Category: God is love

The true patience of our Creator


How far did God go for us?

His love is immeasurable, there is no limit to it whether you are trying to find the extent of it in height or length or depth or time. His love is limitless, so much so that we cannot understand it…no, we cannot comprehend it. We never will because in the world that we are living in today, real LOVE doesn’t exist it seems! You see lust on TV, you see it in movies, in cartoons for heaven’s sake. This filth should never be in front of children so young!

There is not possible way that we can see all of Him. We cannot comprehend what God has offered to us and yet, we don’t have to pay one cent for it. It is already paid for through the blood of Jesus. God created the universe to overwhelm us with awe and force us to think of the possible reason for all of that, and yet He pays attention to a speck of dust, our world, Earth.

When you look at the pictures which have been taken by our telescopes,
how far they reach, how many thousands and millions of galaxies that are out there. Each one with millions of suns like our own. We don’t know if there are other worlds like ours. We don’t know if Christ has saved others in other places like ours over the many years.

That is the God that we serve! Truly, we don’t need to know if there is life in those galaxies or solar systems because we will never go there. The distances which separate stars in our own galaxy are too great for us to travel. We have more pressing matters to attend to on Earth than to spend money going to a star that only our descendants will see and we will never know about.

He spread out the universe and all of the stars and planets and He knows them all by name. It is possible that there are other people, we don’t know for sure, but God can do anything that He wishes…because He is God. Our life and our salvation depend upon Him and His Grace which He extends toward all of us and yet there are those that will refuse to accept this grace. They will refuse to accept Him or even the mention of His name, and yet they will put their faith in something or someone who has no regard for them.

Some will even go so far as to believe that there is no greater power than themselves and that when they die, they are just gone from this world. This is true, but they will be in His Presence and then they will know for sure. Many accuse me of trying to frighten people with this kind of talk and I admit it, yes I am! Why? Because I don’t want you to go to a place which was prepared for Satan and the rebellious angels that he deceived into following him. Their torment and punishment will last for eternity and anyone who has refused the Love of God and His Grace that is offered to all will share in that place…the agony and pain for all of time. There is no second chance because this life is the time that we have to find our way toward God or to choose to turn away from Him.

Which decision will you make, because it is your decision which determines your eternal state. God doesn’t condemn you nor sentence you to hell, you do that yourself by choosing to live according to your own rules and your own morality, good though it may be. If your life, spiritually, is not one that is following Jesus and seeking Him, then you are missing the point and the purpose of your life.

Think about it, pray about it if you have felt or heard any small voice in your soul, seek Him out before it is too late. The Bible is God’s inspired Word given to us through the writers and prophets and it says that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Please, pray about your life and what God may have for you in it.

We have a testimony!


Regardless of your belief or lack of it, IF you are a Christian you have a testimony. Your life has been changed because you cannot take part of God’s Spirit into your heart and your life without being changed! It just isn’t possible!

Just as those who are possessed by demons are changed and do not act like they did before, we shouldn’t either! God has always been One in Three, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! When you ask for Him to come into your heart and your life, the Holy Spirit comes into your spiritual heart and changes you into the person that you are to be from that point on.

The problem is that many of us stay at that point in our Christian lives and never mature. We don’t study God’s Word or really sit down and pray every day about our life or those around us. We don’t do what Jesus said to do, “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all of these things will be added unto you”. Many people don’t understand what the first three words of that actually means. How do I seek Him first? It is so simple and yet profound, pick up your Bible and read it!

When you are in a relationship with someone, you don’t go on dates for a few days and then get married. Usually, you see each other for a while and get to know them a little bit first, sometimes this takes months, for others it may take a year or more. The point is this, if you REALLY want that relationship, then you seek to know that person better. You want to know their favorite color or song, the type of food that they like to eat or their favorite shoes or hobby that they might have or enjoy.

The same is true when you become a Christian, or at least it is supposed to be this way. You want to learn more about God and Jesus. Who they are, what they like or don’t like, everything that you can learn about them is precious to you even if you can’t see or touch them right now. This is the relationship that we are supposed to mature into and the way to do this is by getting to know them through the Bible and by prayer, asking God to show you His ways, to help you understand His wisdom and His grace.

Our lives are brief, usually only seventy or eighty years although some live a bit longer. When we truly find someone who we love and want to spend the rest of our life with them then we are truly blessed in that relationship. It is the same when we come to a relationship with God through His Son, except…your life will not end and neither will the relationship or the fellowship! Eternity is a span of time that we can’t fathom, yet when you are His that is the life that you have to look forward to. It will not be a waste and it certainly won’t be boring.

God has a plan for each of us. That plan is for us to be His adopted children and for us to do His will while we are able in this life. Then, when we enter into eternity we will be ready for the next step in our life with Him. Learn all that you can about Him through prayer and study of His Word in the Bible. Grow into the person that you can be in Christ and then when you walk through the door into eternity you will be ready to know Him even better than you thought possible.

Living with Love


Consider that God is Love and His Love for us is perfect. Could you live with His Love and experience it every day? Many people seem to think that this is impossible. That we, being flawed human beings, can’t live this way. We can’t possibly experience that kind of real Love daily. Why not? If you have asked Jesus into your life and you have really given yourself to Him, why can’t you feel His love flowing back to you?

You can by worshipping Him every day through prayer and reading and studying God’s Word. Experiencing His Love through His Spirit and the interaction between your spirit and His. I have felt this before and at times it almost overwhelmed me when I was studying my Bible.

I know, many of you will see these as being impossible to do. It takes too much time or it’s too hard to keep your eyes focused on Jesus that much. You know, He loves you anyway but you should show some love back in His direction too. Yes, you can accept Jesus and then decide to sit down and do nothing. You still have the blessing of being a child of God and you can be selfish with your salvation and keep it all to yourself.

But, WHY would you do that? His disciples didn’t and wouldn’t keep quiet even after being flogged and imprisoned and we shouldn’t be either. It is true that many of us can’t go on missions overseas, but with the Internet we can let people know about Him from our homes, no matter where we live. Our blessed existence is in His hands and His power if we have given our lives to Him and we are watched over every day by His angels who strengthen and encourage us according to His will for us.

Don’t laugh, angels exist just as Satan exists and his demons. These are not figments of someone’s imagination. Remember the Bible says that we struggle against “powers and principalities and demons”, that is the spiritual realm that we have to deal with as Christians. Diseases and all sorts of trouble are brought into people’s lives by these beings. Our life in Christ is to be in opposition to these forces of Satan by way of prayer and praise. In expressing our praise to Him we are expressing our love for Him, but we are also strengthening the Spirit so that it can oppose Satan’s forces in the spiritual realms.

Jesus loved us enough to die for us and I think that the least we could do will be to express that love in our prayer and our praise to Him when we read His Word and meditate on it.

Love, what is it really?


This being a day that many of us associate with relationships and the feelings associated with them and yet many people don’t know what love really is.

Love is not sex or lust, those are associated with erotic love (lust), but that is not the emotion which would bring about a lasting relationship. One which would grow deeper with time regardless of the health of the one that you love or the amount of money that you have.

There is a movie in the theatres today that is making the erotic lust of someone into a “relationship”. It will be like burning a candle with a blow-torch, it is fun for a while but if it doesn’t grow into something far deeper and even more intimate, then it will burn out like that candle.

Many people chase after feelings like those from a sexual relationship or even the feeling that comes with getting high from drugs or adrenaline or even alcohol. These things are temporary and don’t last at all, but the love that doesn’t ask for anything in return, like the love that comes from God, that is mature love. The kind of deep love that lasts through sickness, heartache, poverty and wealth. It doesn’t matter what happens in your life, that kind of love is what we all search for and yet it is the kind that is so hard to find.

It is the kind of love that only God can bring into your life, whether it is through Jesus or by God bringing you and your “soul-mate” together. He is the only One, the only match-maker Who can answer the prayer of someone who is looking for that special someone who will be there for life, regardless of what life may bring. He is the only Person who can show you the very one who will be faithful and true to you just as He is. That is the relationship that we all are looking for, whether it is an intimate relationship with your spouse or with Jesus.

A relationship that is strong and enduring, whether it is between friends or your spouse or children, is what we crave and hunger for in our lives. Yet, even that relationship can’t take the place of the Relationship between you and Jesus. That One is more deep and connected than any that you can have if you will seek Him out when you feel that call on your life. If you haven’t felt that call yet, then I pray that you will seek Him out by going to church and open your heart to Him. Ask Him into your life and read the Bible, pray that God will give you the wisdom to understand its words and the Truth contained in it and He will.

The Love of Christ is the deepest and most enduring Love that is more than you can imagine or comprehend, yet it is available to you any time. Regardless of how your day is going, good or bad, Jesus is there to comfort and to strengthen you. He is there to heal when you feel broken by depression or injury or sickness, just call to Him. Coming to Him is easy if you believe that He will answer you. He doesn’t turn down anyone who genuinely seeks Him with an open heart asking Him to come and heal their lives.

God’s love for us, all of us, has been present since the first day of Creation. He saw down through the ages who would be needing and seeking Him. He knows you and your life, your problems and your pain and He has the answers for those too. No, I can tell you that your disease or other health problems  won’t immediately go away, but He will be with you and help you through them. In some cases, He may heal you immediately so praise the Lord for it when it comes.

Time for our world is growing short, so I urge you to seek God and His grace for your life. Believe it and in Jesus’ sacrifice for you and ask Him to come into your life so that God can give you eternal life with Him. If you choose not to believe in Jesus or in anything that you may read here, eternity will come for you but it will not be pleasant.

Love is the message


How could love be the message of the Bible? With all of the killings and the wars that are fought in its pages, how could the Bible be considered a book based upon love? We will see that very soon.

Love is the message which shines through every book in the Bible. Yet, some people can’t or won’t see it because of the words in the message. God loves each one of us and the people around us, regardless of their race or religion. Of course in the Old Testament, He told the Israelites to purge the Promised land of their enemies, why? Because God knew that if they were left in the land, soon they would become a stumbling block to Israel as a whole. The people would inter-marry with them and begin to worship their gods and their ways and pretty soon, Israel would be just like them. They would no longer be God’s chosen people because they had mixed with the “world” around them to the point that you couldn’t tell them apart.

The love that God has for everyone is the kind that we don’t understand, agape love or unconditional love. It is hard for us to understand it because for us, there has always been a give and take approach to affection and love. But, that is not how God’s love works.

The Church that began with the disciples after Jesus went to Heaven started out with the love of God in their hearts and toward all of the believers. Not only that, but that love is turned outward toward the world itself because we are to take it to the furthest reaches of the world so that others who haven’t heard of Jesus can come to know Him. That is the expression of God’s love. We do not seek riches or power for ourselves, just the continuation of Jesus’ work and His Grace to all who will receive it.

Your witness to them, no matter who they are or where they live, can be expressed through your life or your words or even something that you do for them. It doesn’t have to be done because of your love for them, but because Jesus loved them first and we should too. Many people seem to look at this as loving others like we love each other, but the love that we must spread abroad to others is from God and not ourselves.

Could I love someone who has killed my children or my wife? No, not with my own strength or my love but through Jesus and the love that He has given to me in my heart, yes I can love them through Him. I can also forgive them for what they have done to me or my family through Him as well. It does sound as if I am crazy and to some people I may be, talking of forgiving someone for killing my family. Only through Jesus could I do this, not on my own.

Can anyone feel or express God’s love if they don’t know Him? Feel it, yes, express it..not a chance. God can love and does love everyone. He does not condone the sinful life that they lead apart from Him, but if they repent and turn to Him when they feel His Spirit touch their heart then He will forgive them and take them into His family. It really is just that simple.

Jesus died to atone for ALL of humanity’s sins. The only thing that is left for each of us to do is to believe in Jesus and that sacrifice which happened on the cross for us. Humble yourself to ask Him to come into your heart and change you into the person that you can be, then your life will be forever changed and you will be a new person. The thief on the cross believed in Jesus enough to ask Him to remember him and was saved, that was all that was necessary. Belief, heartfelt and true as a child.

Treasure…pleasure…sin, which is it?


A few days ago, I wrote about giving your heart to Jesus. This post is about figuring out what to do with your life and with Him after you have felt the call of the Spirit in your heart and you have answered it. We have so much that gets in the way of living our lives for Jesus in our world today. From bills to school to relationships, married or not, our jobs, our phones, email, you name it then it can take up time in your day and before you know it, it is time to go back to bed and start over again tomorrow!

In our lives today, just as it has been going on for thousands of years, pleasure or happiness is something which we all strive for. We yearn for it. Many times as we are growing up we really don’t understand what it is that we are looking for, but we know that it is something. We look in many places until we find something that gives us happiness and joy. When you are very young it could be as simple as a toy or your favorite candy. As we get older our mind or something tells us that we need something more than that and we go searching again. We may find that sports or the opposite sex fills that need, that pleasure spot for us at that time…but yet it is a fleeting feeling. Soon we are looking for something else. At times we find something or someone who takes care of that need and as we grow a bit more and have a family, sometimes our family takes over that spot in our lives, for a time. If you have gotten past your twenties at this point and haven’t given your heart to Jesus or felt the Holy Spirit speaking to you, then you don’t know why but something just doesn’t feel right. Even though you may have a nice house and car, a healthy family and a good marriage…something is just not fitting perfectly. And you can’t put your finger on it and say, “That’s it!”

The things or people who you treasure, those that you love are the ones who get the most of your time. Sometimes, it happens to be your job or the kids, then sometimes it is other things. How can we get the priorities of each of these to straighten out and line up in our daily lives in the order that they should be? The first thing that we need to do is…pray. Since we belong to God, then prayer is the communication line that needs to stay open EVERY day and it should start at the beginning of the day, before anything else. God will help you to prioritize your life and your days, but you have to listen to Him and not your own desires. He knows what you need to do and when, and when you put His priorities first then your priorities will line up correctly too.

No, I am not saying that your days will be perfect and nothing will go wrong if you do this BUT they will be easier and smoother to handle because you are not handling the days problems alone.

Okay, lets pretend that we have done this and our first day is going pretty good. Then you get a call that one of your kids is sick or got hurt playing ball. What you do in the next few minutes will determine how the rest of your day goes. Does this situation throw a wrench into the workings of the day and everything just goes to pot from there? No, it shouldn’t. God has an answer for this and if you take the problem, whatever it is, to Him first before you grab the keys and rush out the door, then everything will work out the way that He knows that it will. PUT GOD INTO ALL OF YOUR PROBLEMS! Nothing is too big for Him, the One who hung the stars and the moon, all of your problems are small to God even though they aren’t small to you.

Can we do this? Some people will and some won’t but the point is that God is not a crutch and not a figment of people’s imagination. Satan is not a figment of someone’s imagination either and that will be proven soon. Our world and all of the people in it are very important to God. He has not abandoned us nor will He, He is present in every area of your life good and bad. God doesn’t cause the bad parts of it, but He will allow them so that you may realize that you need Him. Satan hates humanity and will do anything in his power to keep us from turning to God and if that doesn’t work then he will cause problems which show up all over the world. If you are a born-again Christian, Satan has to ask permission to do anything to you. If you are not, then he may help you to have a life that is more successful than you deserve just to keep you from needing God or he might cause an illness that you will blame God for just to keep you away from God.

So, it is your choice. Choose carefully and prayerfully before proceeding.

Give what?


This morning is just a short admonition of worship.

Give unto God what is due Him.

Your life, because He loved You first; your time because He gives you another day to work and live for Him; your efforts in everything because God formed you and knew you before the foundation of the world and most of all, your love for Him because without Him you can do nothing.

Praise the Lord all of you who are burdened and in need of rest, because resting in Him with praise in your heart is the best rest and peace that you can have.

In His service.

laminin Collossians 1:17 says: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” 

This is a picture representation of the molecule of a protein which holds our cells together. Striking resemblance to the cross, don’t you think?

Do you know that God loves you?


He loves you in such a DEEP and intimate way until you cannot fathom exactly how much He truly does love you! Satan and the world at large try to tell you that God doesn’t care about you or anything that goes on in or on this Earth, but He honestly does. I mean, honestly, do you think that He would’ve allowed His Son to die for you or me or the rest of humanity if He didn’t love us?

You may not believe in God or in His Son, but God does love you. Why? Because God IS LOVE! He can’t help but love His creation and you and I are a part of that! Yes, there are many people in this world who don’t believe and may never believe in Him or His Son and truly that is too bad. There is nothing that I can do or say that will change their minds and unless they feel or hear the call to their heart from Him and answer it, they will never know Him. The problem is that they will blame Him for it when it is their decision to believe or not!

Can anything be done to prove to anyone that God exists? No, not really. People in our world are deceived by their eyes and by science and by Satan, although many don’t think that he exists either. I have met many who don’t want to change their minds, even if you could prove God’s existence. But…one day they will meet Him. Because we will all stand before Him and give account for our lives and the deeds done by us..each word, each syllable uttered that was hurtful or may have caused a child to disbelieve in God. Every action that we did in life, if it was not covered by the blood of Jesus, will be accounted for.

When you are not a child of God what are you exactly? You are a human being just like everyone else, regardless of the color of your skin or the culture that you grew up in. God knows this because He knows you! He knows exactly where you…each of us is at any time, no matter how dark the place may be or if you feel that God is not in this place, He is. God loves you no matter where you might be, all that you need to do is allow Him into your life.

He will not push or poke His way into your life, you may feel a tug at your heart when you hear a sermon but unless you answer that call it will be unanswered until the next time. If you close your mind and your heart to God though and decide for yourself that it isn’t worth giving your life to Him, He may stop calling and just allow you to be the way that you want to be. Grace is available to all but unless you make the decision to let Jesus into your life it won’t happen.

Jesus came and died on a cross and rose again so that we all could have eternal life but we have to believe in Him and in the fact that it is His blood that purifies your sinful life before God. You can’t do it, Muhammed can’t do it, Buddha can’t do it…there is no other person or priest who can pray for you and absolve you of your sins. Jesus is the only way…the only Shepherd that can bring you into eternity.

Believe it or not, it won’t matter whether you are a good person and have given your life to doing good things or maybe you have given thousands of dollars to charity to feed the poor and the sick and disabled. These are all wonderful things to do, but unless you are a Christian and have the love of Jesus in your life and you did them for His glory and not your own…they don’t mean anything.

People will think well of you for doing this but it will have no lasting significance, no eternal reward for you because it was done for your recognition and not for God’s glory! He will enhance your life and your eternity with His love and His grace and He will help you to be more of what you are supposed to be in Him and through Him. Think about it and seek Him!

God’s children


Who were the first children of God? Many people think that Jesus was the first, but He wasn’t. Adam was the first human son of God and Eve was His daughter. Have you ever considered that? When God told the creation story to Moses, we aren’t told how long they existed in the Garden. The best part about it is that God came down and walked with them in the cool of the evening. We aren’t told what they were discussing, but I am sure that they had plenty of questions just as we do when we are young. We all ask “why is this the way it is?”, and I am sure that Adam and Eve did the same.

What can we learn from their story, their lives? One very important lesson is to experience God’s presence every day, not just on Sunday morning! God wants us to talk to Him about what is going on in our lives. He loves you because He is LOVE, perfect and holy. It doesn’t matter about your faults or failures, God knows about those but He loves you anyway. So, will you give Him some time in your schedule every day? You know, we don’t really grow up until we graduate from this life to our eternal home, right now we are just practicing.

Can you see the beauty of the creation around you? The strength of a horse or a cow and how wonderfully they are made. The strength of an oak tree and how it bends and sways with the wind, yet it remains strong as long as its roots are planted in God’s earth. That is where we draw our strength from, only when we are planted in the Word of God and cling to Him every day do we draw strength from Him and His wisdom. Our wisdom is foolish and futile because it is finite, God’s is infinite. He knows what you said last night and what you said or even thought this morning. Going fishing instead of going to church is not a worship experience. You are in the world that He made, but you are not worshipping Him. Hunting instead of coming to church is the same, you see the majesty of His handiwork all around you in the trees and the animals but unless you are there to worship God you are just hunting.

We all tend to hunt for things and stuff that satisfy for a while, but will that trophy or that ribbon be with you when you appear before God? No, everything that you have now, will be left when you stand before Him. None of your things will accompany you unless maybe your family is there, because showing them the way to Jesus will allow them to be there too. The fruit of your salvation, those who you have shown Jesus to, will follow you to paradise with Jesus. That is the only reward that will be worth having in Heaven. Those that have heard about Jesus from you or from someone who you might have told about Him, that is the fruit which will follow you or arrive before you into Heaven.

Think about how wonderfully you are made. We all have something about us that maybe we don’t like, but God put it there for a reason. It doesn’t matter what it is, God put it there to make you unique and special because you are. Each person on this Earth is unique, no two are alike exactly, not even twins. They may be similar but as any mother of twins can tell you, they are different too. Personality and differences in temperament are evident regardless of how much they look like each other.

Think about this today and ask God to show you what is special about you. It might surprise you.