Category: Jesus loves you

Good news for ALL people!


Our God and our Savior loves you all and you have an appointed time with Him! It is not a judgement time, if you just come to believe in Who He is and what He did for you!! This is a simple message but a powerful one, so powerful in fact that after the dream that I had of Him this morning (it is 3:12 a.m.) I had to get up and write this to tell all of you the good news!!!

God truly is NOT dead, He is alive and Jesus is coming soon to claim His Bride for His own. But that news alone is not the GOOD NEWS, it is that if you truly believe in your heart and confess Him before men then you will be saved, that’s it! We are not required to do anything or perform any “tasks” for Him, just believe as a little child that Jesus did what God’s Word, the Bible, says that He did. When you can come to that belief in faith like a child, then you will be changed into a child of God.

I am not saying that you will fly up to Heaven the moment that you are saved, but your soul, your spirit will be counted as a citizen of God’s Kingdom and from that moment on you are not the same! He loves you and wants to bring you into knowledge of Him, a loving knowledge of Himself, like that of a toddler to your Father! That is the kind of relationship that God wants to have with you from the moment that you believe and on into eternity!

Isn’t this AWESOME, the Creator of the universe wants to know you personally, every day. Not just at Christmas services and Easter, but every day. He cares for you like nobody on Earth can, just because He is God! You don’t have to do anything to receive this blessing, except answer the call in your heart, in your soul that you may have felt before, but you didn’t know what it was or even why you felt it. Yes, the emptiness that you have felt is telling you that something is missing, and that something is Jesus! Nothing will fix the feeling, nothing else will work in that spot in your heart. It is a place that only one Person, only one relationship will be the right one and that is the relationship with Jesus that needs to begin today!

Don’t put it off until tomorrow! Now is the appointed time to be saved and to come to know Him for Who He is, He is your Lord and Savior and He has always been waiting for you to come to Him. He doesn’t force you into a relationship, forced servitude is not a loving relationship. You have to be willing to come, you need to learn of Him and about Him, because only in Him and through Him can you be saved from the fate that awaits Satan and his demons.

Why would a loving God do that to you or anyone else? Because, if you have rejected His offer of grace and mercy through the belief in Jesus and His sacrifice, then you are no better and no different from Satan, who wanted to place his throne above God’s throne! You are rebelling against God when you choose to be separated from Him, but it is your choice, God is not the One who condemns you to hell, you are. By rejecting His grace and your salvation through Jesus, you are rejecting God Himself and all that He is offering to you, and by doing that you are no better than any demon or principality or even Satan himself. The “lie” that many people have believed is that they will always have the time to come to know Jesus. But, we are not guaranteed tomorrow. We have been given the grace and the ability to come to Him today and only by accepting that grace, by asking Him to come into your heart and change you into the person that God knows you can be will you be able to stand before Him with all of your sins covered in the righteousness of Jesus.

That’s it…that is all that is required or necessary. Just belief in Jesus and in His sacrifice and asking Him to change you into the person that you should be. Give your life to Him because He is coming…sooner than you think!

Veterans and the faith that they have


I have heard of so-called “fox-hole conversions” and there is likely some truth to them, I mean, come on…wouldn’t you want God on your side in a war!?! Many of the veterans who fought in WWII, Korea, and in Vietnam may not have had much faith in God when they were drafted or when they were in their first battle or fire-fight, but I would bet that before they came home there was at least a bit of faith the size of a mustard seed in them.

I served for a short while during 1980, but I never was deployed as they say so I am not considered a veteran. Then, I had to get out of the military due to a medical emergency discharge, so even the VA denies that I am a veteran because I had yet to serve six full months in the service.

Now, I am not complaining, I enjoyed my time in the service and would’ve gladly went back until I became a father. I had a more important job to do at home then and didn’t want to put my family through that. In fact, I was in the process of getting back in about a month before September 11, ’01, when I clearly heard the voice of God while I was at work. He told me that I needed to cancel my joining up with the Army at that time. No reason given just that I shouldn’t go. Then the confirmation of a reason became clear when those airplanes flew into the towers and changed everything. I am not a coward as some people may think. I was a firefighter for five years and I have gone into burning buildings plenty of times, so that wasn’t it.

I just needed to follow God’s lead in this. Also, just a few days later, my father died and my son turned two so I had other things going on at the time. I do praise and honor Vets because of their bravery and for their service. I have the utmost respect for all of our service men and women. God watches over them each and every day, whether the FFRF wants Him to or not.

The point of this is that God has appointed each of to a time to die and then face His judgement. Whether you have given your heart and life to Jesus or not will be the issue, not your sins unless you have left Jesus out of your life. If His blood is not covering your sins, then they will all be brought to light, every word and deed. Yes, our servicemen and women need God in their lives and watching over their service wherever it may be. Seek Him while you have the time to do so, because time is growing short. Read the last book of the Bible and see if it sounds like the news, that should tell you that we are getting closer to His return every day. For your eternal salvation, please consider asking Jesus into your heart!

Help, we need, our Father can give it


There is a picture that I found on Facebook that needs to be here and here it is:

What about this picture is beautiful? Everything. The sun for the day, the warmth from the sun which God placed there just for us, the woman who isGivemePeace praying, these are all beautiful creations and all are part of the world that God created. We are the ones who make bad decisions, the ones who follow the wrong people or the wrong ideology, even the wrong teaching from a pastor who is deluded into thinking that he has the best way of saving people or whatever.

Thinking more of yourself than you ought to will only cause a greater fall one day. Considering your own thoughts and words to mean more than God’s Word will truly condemn you. Yes, there are preachers who do this today, but hopefully their followers are not very vocal.

God loves each one of us, every day, whether we love ourselves or our circumstances or not. Give thanks to God in all circumstances, regardless of the pain or the sorrow because this life is temporary and so are the problems contained in it. He loves you and will provide the strength and the comfort to bring you through whatever you find yourself in. What can we do that will make a difference in other people’s lives? For one, live your life as close to Jesus as you can if you are a Christian, then others will see Him through your life. If you don’t believe in God or Jesus, then you need to be seeking Him. He cares about you and loves you as His child, as His creation, all that He is waiting for is for you to come to Him.

 

Is the right person in charge?


Is idolatry real in today’s world? I would say so. If a man takes his own ideas and uses his hands to create something which represents that, then decides to worship it, that is idolatry. Yet, he is worshiping himself.

You might say that, “I’m not guilty of doing that.” Okay…is there anything or anyone that you love more than God? How about fearing something more than God? Do you serve something more than God? Do you trust something more than God?

Then you might say that “I gave God a place in my life”, God doesn’t want a “place”! “Well, I do give God prominence in my life”. He doesn’t want that either, God demands to be first, preeminent in your life and He will take nothing less than that.

If there is anyone or anything in your life that takes precedence over God, confess it and repent of it. Then put the One on the throne in charge who has the right to be Master of your life…the Lord Jesus!

Your life should be in His hands not your own, but our culture especially in America points toward individuality which means “I am in charge and I do what I want with my life”. That is a bold statement and one worthy of an American, but if you are a true follower of Christ then Jesus is supposed to be the One in control of your life. He is supposed to be the One who is driving your life, your family and your business EVERYDAY, not just on holidays and the days which you attend church!

We are supposed to be “little Christs”, that is what the word Christian means, but are we doing that? Everyday, not just on Sunday or holidays! People should be able to look at you and your family and, without you telling them, know that you and your family worship Jesus! We shouldn’t have to tell anyone that Jesus is Lord of our life, it should be evident in our lives ALWAYS!

If it is not, then something needs to change! The signs of the end of the age have mostly come true, so time is growing short! Don’t wait because your tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, give your heart and your life to Jesus because He loves you and He wants the best for you. It is true that His reward may not come to you in this life, but what is this life compared to eternity? If you want the best that can be had in eternity, then decide to follow Him and not yourself because on your own without Christ in your heart you can do nothing!

Life is ours only for a little while, whether it is fifty years, eighty years or one hundred years BUT what is that compared to eternity? A tiny puff of smoke, that is all. Consider the time that we are told in school that the dinosaurs lived, sixty-five million years ago, even that is but a tick in the clock compared to eternity.

Think about it.

Life equals struggle but….


We all struggle in our daily lives at some point, but can we do anything about it? The people in marketing and finance say that we have to build up our portfolio and we will be financially secure. The so-called gurus on television or those who write self-help books point you toward believing in yourself and the goals that you set for yourself. Living your life daily is not hard to do, really, you just get up in the morning and go to work, right? Not everyone can do that though. Some are not able to make that drive or even to get out of bed, then what do you do? Complaining doesn’t help, getting angry at everyone and everything doesn’t help because anger just hurts you from the inside out. Resigning yourself to be the way that you are is like giving up and that is counter productive too.

There is something or rather Someone that can help more than money, power, drugs or anything else that man can dream up. It is turning your life and your heart over to Jesus. Following Him daily by reading and studying His Word. Listen to sermons, regardless of who may be preaching. Yes, times are changing and whether many people want to believe it or not, time is growing short. Yes, we have been waiting a long time…a little less than two thousand years, but the signs which point to the end of that waiting are coming faster every week.

It is a struggle sometimes to get through life on a daily basis and there is a strength that is available to you from your Savior, if you will seek Him out. Please don’t struggle through this life alone, seek out Jesus and He will give you the strength to get through your problems no matter what they are.

Crossroad for hypocrites


“Thus says the LORD:
‘Stand at the crossroads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies: and
walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’” Jeremiah 6:16-17

We are at a crossroad where our community meets and goes separate ways and yet also comes together as friends and family. God meets us here and in our everyday life at whatever crossroad we each happen to be on, whether we are starting out our life in school or college or maybe a new career. God is always there with us at the crossroads of our life and our faith.

What can we do when we get there?

a. we can choose to follow Him, whichever way that He leads us to go.
b. we can turn in a different direction and decide not to follow His lead right now.
c. we can turn back and leave Him at the crossroad and possibly miss out on something wonderful.

Crossroads in life lead us in directions that we may want to go in or they can lead us to something which may not be the best for us. It is our choice and God gives us each a choice so that we can make it, whether it is the choice which He wants us to make or if it is ours which may lead us down a long road which we will regret taking.

Our choices, good or bad, define us in this life. Whatever those choices may be, we should consult the One Who knows the end from the beginning because ultimately, He knows which choice is best for you.

As people do, we tend toward thinking that we know better than God what is best for us and we make our choices based on our own limited thinking. But, our thinking about us and about others is usually what gets us in trouble. We think that someone is too big or too “this or that”, we don’t agree with the way they dress or their ideology or which belief or non-belief that they might have. Isn’t that what makes us human? We all make mistakes in one way or another and nobody is perfect, but God wants to know us just the way that we are. Whether we are wearing pajamas or blue jeans or a three-piece suit or if we have sandals or beach shoes or the most expensive shoes in the world, God wants you as you are. He doesn’t need your money, just your fellowship and your love because He provided the way for you to have eternal life. All that you have to do to get it is to accept it in faith and believe that He really did it for you, that’s all.

God did this through His Son, Jesus, the name which causes all others to cringe in the world because of His name. God is not so bad it seems, but when you bring Jesus into a discussion then you have committed the ultimate jab at other religions and non-religious people. Why is that? Is it so bad that He gave His life so that you could have eternal life? What makes you so special that you think that you can get into Heaven without the forgiveness found only in Jesus’ sacrifice for you? It doesn’t matter what you have done in this life, no sin will put you into hell except the sin of refusal, refusing to accept the grace offered through Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf. By rejecting Him, that is what puts your eternity in line with Satan and his demons simply because they rejected God and by rejecting Jesus you are on the same level as they are.

Yes, we have a choice and it is what we choose with that choice that defines us, now and into eternity as well.

What should we say…


Christians tend to get tongue-tied when they are telling others about Jesus and it does happen to pastors as well. When Paul and Silas when to the Berean Jews, they accepted the gospel with gladness:

10That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. 12As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 17: 10-12)

The way that they accepted and searched the Scriptures is exactly the way that we should be every day with the Word of God. The more frequently you read and study the Bible, more of it will get into your mind and you won’t have to memorize it. It will just be there waiting to be used. It will also give you a greater understanding of God and His ways to “search the scriptures” because in doing so, you will be learning about God more and more.

Should we be more forceful or pushy with our faith, trying to convert anyone that we can? Absolutely not! Yes, we need to be able to tell others and defend the reason for our faith in what we believe and Who we believe in, but being zealous for our faith to the extreme is not necessary. Jesus wasn’t that way and we don’t need to be either. All that we need to do is tell others about why we believe in Jesus and why, the Holy Spirit will take that seed and make it grow.

God’s Word doesn’t come back to Him void of the purpose for which it was sent out. It always accomplishes that which He wills for it to do. Can we be better witnesses? Yes, with the help of Jesus and the Spirit of Truth. Why can’t we do it on our own strength? Because doing it on your own is not the way that it is done! If that were the case, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come and die on the cross. In our own strength, we could keep the Law and work our way toward salvation, but we can’t!

We are too weak to be able to resist the temptations of daily living without the Holy Spirit in our lives and Jesus’ righteousness is the Only righteousness that is able to cover our sins. God loves us enough to know all of these things about us, yet He still sent His Son to die for us so that we will be able to come into His presence.

I am not saying that people can’t be morally good and do some worthy and good things even without knowing Jesus because they can. It is because of the Law that God wrote into our being that we know right from wrong and also we learned it from our parents and grandparents. So, yes, even people who believe in other gods or no god at all can do good things…morally right things even. The problem comes when you think that your “good works” are good enough to cover your sins and get you into Heaven, because they are not.

God is perfectly Holy and since He is, do you think that you can just walk up to His house and let yourself in? Do you think that you could do this at any residence of someone that you don’t even know? Of course you couldn’t and you wouldn’t let anyone into your house either if you did not know them. That is only a tiny part of why God can’t and won’t allow you to “work” your way into Heaven. He has given it to you as a gift and it is available to everyone in the same way, all that you need to do is accept it and believe it. That is it.

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!

Thinkin’ about stuff…


300px-Pooh_and_Piglet,_Thinking

I really like Pooh Bear. His philosophy of life is profound and simple. Eat, enjoy life with your friends, think about…stuff. Like, how clouds look and how they get around, why is the Sun so bright, could I fly to the moon? All important questions, especially when you don’t want to think about the REAL world and its problems. Life is a question from the time that we can talk and make sentences until the day that we, in the words of Commander Data “go offline”. How can we really enjoy life when there are so many questions? Do we have to answer them all? I am only adding to the number of questions by asking all of these.

The point is that we are beings who think. Our minds work all of the time, except while we are asleep and some say that we actually solve many of our problems while we are asleep we just don’t realize it at the time. Unconscious thoughts, words, meanings and emotions cloud our thinking and crowd out the really weird stuff, but only while we sleep. When we are awake, we have news and Facebook and Instagram and conversations over our phones and computers as well as with other human beings. Not to mention the things which we really have to do, like go to work, drive the car, watch for the other people on the highway around us, then do our job (whatever that might be) and then drive home and either fix something to eat for our family or get it as take-out from a restaurant.

Your life and mine are constantly in motion. Our minds rarely have a chance to catch up with everything that we are doing, and yet I haven’t even mentioned giving time to God or Bible study and meditation, prayer, etc. It is possible to do all of these things but when you write them down…they look so overwhelming! God gave us the ability to do this but we take it for granted, because from the time we first start going to school, more things are added to our daily menu of things to do every day! It seems that we are never really caught up or that we ever will catch up. Why?

More questions. Think…think…think..what can we do that doesn’t require so much energy, so much brainpower? I don’t have the answer to that, unless you might want to play some games on a console or on the computer, that is a mostly brain-less activity in my opinion. So, without being brain-less, how about getting into God’s Word? The wisdom contained in it doesn’t require us to really think, just believe in Him and His wisdom, as well as in His Son Who made it possible for us to come to God at any time that we need Him, regardless of the circumstance.

Once Jesus took care of the atonement or payment for our sins, all that we have to do is to believe in Him and what He did and ask Him to forgive us and to help us be more like Him in our daily lives. So that we can bring His message to others and, if the Holy Spirit draws them, maybe they will want to give their lives to Him as well. Christians don’t go on jihad (except for the ones that were deceived by their church in the Middle ages), Christianity cannot be forced on anyone and neither can any other religion!

Please consider your eternal soul and really think…think this through before deciding to follow Jesus or not. The decision can be the most valuable in your lifetime, because then your true, eternal life won’t end at all! 

Does God care?


If God did not care, you wouldn’t be reading this. Whether you believe in Him or not isn’t the point and whether you want to believe in Him isn’t the point either. God is, period. He cares, He loves each of us and He knows when and where you will die and how. He is omnipotent and outside of time, so He can see the beginning and the end and everything in between.

Your lack of belief will not change any of these facts and you will believe when He comes again, there is no denying that. Just like voting against gravity or sunshine will not make them go away, not believing in God is your choice but even Satan knows better! YES, God cares about you and every person on this Earth because He had a hand in your life at one point.

Choosing to disbelieve this will not change anything. God is eternal and He has a plan for us all. We can’t find out that plan until we seek Him and come to know Him though. Walking around or sitting around watching TV, fishing, hunting, or whatever you do that qualifies as ‘recreation and relaxation” doesn’t get you any closer to God. You are experiencing His creation and all the wonders of it, but until you decide to repent and allow Him to come into your life, the experience of it won’t mean much.

God is as near to you as your heartbeat and your breathing. He allowed you to get up this morning and begin a new day so don’t waste it! Use it for Him, decide to come before the Creator and humble yourself asking for His forgiveness that it took so long for you to find out that you need Him. Yes, God cares. He cared enough to send His Son to take the sins of the entire world on Himself, so that when you realized that you need Him, all that you have to do is believe in Jesus and ask Him to come into your life and make you His. That’s it.

It is not hard and there is nothing that you can do to make it better or easier. Actually, it couldn’t be much easier than: Father, I have been a sinner all of my life. I ask that you forgive me of all that I have done and cleanse me. Make me into a new creation through the power of your Son, Jesus. Thank you for your love and mercy, God. In Jesus’ name I ask this today and look forward to a new life with Him. Amen.

That is it. That simple prayer is all that you have to…no, need to do if you have never asked Him into your life before. Believe in Jesus, trust in Him and the Creator, God, because when you do everything changes and becomes new. Then, get a Bible, read it, study it, pray about it while you study it because He will help you to understand it and how it applies to your life. Then, tell someone about what Jesus has done for you. They will see it and know it whether you tell them or not because the change will be evident.