Category: Religion

Being a mouthpiece


Since I am a preacher, that is what I am seen as by most people…a mouthpiece for God’s Word. I read a few verses or maybe a chapter during the service on Sunday morning and then expound on what I have read and what the wisdom that God has given me tells me about this scripture. Moses was a mouthpiece and all of the prophets in the Bible were too. Jesus is a direct mouthpiece because He is the Living Word of God and His disciples were mouthpieces and teachers just as we are today.

Bridge2SalvationWhat is my point in this article today? Simply that God is awesome, Jesus is sitting at the right of His Father and the universe is under their control! Being the person who tells others about God and His Son, and thankfully I am not the only one doing this, is an awesome responsibility! But, I enjoy it!

God loves us and the story that is told in the Bible, from the beginning to the end, is the story of His love and compassion toward us all. While it is true that it starts out being a story about Creation and the Israelite nation, the wisdom contained within its pages is for all of us! Jesus came to tell that story more personally so that we could understand that God’s love doesn’t just mean something to one particular people, but it is expressed toward all of humanity through His death and resurrection!

God’s love and compassion for us are also expressed in His patience toward us because we are very stubborn in our sinful lives and we don’t want to follow His ways until we are ready. The problem with that is that we don’t have a clue about our the brevity of our lives! We are not guaranteed tomorrow or even tonight, so as the saying goes “today is the day of salvation”! Tomorrow isn’t here until it is and you may not have much time in the day or the week ahead to give your life to Jesus and repent of your sins.

None of us can know if we are going into the new year in a couple of weeks because it isn’t a certainty. A wreck or a heart attack or a stroke could take your life at any time between now and then and if you haven’t made the decision to follow Jesus and believe in His atonement for your sins, then you will cross from this life into judgment and hell.

God loves each of us and this is shown in His Word, so don’t wait until you find yourself in front of God and being judged for a life lived without Jesus or even believing in Him. Yes, each of us will be judged in one way or another. If you are a Christian and have Jesus as your Savior then you will be judged by what you did for God’s Kingdom.

If you are not a Christian, then every word and deed that you have ever done in your life will be brought before you to convict you of your sins and to prove that you deserve to be punished in hell. Not for the sins, but for refusing to give your heart to Jesus! That is the sin which condemns you to hell. Make sure of your salvation while you can in this life because when this one is over you can’t rewind and fix it.

Have you learned much this year?


Life is hard at times. Learning about your Creator and your faith is one of the most rewarding experiences that you can have. So, exactly how do you learn about Him? Well, that is a very good question and it is what this article is all about.

Truly, God loves each of us! Not just those who claim to be Christians but every person on the Earth! Of course, that doesn’t always translate into those persons giving Him their heart and their love in return. The main part of learning about God and Jesus and their love for you is inside of a book…the Bible! God inspired writers to write down His laws and His requirements for His people, the Jewish nation of Israel.

Some might argue that those laws and requirements don’t pertain to us today because they were written over two millennia ago, some as much as three millennia in the past. How could wisdom and laws from that far back in time and written to a different people have anything to do with today?

It is because God is our Creator and His wisdom is timeless as are His laws and precepts. Yes, they were written by people far away and years in the past but God lives outside of time and He gives wisdom and love to all who will come to Him and ask. God loves all of us, which is why Jesus came to live a life unblemished by sin and then be sacrificed as the Spotless Lamb of God for our sins!

We are His Creation and when the world was still unformed and not made yet, He knew that humanity would need a Savior. Jesus came to be that Savior for all of us if we will believe in Him and the atonement that He purchased with His blood and His death on the cross and then He vanquished over death when He came out of the tomb three days later.

job-type-of-ChristWhen we are tested and tried during our lives by illness or setbacks in a job or finances, it is to make us better and closer to God. Just as Job was tested hard when all of his children and his wealth was taken by the attacks of Satan. Then his health was taken away and he still didn’t lose his faith. He questioned God’s reasons for his losses but he never lost his faith in God’s mercy and greatness! When the testing was over, God blessed him with the gift of children and twice his wealth and he lived to a ripe old age.

Here is the account of God’s grace toward Job:

God Restores Job’s Fortunes

10 The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold. 11 Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house, and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the LORD had brought on him. And each one gave him one piece of money, and each a ring of gold. 12 The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were found so fair as Job’s daughters and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man and full of days.

Is your faith no better than Satan’s?


heaven-or-hell-eternal-destinyKinda sounds a bit weird, doesn’t it? Does Satan have faith at all? Well, yes and no. He believes that Jesus is the Son of God, but not through faith. The demons which Jesus told to come out of the man in the tombs called Him the Holy One of God, so they knew Who He was. What is interesting is that many people in the church know Who Jesus is and they believe intellectually that He is the Son of God, but that is not a saving faith in Jesus. Consider someone who has read the Bible from cover to cover, but they did not read it with an attitude of faith or belief and they didn’t believe in the God Who inspired the writing of it. How do you think that they would see the information that they took into their brains?

Mostly the information which they may have learned will be just knowledge, head knowledge not saving or believing knowledge. Satan knows the Scriptures because he was around when it was written but knowledge and faith are two different sides of a coin and they never meet! If you didn’t feel a compulsion to repent or a call of the Holy Spirit, it wouldn’t matter if you memorized all of the gospels! The knowledge in them would be just words from a rabbi or teacher and nothing more.

Faith and belief are part of being a Christian but if you can’t joyfully proclaim that He is your Savior and be truly happy about that news, then you may not be any closer to Jesus than Satan is. Our Creator and our Savior is Jesus the Christ and being glad that He is your Savior is part of the proof that the Holy Spirit gives you! If your knowledge of Him only goes to the point of being in church and hearing the sermons, then you truly need to get to know Him better!

God loves each of us and doesn’t want us to be punished in hell because we didn’t give our hearts to Him. The message of salvation and the love that God expressed through Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross is the most excellent way of showing that love to all of us. Life is more than just living here day by day because your life doesn’t end when you die! Jesus spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they are alive in eternity and we will be too…if we believe in Him and accept Him as our Savior. We can enjoy meeting and get to know the people that we have only read about in the Bible in eternity!

Those in the world who only know Jesus as a prophet or a teacher and don’t want to know Him as their Savior will not enjoy eternity. They will be in hell with Satan and the demons because of rejecting the Savior in this life. There is no party and no kingdom to rule with Satan, so eternity will be punishment and absolutely no fun at all.

Who do you say that I am?


WhoDoYouSayIamIt is a question which Jesus asked of His disciples and it is one which all of us need to answer in our own hearts as well. Have you considered what your answer would be? Is He your Savior or just a great prophet? Is He the Son of God or an imposter like so many of those who had the name Jesus (Joshua, Yeshua) at that time? Who is He in your heart and in your life? Do you even believe that He existed?

Many questions to answer but the real truth of it is that Jesus is the Son of God, foretold to come by being born of a virgin, of the lineage of David and He was born in Bethlehem. So much conflict and strife in a city in the country of Israel. Fighting between relatives, since all of those around Israel are also descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. Yet, all of this conflict was foretold in the Bible, not just in the book of Revelation but in other, much older prophetic books like Isaiah and Daniel.

So, who is Jesus to you? Is He your Savior and Messiah? He is to me because without His Spirit helping me with these words, I couldn’t come up with all of these writings!

God sent Jesus to Earth to redeem the whole human race from the sins of our mutual ancestor, Adam. I know, if you don’t believe the Creation story from the Bible then we are descended from apes through evolutionary means. But, hear me out in this wise: Adam disobeyed God in eating from the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and we are partakers of that sin nature. We, meaning all of humanity, have always sought to be “like god” in some way!

We have searched for and are still searching for ways to extend our lives beyond our normal lifespan or to fix age-related diseases which our bodies have in one way or another as we get older. I contend with arthritis myself and would like nothing better than for a cure to be found, but that will likely be when I get my body in Heaven. We cannot be gods of any kind in these finite bodies of ours and God didn’t make us for that purpose.

We are His creation just as the animals and the angels and the planets and stars and galaxies are His creation. All of the universe which we can see and the parts which we can’t see are also His creation! God is ruler and sovereign over all and He doesn’t have to give us anything or even answer our prayers, but He does. His judgment is final and true and yet people want to question the Bible and its authenticity.

Jesus is the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity and He came to pay our price for our sins. God’s Word calls Him many names such as Wonderful Counselor, King of Kings and the Prince of Peace among many others like the Root of Jesse and the Son of David and the Righteous Branch. He is our Savior and Lord and the only way to be saved from our sins is our belief in Him and the atonement which He accomplished for all of us! Don’t deny Him as your Savior, accept Him and follow Him into eternity because following Satan into eternity is going to be eternal punishment.

Problematic faith


In our society today it seems that we have problems with faith. Occasionally it is the lack of faith but most often it is that people of faith seem to be the problem. It doesn’t matter how many florists or bakeries there are in a particular town or city, those who want to cause trouble usually find the one run by someone who is a Christian. As Jesus said, “The world hated Me so it will hate you“; it is the Truth which the world hates and since our Lord is the Truth and His Word is also, then it makes sense in a way.

Our faith in Jesus is not really in question but the absolute Truth of God’s Word is the part which the world and those who don’t want to believe in Him or live by it is the real problem. Can we do anything to fix this? No, not really. The only way that this could be better would be IF the world would convert to Christianity. We are trying to tell the world about Jesus and that He is the Messiah for all of humanity, but much of the world doesn’t want to hear it.

Thankfully, we don’t push our faith on people. We tell you about it, we will pray for you, I can tell you the pathway to salvation through belief in Jesus, but if you decide against it then that is your decision. God doesn’t push Himself nor belief in His Son on the world. He didn’t do it even before Jesus was born but He did try to get the Israelites to follow His commandments and be His representatives to the world, but they didn’t do that even then.

Being faithful in following God has always been a tricky proposition. There was always the temptation to worship the gods of those around them or if they married someone who worshipped an idol. We have the same problem today, except our “idols” are much different. We worship money or family or our jobs, even though we don’t bow down or pray to them. We just place more emphasis on those things in our life than we should.

Anytime that you place anything ahead of or in place of your faith and belief in God, you are creating an idol or a “god” which takes His place. This is a big problem in our world today. Because many people look at their jobs or their bank accounts as their “savior” in many things. That is why Jesus said that “it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven“.

Why is that true? Well, wealthy people don’t have to worry about bills or having enough money or food. Why would they need God? Granted, there are some who know where their wealth came from and they honor Him for it and with tithes which show that He is the source and not their business or their bank account. But…those are few. Give God the glory for your ability to get wealth and for your salvation through Jesus!

 

Don’t look now….


Shoes in Church

I showered and shaved…………..I adjusted my tie.
I got there and sat………….In a pew just in time.
Bowing my head in prayer……….As I closed my eyes.
I saw the shoe of the man next to me……Touching my own. I sighed.

With plenty of room on either side, I thought, ‘Why must our soles touch?’
It bothered me, his shoe touching mine… But it didn’t bother him much.

A prayer began: ‘Our Father’…………. I thought,
‘This man with the shoes has no pride. They’re dusty, worn, and scratched. Even worse, there are holes on the side!’

‘Thank You for blessings,’ the prayer went on.
The shoe man said…………….. A quiet ‘Amen.’

I tried to focus on the prayer……. But my thoughts were on his shoes again. Aren’t we supposed to look our best? When walking through that door?

‘Well, this certainly isn’t it,’ I thought, glancing toward the floor.
Then the prayer was ended………… And the songs of praise began.

The shoe man was certainly loud….. Sounding proud as he sang. His voice lifted the rafters…….. His hands were raised high. The Lord could surely hear…The shoe man’s voice from the sky.

It was time for the offering…….. And what I threw in was steep.
I watched as the shoe man reached… Into his pockets so deep.
I saw what was pulled out………. What the shoe man put in.
Then I heard a soft ‘clink’ as when silver hits tin.

The sermon really bored me………. To tears, and that’s no lie.
It was the same for the shoe man… For tears fell from his eyes.

At the end of the service…….. As is the custom here.
We must greet new visitors, And show them all good cheer.

But I felt moved somehow..and wanted to meet the shoe man.
So after the closing prayer…….. I reached over and shook his hand.

He was old and his skin was dark….. And his hair was truly a mess…..But I thanked him for coming……. For being our guest…

He said, ‘My name’s Charlie….. I’m glad to meet you, my friend.’

There were tears in his eyes……… But he had a large, wide grin.
‘Let me explain,’ he said…………. Wiping tears from his eyes.

‘I’ve been coming here for months…… And you’re the first to say ‘Hi.” ‘I know that my appearance………..Is not like all the rest.
‘But I really do try…To always look my best.’
‘I always clean and polish my shoes…Before my very long walk.’
‘But by the time I get here……They’re dirty and dusty, like chalk.’

My heart filled with pain………… And I swallowed to hide my tears. As he continued to apologize…..for daring to sit so near.

He said, ‘When I get here………… I know I must look a sight.’
‘But I thought if I could touch you…Then maybe our souls might unite.’

I was silent for a moment…………. Knowing whatever was said
Would pale in comparison… I spoke from my heart, not my head.

‘Oh, you’ve touched me,’ I said…….’And taught me, in part’
‘That the best of any man…………..Is what is found in his heart.’

The rest, I thought,……….This shoe man will never know.
Like just how thankful I really am… That his dirty old shoe touched my soul.

Live each day as your last, for we never know our time here on earth. Love and Peace My Friends and remember that it is not how we look on the outside but how we look within.

I may have published something like this in the past, but I thought that maybe someone new might see it who hasn’t looked at all of my postings. I pray that this bit of wisdom and knowledge might touch someone during this season of thankfulness and giving.
Merry Christmas to all of you who visit!

Do you live for Jesus or yourself?


Do you know the One Who saves unto eternity? Does He know you? Jesus is His name and He is our Savior and the only One Who can save you. Have you sought Him for your salvation? If you have not done this, then what is your life worth? Are you concerned for your eternity or do you believe that this life is all there is?

JesusLovesYouThe poor in spirit seek Him for their salvation and they do know Him because of the joy that He brings to them. Man-made gods and religions can’t do this. It doesn’t matter if your religion acknowledges God as Creator but that you recognize Jesus as His Son and your Savior! He loved each of us enough to come and give His human life away as a sacrifice which paid the debt for ALL of our sins, not just some people but all of the people on Earth.

Some religions say that God doesn’t care for us in that way, that He doesn’t love us at all. We are just His creation and after that, He just sits and watches us kill each other to see who will be left. It is possible that a human god would do that. Satan would actually help us kill each other and does it quite regularly because he hates us. Because of Whose image we are created in.

God is not a figment of our mythology and our imagination and one day soon, He will prove it to the whole world. I don’t know when it will happen, but since God can’t lie and He said that He is coming back, and I believe Him. It is true that Christianity is only one of many religions and beliefs in our world today and many people talk badly about us because of our beliefs. It seems that nobody talks bad about any other religion, but if someone kneels in prayer or in any other way acknowledges that they believe in Jesus then it is offensive.

Jesus told His disciples that “the world hated Me so it will hate you” and we are seeing this more and more every day. It seems to be getting worse because you hear it more and more all the time, in one way or another. A lawsuit is filed because someone is expressing their faith by doing something or not doing something. A city is taken to court because of a monument which has the Ten Commandments or a Nativity scene at Christmas.

Our country came to be what it is because people were coming here to worship they way they wanted to in freedom. Yes, we do have freedom OF religion because we don’t have a national religion. But it seems that today, Christian values and religious practice is being pushed and shoved aside because “it offends people”. If the Truth of God’s Word offends you, then go to a different church or don’t go to one at all! You don’t HAVE to read my blog here and if it offends you then go to another one that you like better!

God loves you anyway, whether you love Him or not. On the day that you leave this world and stand before Him, then you will know for sure which God is in control. It will be too late to believe at that point, but you will know.

A Christmas song’s meaning


HistoryoftheBibleinA Song

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is because this song was written during a time when a layperson, not of the clergy, was not supposed to know or read the Bible. So the lyrics tell the story of the entire Bible and of salvation…if you know what parts of the song point to what parts of the Bible or certain people.

Do you have too much busyness?


In our lives, day in and day out, we are all busy in some way or another. Some of us have to work at a job every day, some of us are studying at school (college or high school), and some of us are just busy. It is this busyness which can get in the way of our family relationships and also dampen our relationship with God as well.

UsefulVesselThink about that for a minute.

Are you too busy for God? You don’t have time to give to Him or to talk to Him? Have you ever wondered why some of your projects don’t work out very well? Could it be that God wants to be a part of your life and your projects too?

Of course, He wants to be part of your life and your projects and your business!

If you have ever read the Bible, in Genesis before Adam and Eve ate from the wrong tree, God came down to the garden and walked with them in the cool of the evening. He wanted to have fellowship with His children, just as parents want to be involved in their children’s lives. So, why do you think that you don’t have time to read the Bible or meditate on His Word? Is it because you don’t have the time or you won’t make the time?

Most of us mortals won’t take the time to spend in God’s Word on a daily basis. For a while it bothers us but just as with sin, ignoring those feelings gets easier every time. After a while, you may not even notice that you haven’t read God’s Word until the next time your preacher reminds you of it. Then, what will you do? Do you decide to read the Bible for a while and try to get back into a real relationship with God? Many of us try this, especially when we make it a “New year’s resolution”, but just as with diet and exercise it gets to be too much and it gets laid aside and forgotten.

God loves you and He wants to speak to you but if you don’t read His Word regularly, how will you know His voice? If you don’t read it enough to recognize His wisdom when you hear it in your heart, then how can you apply it to your life or your business?

During the holidays particularly, we are busier than we are during any regular month. We travel to spend time with friends and family during Thanksgiving and then during Christmas and New Years too! All of those special times with family can leave you strung out and tired of the travel and weary of your obligations as well. So…what can we do about this busy time of year? Plan for it before it gets here for one and concentrate on your immediate family secondly. Why do I say this? Because your wife and children are more important than traveling all over the place to visit with people you only see once every five or ten years!

If they want to visit this year, let them make the travel plans to come to your home rather than you always going to their home. But, don’t forget your Savior in any of these celebrations. Spend time with your brothers and sisters in Christ in His house, the church. Spend time reading and learning from His wisdom which is written for you after all. God has provided all that we truly need in life and all of the extras which we have are gifts from Him as well, so why not be thankful for them every day of the year?

Don’t wait until a holiday comes along, thank God for your home and family and your health every day! After all, it is by His grace that we live and breathe!

Anger or compassion


thereasonforourproblemsWe live every day with the consequences of one or the other, the outcome depends upon which one is more prevalent in our lives. Is it anger and our temper or do we live a life of service to others and showing compassion toward their problems? Do you worry more about your own problems and troubles? Most of us do exactly that. We worry about our lives and our finances and many other problems, most of which we can do nothing constructive about.

Life is given to each of us to bring glory to God, not to our own life or for our own selfish needs or wants. God gives us the necessary abilities to accomplish everything that He has intended for us to do. We should depend upon Him and His provisions for us, whether it is in the form of money or talent, to be able to accomplish the task He has given to us. Finding out that task is our job, to work toward being close enough to God so that we can discern His will for us.

How do we do this? By reading the Bible with an attitude of prayer and seeking His will for our life. Read a chapter then ask God to reveal His wisdom in what you just read. Ask Him to show you what His wisdom means in this chapter and how it applies to your life and ministry. It doesn’t matter which book you are reading or what chapter it may be. It could be in Genesis or Psalms or Matthew or even in Revelation.

The point is that whatever you read, ask God to show you what His wisdom is in the scripture. I have found that it doesn’t matter how many times you read a book or chapter in God’s Word, you will get a different meaning almost every time you read it. Why is that? Because God’s Word is a living document which reads you and your Spirit as you read it. Actually, it is God’s Spirit which inspired the Word of God in the Bible which is reading you and your soul.

I know that many will read this and call it crazy or something like that, but if you ask a preacher or an evangelist about what they get out of reading and studying the Bible, you will get many different answers. By that, I mean that each time you read the same passage, if you are reading it to learn from God’s wisdom, you will get a little different message than you did the last time. I have only read the Bible through about seven or eight times and each time I will get a slightly different message from the last time I read it.

God knows you so much better than you do and His Word speaks to those differences however slight they are or what those emotional or life experiences might be. His Word speaks in His voice to your soul, your spirit and it is that part of you which hears the different messages or teachings which come from the study of His Word.