Category: Choose today whom you will serve

The blessing of the Lord


24 The LORD bless thee and keep thee:

25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.

This is the blessing of the Lord for the children of Israel but it can be applied to the church today. If we will do His commandments and be His children as the New Testament says. That does not mean that we only go to church on holidays nor do we only pray to God when we think we need Him.

Walking with Jesus and God the Father is a daily walk. A daily practice that we should do gladly because God chose us before the beginning of the world. We are and have been chosen to be His representatives in this world and until that day comes that the church is taken up…I will be writing here and putting the words that He gives me out here so that others might find Him and come to know Him as their Savior.

Forgiven and sanctified


Jesus the Christ has done this for His followers because we are forgiven and sanctified in Him and in Him alone. We are forgiven of our sins by His blood and His sacrifice and there is no other that can save us from our sins. So why are there so many who refuse to hear this message? Why do most of the world refuse to follow Him and become His disciples? They follow their own ways and their “gods” even when they know that there is only One God.

In the time of Isaiah, many of the prophecies about Jesus were given to him. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born yet Jesus fulfilled every one of them. Our Lord is yet alive and at the right hand of God the Father, waiting for the command to bring His Bride home. Oh, what a day that will be! The entire world will know and realize that the Bible and its prophecies are true and they will tremble because of it.

I pray that all who read this will seek Jesus as your Savior while you have the time to do so. This life is the only time that we have to make that decision. There is no second chance for your salvation.

Keep on obeying


Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/php.2.12/77066

Amen

Nothing can separate us from the love of God


39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/rom.8.39.KJV

If you’ve given your heart to Jesus, nothing can take you from His love. You will be protected in His hand until this life is over. Then you will be in His Presence into eternity.

When you feel down…


Read the book of Psalms! Nearly every one of them is an uplifting praise of God’s wonderful love for you. True, there are some that are a bit dreary or sad but when depression got to me a few years ago Psalms got me through the days and weeks until I was out and feeling better. No medication and no psychologist trying to take all of my money that I don’t have to give away!

God created you so pray to Him when things aren’t going the way that you want them to. He knows what you need and why but He still likes to hear it from your own heart. Don’t blame Him for things going wrong because most of the time that is Satan trying to get you to do exactly that! Satan wants to drive a wedge between you and God and make you feel bad about your life. It isn’t God that is causing bad things but He will walk with you through them until the Sun comes out and life is good again!

God doesn’t leave you when you are in the valley’s. He may be silent for a time to let you feel sad or angry or hurt or even depressed but He is as close as a prayer and He will take you through the bad times. Philippians 4:19 says: “My God will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”

He is a loving God and Creator and His love for you is boundless. All that you need to do is answer His call in your heart when you feel it. Give your heart to Jesus and He will make you a new Creation through the Holy Spirit’s work in your heart. You will never be the same when you have done this and you will be a Christian in heart and mind!

Amen

Live a life approved…


We live each day as if nobody sees what we do or knows what we say, yet God knows all. He sees and hears every thought, word and deed that we do each and every day. We will be judged by those words and deeds even if we are saved through Jesus Christ because many times we do these things not considering that many of them are wrong in God’s eyes. If you are to live a life that shows others that you have given your heart and your life to Jesus and that you follow Him daily then your life must show it. If you don’t want to live a Christian life following Jesus and His teachings each day then don’t give your heart to Him. There are only two choices for your life…salvation through Jesus or life without Him. One you get to live here in accordance with His teachings so that others might see Him through your life. The other, life without Jesus, you can live without ever knowing Him or going to church or serving others but your life will end with your death.

A life approved by Jesus and through His Holy Spirit is a life that never ends. You will seek Him each day, living life here as a disciple and a follower of Him so that others will see the effect of Jesus Christ in your life. Hopefully they will see the peace that He gives you in times of trouble or the strength that you get through Him when you go through testing. The greatest gift that you have is the gift of eternity with Him because your life will go on after this body and this life is over. Our life will go on to be present with Him in Heaven and we will have an immortal body that will never know pain or disease ever again. The few years that we have here on Earth are the proving ground and the testing of our faith in Him and whether we will give our life to Him or not.

Does it matter if we live a life approved by Jesus Christ? Yes! If you would like your child or your children to know Him then you must live a life approved by Him. Children will follow in your footsteps whether you want them to or not and they will see the things that you do or say and learn from them whether you intended for them to or not. They will find out your past in one way or another so be careful to show them that you may have been a reprobate in the past but you have given your heart to Jesus and you have truly changed. You are no longer that person from your youth because you are a new creation in Jesus Christ!

Being a Christian in truth and in deed means living your faith everyday, not just on Sunday or on a particular holiday. It is not something that you can put on for weddings or funerals and on Sunday and then take it off when it isn’t convenient for you. When your heart is changed by Jesus, you are changed from the core of your being. Sometimes it takes a few years for the change to become visible to everyone because it is a process. Your heart is changed but the maturity comes from studying the Word of God and prayer to give you the strength each day to walk with Him. The Christian life is not an easy road to walk on. There will be trials and days when you do stumble and make mistakes. You will sin with your cuss words and thoughts but you will seek forgiveness and help in repenting from those mistakes. As I said, it takes time.

This day is coming!


For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:14‭-‬17 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/1th.4.14-17.KJV

The parable of the workers


One day a wealthy man needed some work done in his fields, so he went to the marketplace and found many men standing around. He offered them “whatever is right”, a penny (denarius) for their day’s work. They agreed and began work at an early hour. He did this again at about the sixth and ninth hours. He even went and found others looking for work at the eleventh hour and offered them the same.

Not long after he called his servants and told them to bring the workers in so that he could pay them their wages. Many of them who were there for most of the day ventured that they would receive more than their agreed pay. He began to pay them from the last workers first. The others saw that he was paying them also with a denarius and grumbled about it. When it came time to pay the first workers they were angry about it but the owner of the field said, “Friend, did you not agree to a denarius for a day’s wages?” Take your pay and go, I will do with my money what is right because it is my choice to do so.

Granted, I paraphrased this parable a bit, but it shows the grace and mercy of God to all of us. Just as the thief on the cross was one of the first to attain salvation by his faith and belief in Jesus Christ, he received the reward of being in Heaven. The very last person on Earth who is saved prior to the rapture (catching away) of the church will also attain entry into Heaven through the blood of Jesus and His righteousness. There will be no real difference in reward save for those who worked for God’s Kingdom in their lifetimes and their rewards will be the crowns that they are given for their faith and their work for His Kingdom. The book of Revelation tells about these crowns and what they represent and that we will cast them at the feet of Jesus because He is worthy to be praised! The book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible which has a blessing in the beginning chapter for all who read it and seek the meaning of it. I pray that you will read it and seek the One Who gives its meaning and purpose to all who believe.

Amen

Life…


How do you define life? Is it just living from day to day or is there more to it than that?

I like to think that it is much more than just living day to day because that’s surviving, not living life! Jesus Christ came to give us a more abundant life but what does that mean… exactly? There are lots of scriptures that point in His direction but what is a more abundant life? It is a life filled with joy because you have Jesus as your Savior and you are looking forward to eternity and not dreading it or wondering what it will be like.

Sometimes we get caught up in our problems and forget about the blessings we have in Jesus. This robs us of our hope and our joy. But…we can get back into the Bible and get our joy back because it’s not gone for good.

The joy of the Lord is my strength and we can have that joy when we think about the blessings that we have because of our relationship with Jesus. Many people don’t have this joy because they don’t want a relationship with Jesus. They may know about Him and they might attend church but head-knowledge doesn’t bring salvation.

God knows what is in your heart and He gives those who will decide enough faith to decide Who they will follow when they are convicted of their need for Jesus. Does that mean that God is choosie? Yes and no. You have to understand that He lives outside of time so He can see what you will do even before you do it. This is why we sometimes have a feeling that we should go this way rather than the other. That’s God trying to get our attention before it’s too late.

Make sure of what you believe and Who you believe in before tomorrow if possible because none of us are guaranteed to wake up in the morning. If you don’t care about eternity then feel free to ignore this advice but eternity is a long, long time regardless of where you spend it. Myself, I’d rather spend it with friends and family in Heaven.