Category: Eternity and God

Learning about God from God


lamb-of-god-passoverIt is something that many of us try to do in our lives at one point or another, but many of us have no idea how to do it? We consider reading the Bible through but just as any “new year’s resolution” we soon push it aside like any other exercise. Then we only pick it up on church days and read with our pastor, and sometimes we don’t even bring it to church with us at all.

How can you cultivate a relationship with the Creator if you don’t get to know Him? Our only outlet, our only way of getting to know Him IS to read His Word! His ways are there for us in black and white on a page or today on an electronic reader of some kind, but He and His Words are available! He is near us and if we are Christians, then He is dwelling inside our hearts and so near that we might as well be living inside His skin! Ewww gross! Don’t laugh, I know that is what many of you thought.

The point of this is that He wants a relationship with us, just as He did with Adam and Eve only they chose to be independent and go their own way. Our world has been damaged terribly by this independence because instead of living inside His Love and His Life, we make up our own version of Him and His attributes. We remake God and His Son in our image…how WE want them to be! Then, when we feel like they aren’t doing it right, we try to take over and we usually mess things up pretty good at that point!

God’s Word and Wisdom is in the Bible and if we will treat it as our Creator Who is actually speaking through the prophets and writers then accepting Him for Who He is will be so much better and easier! Please consider it and think about reading the book, “The Shack“. I am going to see the movie and maybe do a Bible study on it soon. God loves you!

So much truth in the gospel


How much truth do you see in God’s Word? In the gospel? If it isn’t true and there is no Truth in it, then why believe?

The Trinity has existed as three in One…as God for a very long time, long before we or anything else in Creation existed. How can we so arrogantly believe that God sent His Son to die and then abandoned Him there? The Holy Spirit was there, God was there and Jesus was on the cross, so He wasn’t abandoned at the cross exactly…He just felt that He was. His humanity felt that way!

The same way that His human heart and His brain told Him to be afraid and anxious before the scourging and the crucifixion. It was His humanity which made Him feel alone, scared and helpless on the cross, but He wasn’t. Our truth is relative today because as psychologists put it, “your truth is not my truth”. This is a very clever lie from Satan. God loves each of us far more than we could ever know or comprehend, until we are in His Presence of course.

You have the freedom to believe in Him and His Word or not, because it is necessary. Love doesn’t come to anyone unless it is free to be given in return as well as received from the other person. Yes, we are free to refuse His love for us if we choose and to live our lives in complete self-righteousness, thinking that we are good enough without Jesus. That we deserve to be allowed into Heaven on our own merits.

The problem with that kind of thinking is that it is totally WRONG!! Until you give your heart to Jesus and allow Him to come in and fix the problems which you caused and to show you what real love actually is, you will always feel empty and without hope. This is what God wanted to save us from in the first place…ourselves. Because ever since the Fall, we have all been born with a seed of sin in our hearts. Toddlers will lie to you without even knowing what they are doing, so that proves that sin is there.

God loves us anyway!! He created all of us and He knows the desires and needs of our heart even when we weren’t born yet. From the moment you were conceived until your death, God knows what you will do, when you will do it and why. He doesn’t force the decisions on you, but He knows what those decisions are or will be, and until you give your life to Him, He will watch you and be with you regardless until you figure out that you really need Him.

Seek Him out before it gets too far or before your life gets out of control! He is there and always has been, so make sure that you know Him before your life is over and your chance to know Him as Savior is gone for good.

Life, what about it?


baby developmentWhen I was much younger, I wondered about the life that we live. Not so much in philosophic terms exactly, but after watching the coverage of the Vietnam war and Dr. Martin Luther King’s murder, even then it seemed that life was cheap. I knew better, but it still made me think a bit. But, I was young and I didn’t think about it long so I went on to school and played with my friends and did my homework.

Now, I am a father and a pastor and I think about life every day. It still seems that to most of the world around us, not just in America, human life isn’t worth much even today. It seems that life today isn’t regarded as being worth more than a thought, if that much! Why have we come to this point in history? Where the life of a baby in the womb is in just as much danger as one on the street! A baby in the womb is even in more danger today because there usually isn’t anyone to speak up for them and defend them.

No, I am not getting on a platform about abortion, I did that a day or so ago. My point here is that we don’t cherish life today, no matter if it is a pet, a baby, or a person. But…life is supposed to be sacred! Human life certainly, but all life in general because it is God’s Creation! It is true that many people claim to be Christian and yet many of them don’t even have a true relationship with God at all! We don’t look at being a human being and being a Christian as anything special, it seems.

Many believe that by belonging to a church and attending services occasionally that they have a relationship with God. How absurd! That is more akin to visiting McDonald’s once in a while and thinking that you know the owner! God does know you and He loves each one of you. But, being known by God and being His child by adoption through Jesus Christ is something totally different.

Jesus died for you in order for you to be God’s child and when you feel that call by faith in Him you can become a part of His family. It isn’t something that you choose on your own, He chooses you first, then you have to answer. If you don’t, then you have pushed Him away. This part won’t be good for you, now or in eternity, because you are telling Him “Not now, I’m busy” and “You’re not important to me”. Hopefully, He will keep trying to bring you into His family but you can push Him away only so many times. There may come a day when He chooses to let you go your way…not good at all.

Why do I say that? Because if you look at how humanity has fared without Him, it usually isn’t very good and depending on how far they move from God it can be very, very bad for all concerned. Even though God said that He would never again bring a flood on the Earth, that is why it came in the first place. Mankind had pushed Him out of their lives and went after their own ways and their own gods. This is why God chose Noah, because he had not gone the way of everyone else. Sometimes, following the crowd has very serious consequences. Think about it.

So many claim Him, yet so few follow…


You have seen and heard about the number of “Christians” in America. Our country, in most polls, claims to be over 80 percent Christian. If that were true, there would be no abortions, there would be no city which has over 250 murders in a year’s time. If that were true and all of them were true, devout believers there would be fewer homeless people, Veterans or otherwise.

If that were true we would be building more churches than prisons and every one would be full on Sunday morning. So, what happens to everyone when any sort of test of faith comes into your life? We give in to what the rest of the world wants to hear or not hear. We become PC Christians. So many claim to be Christian, but when the least bit of resistance pops up in your life or mine, we fall into our “politically correct” mode of coping.

If the apostles had done that, there would be no church today! If other brothers and sisters had done that, we wouldn’t have the stories of the martyrs that stood proudly, boldly declaring Jesus as Lord while they were burned at the stake or beheaded! Some in countries around the world today are being killed or imprisoned for their faith, but they have not given their Savior up or backed away from their faith.

So many claim to know Him, yet there are few who will boldly say it. Our problem isn’t knowledge of or about Jesus it is possession of Him in our hearts and our lives. Just as an engagement ring isn’t much without a diamond in its setting, we aren’t much without Jesus in our hearts! Knowledge of Him and doing works to please Him are all good, but without Him in your heart and the change that comes with it through the Holy Spirit, you will walk right into hell with your “holy bible” in your hand.

Knowledge of Jesus and God is great, reading the Bible from cover to cover is wonderful, but if that Book hasn’t changed you in any way that others can see…it means NOTHING!! God inspired the writers of His Word so that we can learn about Him and His Creation, but He also gave us His Word so that we could come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!

Is it possible to read the Bible and not come to a saving and believing knowledge of Jesus? Yes, I have heard that many people read it as a book of history and nothing more. Without faith, hearing the Word and believing it whether you are reading it or not, it will do you no good at all. If you are not open-minded enough to give God’s Word and prayerful read, then why bother? Yes it is a history book in some ways, particularly of the Jewish people, but it is also His story!

Your life will have far less impact on those around you unless you read this book with an open mind and with a prayerful attitude of “Show me Who you are, God!”. If you will do that, honestly and prayerfully, then He will show you Himself in all of its pages. If you don’t want to know about God and His provision of grace and salvation for your life, then just read a Bible like any other book. Don’t ask questions and don’t expect any answers, if you can.

God has a purpose for all of us, no matter whether we have believed in Jesus from a young age or if we are fifty or more before He touches our life with a moment of clarity bringing Jesus into focus for us! Be willing to give Him a chance in your life, because if you don’t one day you will regret that choice and after your death that choice can’t be undone.

Consider….


Faith, religions, Christianity, and church, to some people these are all lumped together in one big mess. We bring religiosity into the church and create some doctrine around a couple of verses then go around telling others that our way is the only one. How arrogant and stupid is that? Religion is what crucified Jesus. Self-righteousness is what makes people act the way they do toward other religions.

Consider this too..God loves each of us whether we know Him, believe in Him or worship Him. Your salvation and your eternity depend upon your belief not on your actions or anything that you do in this life. The work was already done by Jesus, you just need to realize that you need Him and come to Him in humility asking for His forgiveness. No amount of money or donations or building projects or evangelism for “your church” will get you any closer to Heaven, only your belief in and acceptance of Jesus as your Savior can do that.

Life is hard and depending upon where you live it can be brutally so. God loves you and cares for you regardless of your location or your circumstances. This is why He sent Jesus to pay the price for ALL of humanity’s sins, not just a few. Seek Him out in your life and in your situation, even if He doesn’t change your situation now, your eternity will be assured and you will spend it with God! Place your faith and your trust in Him and let those other “gods” go, since they can’t save you or help in your situation now.

Did Satan and his followers fall?


The Bible says that they were cast out of Heaven for their rebellion and they were cast down to Earth. They are here and have been since before Eden was a place where God created the first man. The Devil, Satan himself, tempted Jesus in the wilderness after His baptism. In the gospels, Jesus cast out many demons and spirits from people who were sick from their poisonous influence. The sicknesses took many different forms such as bleeding which couldn’t be treated by a regular doctor or diseases such as cancers or seizures. It is true that today we have “medical diagnosis” which places a cause for these in other means of infection.

But, how can even science be sure of those infections? Demons, spirits of disease, whatever name you give it, it is a way to turn a Christian away from God’s influence. These problems cause us to turn toward a doctor for relief, when Jesus can help in all ways far better than a doctor can.

In the books of Daniel and Isaiah, the fall of Satan is described and Jesus said that He saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven to the Earth. Here are a few scriptures which detail this:

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” 18 So He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.…

Berean Study Bible
Cross References
Isaiah 14:12
“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!

Matthew 4:10
“Away from me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'”

Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was hurled down–the ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

All of these verses speak of Satan as a fallen angel. He was created as a true archangel, one of the most powerful of God’s creations. Yet, he wanted to supplant God, even when he knew that he wasn’t the Creator. He is not able to be everywhere and not all-powerful, even though he is immortal. The angels who followed him in his rebellion were also thrown down to the Earth. They help Satan to create chaos and anger and terror all over the world. They have the ability to cause all sorts of diseases and hatred in mankind, even if they don’t “possess” people like in the movies, although if they are invited in they will!
God loves you, no matter what religion you have been involved in all of your life. He will convict you of your sins and cause you to want to know Jesus. Why? Because, each of us can do something or have an impact on someone’s life that nobody else can get through to. You may only touch that one life or you may be able to make a difference in many lives.
Yes, Satan is here. He has been here for a long, long time and he has influenced humanity to create all sorts of religions and worship of gods which are not God! Sometimes those “gods” were manifestations of himself or his demons, sometimes those “gods” were ideas which were placed in humanity’s minds. The Israelites worshiped other gods of the people around them even though they knew the miracles of God were real!
Seek out God in His Word so that you can know Him! He already knows you, better than you know yourself. Allow Him to be your Savior because He is your Creator!

Make a difference…


I watiamnotashamedched the movie “I am not ashamed” yesterday and it made me think of our impact on the world and the people around us. Rachel Joy Scott struggled with her new faith in Jesus in high school before the shooting that took her life. Most of us can relate, if we were a Christian in school, which I wasn’t. I knew about Jesus and the Bible because I had been on the drug plan for learning it. I was drug to church every time my Mom went, so I had heard all of the preaching and stuff. But, hearing and knowing about Jesus is not the same as having faith in Him, real honest faith.

I provided the link above just in case anyone wanted to know about the movie, I get nothing from your following or purchasing it. The point of this post is this: will you make a difference?

Her story and the fact that she didn’t back down in the face of losing her life, as many Christians over the centuries have done, has made a real impact on many people. At the end of the movie there was some statistics which said that her life had impacted over 20 million people since April 20, 1999. One life, just one-act of selfless faith and forgiveness can make a difference. It doesn’t take a Master’s degree or a PhD to tell people about Him and to show your faith by your life and your deeds to those around you.

God loves us even when we aren’t sure how we feel about Him. He loved each of us whether we even knew Him and before we were all born and He did so in a way that we can’t understand or comprehend! God is and should be your strength and your source of living water which never dries up and never gives up on you and your purpose in Him!

During high school, I was a very angry boy. I kept it bottled up most of the time, but I allowed it to hurt me by smoking and drinking to the point of being so drunk I barely remember the drive home, if I made it at all. At least one time, I had a wreck on the way home, although the only one that really sticks in my memory is the one where I totaled my mother’s car. I was angry at God and at my parents for getting divorced and I really didn’t care much about what happened to me. I could identify with Rachel in being a child of a broken home.

My point, as I said earlier, is that we can all make a difference in the world. Even if it is only in our immediate area. Heaven rejoices when one sinner comes to Jesus and if you or I have any part to play in that, then be grateful and willing to be useful in His Kingdom for that one person. Make sure that your life means something because we are not guaranteed tomorrow, so make today a day that God uses in your life and your witness  for His Glory!

Life and death…choose Life!


In so many ways, our world looks like this. Possibly not such a stark contrast in much of the world as this, but in other ways it is exactly like this. Many places in the world are or have been in a drought for a long, long time. In some areas, the drought is caused by man’s own mean-lifeordeathspirited streak in not tolerating others particularly in the area of religion.

Why?

Is it so hard to get along with others who don’t believe exactly the same as you do? For some, it seems to be exactly that point! Hindu’s can’t get along with Christians, Muslim’s can’t get along with Christians, Socialist and Communist countries have problems with Christians. Do you see a pattern here?

It isn’t hard to see, but it is hard to understand the reason behind it. It is true that in the distant past, Christian countries and those who followed the leader of the Church at the time, well-meaning soldiers who were charged by the Church to bring civilization and “right beliefs” to the heathen. This was not the way to bring Christ to other people, but it was done, so lets move on!

Our past, regardless of the country that you live in or the beliefs that you hold, is something that we should study, make note of so that we won’t repeat those mistakes, and then move toward a more Christ-like living arrangement. Jesus did not tell us to go and beat belief into the masses because that doesn’t work! It turns most, if not all, away from that belief in Him.

Jesus said for us to go and tell them the good news of His teachings and that He came to bring salvation to all of mankind. Jesus paid the price so that all could benefit from it, but it is your choice whether you accept it and respond when God calls you.

Matthew 28:16-20 King James Version

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.

 

What will you do?


john317Jesus did not ask this question exactly, but He did ask His disciples “Who do you say that I am?”. The answer that Peter gave was one which wasn’t available in the Scriptures of the day, but it was given to him by the Holy Spirit. So…what will you do with your knowledge of Jesus and Who He is to you?

He is our Savior and our Creator and our Lord, but He doesn’t cram Himself into your life. It is your decision to accept Him as your Savior when you feel the Spirit touch your heart about your need of Him. We do need Jesus, each and every one of us. So…what will you do?

God loves all of humanity but we don’t return that love and that is a sad situation which most of the world is living in right now. God made a way for us to be sanctified and cleansed by His Son’s sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection. The only thing that we can do for our salvation is to accept it by faith.

There is nothing which we can add to our salvation because it was taken care of by Jesus. Your money won’t get you a better home in Heaven, your works here on Earth won’t get you any closer to righteousness here on Earth. The only place where your salvation could have any impact is right here where you are and that by telling others about your life and the new life that Jesus gave you!

No evangelist or preacher can earn a better place in eternity and no amount of charity will do it either. We are ALL equal in God’s sight when we accept Jesus as our Savior, no matter our position or place in our country or a business. The pastor’s saying is true: “The playing field is level at the cross”. The rich man has no advantage over the poor and a salesman or janitor has the same opportunities as a President or a Prime minister when coming to salvation and their place in God’s Kingdom. Slaves and statesmen are equal and no one stands any taller than a person on their knees asking for God’s forgiveness.

God loves the saint and the sinner alike, but God doesn’t love the sinful lives which we all have led at one point or another. So….what will you do? What is your decision? Consider that Jesus said for us not to worry about tomorrow because it has enough trouble of its own and we are not guaranteed even our next breath. So…what decision will you make about making Him your Savior and Lord?

Dull and lifeless


I have often wondered if that is how much of the world sees people in the church or even the church itself? We as Christians claim that we have something that others may want, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. The problem arises when those who are outside the church look at our lives or even the church itself and see a very dull and lifeless (read boring) experience!

Why would they want that? Even though it is true that most people, when they come to a place in life that they can’t handle themselves, seek out a Higher Power. Sometimes this brings them to God and sometimes they will encounter Satan or one of his followers who are disguising themselves as angels. At this point in their life many just latch onto whichever one will help them at the time and right now! Which causes many to go down a road or path, which is takes them in the wrong direction. They may not find out about this until it is too late to turn back and therein lies the problem.

In many ways, people are fooled not because Satan is such a good liar but because the church and its representation of God and salvation doesn’t look much different or appealing. This is something which must change! Because we are supposed to be taking God’s message of salvation to the WHOLE world! If our message and the gospel of Jesus doesn’t seem to be appealing to others, we should seek out the answer to this question: “Why do people seem to be put off or turned away from the church and God?”

It is not an easy answer to find actually. Yet, according to the Bible which is the inspired Word of God, evil is vanquished in the end. Death, sin, evil, lawlessness and all of the negative emotions and behaviors in this world will all go away, in God’s time and at the end of this world. The problem today is this: Most or at least many people don’t believe it. The Bible is just an old book with no bearing on life today. It is out-dated and old, quaint would be a good term for it, but it has no meaning for us in the 21st century.

I have a different opinion about that. The differences between all people in this world stem from just a few things which get completely blown out of proportion. First is our notion of “race”, we are all part of the human race! The only differences are our skin tone and our cultures, whether in a city environment or taken as a nationwide culture, these are really the most troublesome parts of being human. Second is our choice of religion and that gets pretty weird when you look at all of the different religions in the world, even though there are three main religions, there are thousands of creeds, beliefs, doctrines etc.

These two differences along with the other smaller or larger (depending upon your viewpoint) pieces and parts which are scattered all over the world, are the very reasons for all of the wars and riots and shootings that occur on a regular basis, day in and day out. The only unifying force will be the coming of Jesus to set up His Kingdom on Earth and there will be many more deaths around the world before that day gets here.

Differences should be celebrated in our world, not part of the problem. Your skin may be more brown than mine and I embrace that because God made you different in that way. Your culture or rather, the ways that you learned from your parents and grandparents, while growing up are different, I accept that as well. It is not something which should be looked down on, nor is it something to place on a pedestal and tell others that yours is best! We are all human, regardless of skin color or our cultural beliefs in God or some other deity. These differences should be embraced in a collective way, not a national or cultural way.

God created us all to be different because we can have a different place and a different part in His Kingdom. You can accomplish things which I cannot and I may be able to do some things which you cannot. It is the same with each of our bodies, the kidneys work to cleanse the blood of sugar and salts, to make this simple. Your liver cleanses the blood of other impurities, but a body which has neither of these organs cannot survive. God is our Creator and must be worshiped as such. He is also our Redeemer, if we will accept Him into that role in our lives. All of the other “gods” or non-religions have no real power and cannot grant you one day or the hair on your head. Seek out God in His Word and you will find that He is all that is really necessary for your life.