even a welder. In each of these professions there are those who truly excel at them and there are some who don’t and even some who just do the best they can.

Those who excel at their profession usually thank God for their life and their profession and for His Son Who came to save us all from our sinful lives. They know that it is God Who gave them their talents and skills to be and do the job that they do. They also give Him a part of their income so that His Kingdom will be honored and will keep growing until that day when He calls all of us home to be with Him. God loves each of us and He has given us the talent and skill to be useful to His Kingdom if we will learn His Wisdom from His Word and use it in every part of our lives. That way more people can see Him when we speak or when we pray or even when we are just doing our job as He gifted us to do it. Do your work every day as if you are doing it for God Himself. After all, He did give you the talent and the ability to be and do your job.