Category: doubts and fears

Do you truly KNOW God?


I know that none of us have met Him in person. We won’t do that until we die and stand before Him. But, did you know that you could know God? Yes, we all can if we will seek Him out in the Bible.

I can almost hear people saying “I have read the Bible through many times and I am not going to claim that I know God!”. Why not? He reveals Himself in many ways, not just through His Word but by all of nature that you see around you every day. In the Old Testament God reveals Himself as a loving and patient God Who loves His Creation which includes you and me and all other people in this world.

Yes, there are parts of the Old Testament where God tells Israel as a group to slaughter all of those in the Promised Land where they are going to live. How does this show His love and compassion? Because, those that He told them to kill worshiped demons and idols and they sacrifice their children to their “gods”! God wants that influence taken out of the land that they are to live in because it will influence their children. This is why He tells us to teach our children from the Bible. We are to teach our children its wisdom so that they will know God and not be influenced to “try” some other religion.

Can you know God by reading His Word? I would say so. If you read some letters from your Dad or your grandfather who loved your mother or grandmother, even if you had never met them, you would know that they loved her and wanted to be with her! That is what many of the books in the Old Testament are like, they are like love letters to Israel and its people from God. They are also meant for us as Gentiles too. When Jesus referred to the Scriptures He was speaking of the Old Testament because that was all they had at the time.

The most important thing to remember about God’s Word is that it is True. The entire book from Genesis to Revelation, but especially the Old Testament. Why do I say it like this? Because, in the Old Testament, God was trying to get Israel to worship Him and Him only, not some piece of wood carved in the image of a cow or a snake, or even a man.

God caused all of the miracles which freed the nation of Israel from Egypt, and they still questioned Him. The still couldn’t or wouldn’t believe in Him, even with water from a rock, walking on dry ground through the sea, the supply of enough food for all of them during 40 years in the wilderness. Would it take all of that for us to believe in Him today?

Possibly. We are just as stiff-necked as they were and we don’t believe in Him today, at least much of the world doesn’t. Most of the population worships their ancestors or the stars or a moon-god, some even believe that when they die they will become a god. It isn’t hard to see that even with miracles for proof, many people today would still choose to not believe in Him. What a shame.

It takes a small amount of something called faith to believe in a God Who truly loves us. One Who cares for each of us, whether we know Him yet or not. He has used fishermen, murderers, thieves, and a shepherd boy to fulfill His work in times past. I think that He could use us too.

Separate but equal in His eyes


In the centuries since Jesus, our Savior, ascended to His Father, YHWH, and He sent the Holy Spirit to be with the early church so that they could get started. Why? Because there were many thousands of people in Jerusalem that day when Peter spoke and the only way that many would understand him was through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God Himself. Many people think that Peter was speaking in many languages that day and he may have been, but it wasn’t coming directly from his mouth that way. This is just my belief and you are welcome to disagree with me, but the Spirit was giving them utterances to be heard by all of the people and it was Spiritually done.

What I mean by that is that even if Peter was speaking in Aramaic, the Spirit was working through him so that all of those who did not speak Aramaic heard his words in their native tongue. So to be understood, to be heard by many people who needed salvation and so that they would believe in the power of God through the Holy Spirit. Do we, as Christians, still have that spirit with us today? In a sense, yes we do. Wherever it is needed and necessary, the Holy Spirit will make it evident to those around that God is alive and well and working through us to bring the knowledge of Jesus to them.

Are these spiritual gifts necessary for salvation? No, they are not. They are manifestations, proof of salvation and validation of ministry if and when it is necessary to spread the gospel to others. There is an article which shows some of the differences between churches and I am giving the link to it here, and although I believe that we are all serving the same God our ideas about Him are very different which is what has separated us all along.

There are many names given to God by mankind over the years and many of them can be found in this article which is a good reference for exactly Who He is because these names are all in God’s Word so there is no dissension. God loves each of us, not just a few and not just those whom He calls to Himself, but many people in the world today don’t look at Him that way or think of Him that way.

Some people treat God like a genie or a grandfather. He is our CREATOR! He is GOD! There are and always have been three persons in the Trinity of God. There is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and it is the spirit which we have when we open our hearts to become Christians. No amount of speaking in tongues which can’t be understood will make your salvation more real. God still heals people today, maybe not in the most dramatic way but He does it just the same. Is there prophecy today? Yes, in the Word of God and in those who are preachers of that Word and no other!

How can we turn away from God and His nature of being a Triune Godhead? At Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove and lighted on Him, God spoke saying “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased”. You have the Trinity in that one place at the same time. David said that he needed the Spirit of God to give him strength, the Angel of the Lord has been identified as the pre-incarnate Christ and God the Father, our Creator, was present with Israel in numerous ways throughout their history and He is with us today!

The church shouldn’t be splintered and fractured, but it has been for hundreds of years and in the last one hundred years it has fractured even worse. Why? Because of the influence of Satan, in my opinion. He has infiltrated the church in the congregation and in the pulpit. Inserting his ideas and lies so that men will consider them to be their ideas and they sound just close enough to the truth until it becomes doctrine, yet it is not from God’s Word exactly…it just sounds like it. I pray that we will wake up and open our eyes spiritually before our Lord appears and many are left wondering what happened.

Are you satisfied..with God?


You know, it sounds like a very silly question doesn’t it? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about His satisfaction with us? Actually, it really is a give and take relationship…a two-way relationship between you and God! Why wouldn’t we be satisfied with Him? Maybe He didn’t answer your prayer the way you thought He should or maybe something happened to you or a family member and you prayed to Him about it and got no peace about it or no answer at all.

God is not a genie! He is the Creator of the entire universe from the largest galaxy to the smallest particles of matter! He doesn’t have to answer your prayers the way that you want Him to! Especially, if your ideas and your wants conflict with what He has waiting for you! God loves you more than you know, but you need to realize that He is in control and learn to be satisfied with Him!

Satisfaction with God is not something which is automatic because we are not satisfied with out own lives most of the time. Being satisfied with God is knowing that He has your best interests in mind and knowing that He can see the future of this action or this prayer and He is going to work in your life for the best outcome, no matter what! Granted, there are times when the best outcome may be to bring you home to Heaven rather than allowing you to suffer here on Earth. We may not have the ability to heal your problems, but God can.

Although, sometimes His way of healing happens to include your travel to Heaven to stay. The connection between believers and God has to do with your Spirit which changed you into a born-again, sanctified Christian is always in communication with God, even if you are not. The Spirit living inside you is part of the Trinity and it is that part which is always in touch with God, as long as you haven’t quenched the Spirit’s influence or grieved the Spirit in any way.

The question about those two things weighed on my heart for a long time until recently, so I will give you the definition that I received. Quenching the Spirit is concerning something that God wants us to do and we don’t do it, grieving the Spirit is when you do something that is against God’s command or purpose in your life, like drinking a beer or smoking a joint especially when someone else may see you do it. You have grieved God’s Spirit in your life and you have ruined your testimony in front of someone else who knows that you claim to be a Christian.

We are complicated beings made in God’s image with a physical body, an immortal soul and if you are a Christian you have the Holy Spirit residing inside you to teach you, comfort you, strengthen you and guide you through whatever life throws your way. In order to live that kind of life, you need to learn about Him and His ways so you can listen to His voice and recognize it as God. The only way to do this is by reading God’s Word so you will know what His voice, His Word sounds like. It will always involve a relationship to either Himself or Jesus and it will never seek to do something which is against a command in the Bible.

Learn His ways by reading His Word and praying about what you read. Go to a Bible teaching church, regardless of the denomination, so that you will hear from His Word and not just someone’s ideas about God. Being satisfied with God and His provision for your life is something which we all need to do, even though it isn’t easy sometimes. It is a learning process just as being a Christian is. Yes, you can become a Christian by giving your heart to Jesus, but you have to learn to walk with Him on a daily basis and learn from Him and the Word so that you can be an effective witness to others.

When you give your heart to Him and truly ask Him to forgive you and make you His, you are a babe in Christ and just like babies we all have to grow and learn. Being a Christian is not automatic and it isn’t the easiest job to learn either, but it is well worth it! Satisfaction with Him will come as you learn more about Him and mature in your faith. Put your trust…your faith in Him like you see children trusting their parents or like your dog trusts you and you will learn quickly that it is the best relationship that you have ever had!

Do you believe in Jesus?


I could’ve put anything at the end of that sentence, but Jesus seems more appropriate, particularly for this site. Why is this an important question? Because if you do believe in Him and have asked Him into your life then your eternity is sure regardless of the religious climate we live in today. If you don’t believe and have no desire to believe in Him, until you realize your error you will always be searching for something to fill the emptiness in your life.

How do I know that you feel empty and unfulfilled in your life? God designed us to be spiritual beings, not in a nonphysical sense but men and women who desire to know God and have a relationship with Him. If you don’t know Him and you don’t have a relationship with God, then you will feel empty in a way that can’t be explained medically or physically. I know because we all feel this at some point in our lives. Not one of us on this Earth, with the exception of Jesus, was born with God’s Spirit living within us. There has always been a void, an empty feeling, like something is missing but you can’t put your finger on it.

Many of us try to fill that spot with all sorts of things, sometimes we do this for a very long time, but until you find the right “fit” nothing will make the emptiness go away. There is no amount of money, prestige, or fame which will take the ache of the empty space away. No drug or relationship will ease the feeling that something just isn’t right. So, what can we do about this? Well, the only thing that we can do is search for the one thing which will fill that void but if we don’t look in the right place, we will never find Him.

I am speaking of Jesus and He will come into your life and change your heart and make you a “new Creation in Christ“! God loves you and every other person on this planet and He has provided a way for your salvation through Jesus. It is not a salvation through a legal system of things which you have to perform or adhere to in a certain way, it is not a salvation which is based upon your actions or your own beliefs. Faith in Jesus and in His sacrifice for you, believing that He did this to pay for your sins is the only requirement.

Yes, you may get baptized afterward and begin to tell people what He has saved you from but that isn’t absolutely necessary. Think of the thief on the cross, Jesus told him that “today you will be with me in Paradise“, and he couldn’t get baptized or tell anyone about His Savior! Yes, it is wonderful to tell others about Him and what He has saved you from, but isn’t it great that you really don’t have to work to attain salvation on your own merit!

The time for this Earth and the secular governments running it is growing short and we should be searching for our Savior. He is not a man who lives here with might and power and money, but He is the Son of God and our Creator. Be prayerfully seeking Him if you don’t know Him yet. Trust in His Word and His atonement for you and your sins, because there are no other paths to Heaven except through Him, regardless of what you may hear in the media or from the Pope.

 

Worry, why?


I know we have much to be anxious about. The economy, jobs, wars, the election, shootings, all of these things are a part of our news broadcasts every day. There is no reason for us to worry about them, even if they concern you a lot, worry about these things only if they are directly involving you or your children. Even if that is the reason that you worry, it is something which Christians are supposed to give to God and forget about it. If you take it back and worry about it, then you are saying that God can’t handle your problems and you need to help Him.

Why am I posting this? Because my sermon this morning was about this very topic and the fact that Jesus told His disciples not to worry. Yet, there are times when I worry too. Life and all of its troubles and trials brings worry to each of us, whether we want it or not. But, God’s Word says that we shouldn’t worry or take into our soul what tomorrow will bring because we aren’t given tomorrow until it arrives (paraphrase by me, so don’t look up the exact phrase.).

The point is that birds and animals don’t worry and don’t fret about their food or drink, they wake and go about their lives as if it is supposed to be this way and it is. We should do the same except that we have bills to pay which requires money which usually requires a job of some kind. Today, those are not easy to come by especially if you are beyond a certain age or have talents which are not really in demand where you live. The best advice which anyone can get about this subject is simply pray about it and let God have it.

I know, that is hard to do because God works in the background and we can’t see what He is doing, whether it is good or bad for us or even if it will be on time before our car or house is repossessed. Place your faith in Him and His promises because they never fail. They, meaning God’s working, don’t necessarily come swiftly to your rescue in our view of time but mostly those blessings do come. Even if the amount is exactly what you need and not a penny more!

God blesses us with abundant blessings including life and a family and a home. He also blesses us with the ability to do things which can have a drastic effect on our income, which is sometimes a real blessing and sometimes it isn’t. Then again there are times when we hit a snag or a pot hole in our journey and get taken out of  the ride. Give your worries and cares over to Jesus and He will give you peace and strength to get through those times.

 

Treasure…


john317Many people don’t realize that they are searching for it. Many will never find what they are searching for, yet it does exist. You and I are given a treasure beyond imagining and it doesn’t cost us anything. How can it be that a treasure which is not measured can possibly cost us nothing? It must be some worthless trinket or talisman.

This treasure is something which many today reject and many more are angered by it or at least by the Person which brings it to us. The treasure of which I speak is salvation. Our salvation, every person’s salvation was paid for by Him on the cross with His blood. Many times we see that people learn of wisdom from some very different places and people.

“Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.”  Captain Jack Sparrow

“Not all treasure is silver and gold”, it is the most profound bit of wisdom that I have heard from anyone let alone someone in a movie made in Hollywood.

Treasure from God is something which many cannot see nor can they make sense of the grace that is poured out upon us. We have been given a gift of salvation that we don’t have to work for. A gift which we cannot buy, but one which by proclamation from Jesus Himself we must give away. It is a gift of immeasurable value, but also one which God intended for all if they will accept it and believe.

Aside from Captain Jack, many people don’t seem to realize what REAL treasure is today. It isn’t money in any form. It is eternity and salvation provided through the grace of God for us even before we were born. The qualifier is that we must realize that when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we have asked one of the Trinity to live in us because the Holy Spirit is part of that Trinity. If you have placed a priceless pearl in a clean vessel, then why would you put the dirt of your old life back in there?

I am not saying that we will never sin after becoming a Christian, but turning away from the church and willfully sinning and never going back or even trying to be a Christian is WRONG!! Asking forgiveness is good at this point, but if you aren’t going to repent of the sin, what good is the forgiveness?

Some scriptures which may help with this are these:

Everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. (1 John 2:29); Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4); Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7); Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. (1 John 5:1); Everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning. (1 John 5:18)

These may make you wonder if you are saved at all, particularly if you haven’t been a real believer who turned away from a life that you would be proud to show Jesus.

1.No one who denies the Son has the Father. (1 John 2:23)

2.No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. (1 John 3:6)

3.No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9)

Even the tolerance of sin is an agreement with it. It is not something which will sit well with your heart, especially if the Spirit abides in your heart. Although we aren’t to judge people, we can bring their sin to their attention and if they don’t want to do anything about it, then leave it to God.

 

How do you live?


Are you a Christian? Do you believe in Jesus’ atonement for your life? Have you walked with Jesus or did you just get baptized and go on with your life?

Do you deny that Jesus is real? Do you believe that He was “just a prophet”?

If you believe and you accept Him as your Savior, then the first sentence should apply to your life, but are you living your life according to His will for you? It is a question that needs to be answered by all of us. Have you “given your life to Him”, but then walked away from the church and never went back? You are denying Him.

If, on the other hand, you fall into the group of people who don’t believe in God or Jesus at all, then who do you believe in? Yourself? Satan or Allah? Mohammed? Can you change the color of your skin or your hair by thinking about it? Of course not, you and I are not going to be gods and we can’t do anything like God can.

Has Satan appeared to you in a robe of white with wings so bright you couldn’t see? He can you know. Mohammed is dead and he isn’t coming back until God raises him up one day to pay for what he did in his life.

Satan can appear as an angel of light and he can tell you that he is Gabriel if he chooses to, but that doesn’t make it the truth. Mankind is easily deceived and especially when it comes to the master of lies who has had many thousands of years to perfect his deception. One day there will be a man who will appear to be our savior and he will be able to do things that will look miraculous, like Jesus did, but he will be a false savior. Many people will be taken in by him and his words and power that he shows, but he is not the Son of God.

All of those words that I wrote in the past couple of sentences are foretold in Daniel and in the book of Revelation. It is God’s Word and it is True. It will come to pass. I don’t know when, but with all that is happening around the world I would bet that it won’t be much more than a decade or so away. I could be wrong, of course. The point that I am trying to make is that when this person shows up and everyone seems to think he is so wonderful, that should cause a bell to go off in your mind. Remember what you may have heard or read in the Bible or in Sunday school.

Don’t just follow someone blindly because they seem to be more than they are! Many false “Christs” have appeared in the past, but they all died. Many things are going to happen in the near future which will cause many people in the church to leave their faith behind. When all of this begins, take notice and get a Bible and read it. If you have lived a life which wouldn’t have been acceptable to Jesus, then you should repent and ask for His forgiveness.

Why? Because if you see all of these things happening then the end is getting very near. When the peace treaty between Israel and all of her enemies is signed and the Temple begins to be built, take note of who is brokering that deal. All of these must happen before Jesus comes to get the elect, His church, His Bride. Make sure that you are part of that number. In the picture there are many promises for His elect, if you have repented of your sins and given your heart to Him and asked for His forgiveness.

Satan is happy today!


Satan is happy with the church right now.

“….Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:.”  Matthew 28:19

Do you understand why all of the problems are in the world today? It is because of ___________.

Really? The church has had two thousand years to make disciples of ALL nations and what have we done? Not much. Yes, there have been millions of people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior because of Billy Graham and other evangelists over the years. But…look at the population of the world. How many of them are Christians or part of a religion which claims Jesus as their Savior? 2.5 billion give or take a few hundred thousand. The population of the world is around seven billion right now and all we have reached in two thousand years is less than half??

On the day of Pentecost, when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, when Peter preached there were 5000 added to their number! That was just one sermon! The blank above referring to the reason for all of the world’s problems has nothing to do with Christianity, although some are blaming us for them. Satan and his followers, those demons that Jesus cast out and his human followers today, are partly to blame for the problems of the world.

Why is Satan happy with the way the world is today and the church in particular? It is because we aren’t doing what Jesus told us to do. Yes, I know we are sending missionaries all over the world and we have programs and Internet sites which tell people about Jesus and how to know Him. But, we just began that in the last twenty or twenty-five years or so! What happened to the last 1975 years that the church has had to work on this?

I don’t mean that the church could’ve added as many as Peter did in that one day, every day since then but if we had gone, if we had put our feet into the streets and the paths around the world every day since then….? Don’t you think that we would have more people who attend church and follow Jesus if we had done this? I mean, if we had witnessed to one or two people every day since we became a Christian and then invited them to church, doesn’t it begin to add up when you do that?

1+1=2 …then 2+2=4, then 4+1=5, then 5+2=7, then 7+2=9…that is linear progression that is staggered a bit by our own design; but what if those numbers doubled EVERY time? 1, then 2, then 4, then 8, then 16, then 32, then 64, then 128, then 256, then 512, then 1024, then 2048, then 4096……! That is geometric growth or getting into algebra (x squared).

What happened to our numbers? Why isn’t the church growing like this?

Because our enemy and the enemy of God, Satan, is at work in the world today. People give many excuses for not coming to church, for not telling others what they believe and for not being a true disciple of Jesus and all of these are encouraged by Satan and his demons. You can decide to believe this if you wish or don’t believe it, but if Jesus was having to deal with their influence 2000 years ago, then they are certainly at work today.

You can hear about the evil and their influence in the world on the news every day and all of that which is happening is likely caused by or influenced by Satan and his followers. It will get worse because he knows that his time is growing very short. He has had more than twenty centuries to become very good at deception so much so that he can influence the churches and their leaders to not follow the example set by Jesus and His disciples. Many of them think that they are doing God’s work and they are following the ideas placed in their heads by Satan himself, but he uses scripture to make it seem like the idea is from God.

He was there when all of the Bible was written so he knows scripture better than any of us and he can use it against you any time he wishes. So, is he happy with the church today? Yes, he is. There aren’t very many true, Bible-believing and teaching churches today. Sure, there are pastors who preach every week and they read scripture and teach about it. But, are they teaching God’s vision for His church or are they teaching their own version of the words that they read? Do they teach it from its context or do they choose one verse and preach on that without the verses before or after it?

Taken out of context, any verse can say or be taught to mean anything to anyone!

The scripture which I started with could mean anything if taught wrongly. Let us read the entirety of that chapter and see what was written there:

Matthew 28 King James Version (KJV)

28 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We are told to do this because we belong to Him, if we have given our hearts to Jesus. If you haven’t, then you don’t belong to Him nor He to you! God loves you and has provided a way to salvation through Jesus and belief in Him so that you can have eternity after this life! With such a good and wonderful gift to you, why wouldn’t you tell others that they could have the same? He didn’t die for one person but for the whole world and He expected us to go and tell others about His gift. Examine your life and your heart and question whether you really belong to Him. If you believe that you do, then you are saved as far as I can see because only God knows the condition of our hearts. If you are not sure, then you may want to seek Him earnestly and fervently so that you can know…for sure.

Amen.

Origins and beginnings


It seems that many in the scientific community and the world at large are more concerned with the beginnings of everything in the cosmos than they are about what is happening around us. Life, the kind of life that we all deserve, is dependent upon our position on Jesus, our Savior.

One day, we will know about all of God’s cosmos because to those who belong to Him, He will give the knowledge about His creation. But, until then we should be working toward being more useful for Him while there is time to do so. God loves all of us and yet many try to disprove His existence or just decide that they don’t believe in Him at all. This is a very dangerous position for someone to be in.

Why do I say this? Because, we are finite beings and our time in this life isn’t guaranteed! We live and breathe at the discretion and mercy of God. He knows when your time is up, but thankfully we don’t. That being said, my time may be up soon or I may have another twenty years to live in this body. Nobody knows when or how long they will live, so if you say that you don’t believe in God or Jesus then you are going to stand before them one day. Without the salvation provided by your belief in Jesus and your surrendering to Him, you will be condemned to exist in eternity apart from God’s presence.

I know, describing hell in that way doesn’t sound so bad but the presence of God is all that is keeping our world and all around it working the way it should. Satan and his demons chose to rebel against God and they will be cast away from Him into hell for eternity. Consider that hell was not created for us, it was created for Satan and his demons but if you reject God’s grace and forgiveness, then you are in the same condition as they are…lost.

The only person who can save you and make you into the person that you are supposed to be is Jesus. He paid the price for all of our sins, all we need to do is to turn to Him and ask Him into our hearts and ask Him to forgive us for our way of life. Ask Him to help us to live for Him and to tell others about Him. Why? Because it is the best and most valuable gift that you have available to you and you can give it away and it costs you nothing.

We are blessed


lamb-of-god-passoverAlthough many don’t seem to notice it. Why? Because we have so much, we just don’t recognize our blessings. This may be why those in other countries have so much enmity for America. We don’t seem to acknowledge the fact that even the poorest of us, in terms of money, are truly blessed. Some beyond belief to those who are starving in other countries!

We are blessed because of where we live and because God has blessed this land due to our past relationship with the land of Israel. We do not have that same relationship with Israel today and I believe that we are going to suffer for it in the near future. God loves all of us, He just doesn’t approve of the lifestyles that many of us cling to today. Some of us live as if there is no end to our blessings and also like there is no tomorrow.

Then there are some who don’t believe that God exists at all and they live moral upstanding lives. Some, who claim to be Christians, live more like the rest of the world who do not believe in Jesus. They live lives of greed and consumption, taking as much as they can and not giving thanks for any of it. They may have “grown up” in the church and learned the ways to appear to be Christian, but inside they don’t have Jesus living in their hearts.

I am not saying this to be judgmental, but if you are truly a Christian with Jesus in your heart then you will live this out and it will be evident to all around you. The words that you speak, the actions that others see that you don’t think about, they will reflect Jesus and His message. There will be a visible difference between you and the world around you!

God gives us each day to show someone the character of Jesus in our life so that they will want Him too. It is not just another day to make money or to get ahead of your co-workers for the best position in a firm or wherever you work. None of the things that we have here on Earth will follow us into eternity except what we accomplished for God’s Kingdom. Your wealth, your position, your house or car, even your family won’t matter in eternity unless you have lived for Jesus in all of it!

We are finite beings and our accomplishments won’t mean a thing unless they were done for the Kingdom of God through Jesus’ saving power in our lives! Do you really want to try to attempt to gain entry into Heaven on your own merit? Are you so righteous that you think you can get in without Jesus in your heart, living by His strength every day? No person on Earth is that good!!

Moses, John the Baptist, Peter, James, or even Abraham could accomplish that feat without their faith in God and their belief in the Seed which came as Jesus our Savior! God had promised Him and they believed even without seeing Him. John the Baptist, Peter and James saw Him and walked with Him and even witnessed the miracles but without their faith in Him and their belief in Him and Who He was, they wouldn’t get into Heaven either!