Why do you believe?

There are many reasons why people have their different beliefs about…religion, sexuality, occupation, money or a host of other things in life. I am not going into all of them here. Your belief in religion could get you into an eternal hell. Why? Because it isn’t the religion which brings you to salvation! Jesus does.

IamtheWay It isn’t a hard thing to believe in Jesus because He did come to Earth and die for all of man’s sins, past, present and future. Whether we accept it and believe it as the Truth of the Bible is another matter. Many don’t believe it, mostly because they see Jesus as He was…a man or a prophet. They don’t see nor do they recognize Him as the Son of God. Why? The Bible tells the story of His birth, most of His life after He began His ministry, and His death on the cross and His resurrection. The Bible is God’s Word, so why not believe it?

It’s words are inspired by the Spirit of God and since He cannot lie, all of it is true, so why not believe it? Because most people really don’t want to believe it nor do they expect it to be true. The facts are these: since it is God’s Word, inspired by Him and attested to be true by proofs of His majesty and power, there is no reason NOT to believe the prophecies or the history within its pages. You can choose to ignore parts of it or to decide that you will not believe in the things which it says, but that doesn’t change the fact that God’s Word always accomplishes that which He wants it to do.

Your belief in Him or His Word has no effect on whether it will be true and will come true or not because God will cause all of the promises and prophecies to come true in His time and at the appointed time for them. Our belief or lack of belief has no effect on His purposes. They will come to fruition…because God loves us.

It is because of His great love for us that He sent Jesus to pay our debts on the cross. We need to understand that our responsibility is to love Him and serve Him with all of our mind, soul, body and strength in this life, regardless of our vocation or our financial ability. God will make you into a real messenger for His Kingdom, if you will give your heart, mind and soul to Him.

Our world would be so much better than it is IF we would commit to doing this every day of our lives. If you have not given your life to Jesus, please consider doing so. Nobody knows when your last breath will be and the end of the age is approaching faster than most realize. Don’t wait…seek Him out for your eternity today!

Knowledge and feelings

The-seat-of-knowledge-is-in-the-head-of-wisdom-Knowledge-Feelings-Judgement-Wisdom-Quote-by-William-Hazlitt

David went through this

During the time while Saul was angry at him and was trying to kill him, David was disheartened and heavy of heart. Another way of saying it would be that he was depressed. His men tried to keep his spirits up and of course prayer and seeking the Lord also helped too.

GodsHand The thing is that nobody should go through seasons like this alone. We have families and friends but when you are depressed you feel alone even when you are in a crowd. Why? Because depression makes you feel inadequate and unloved, even when you know that you aren’t. Sometimes life itself can be depressing. News has that effect on your well-being. Reading Facebook posts can do it too.

Thinking about things which can’t be changed and wishing that you could’ve done something different can have that effect.

Live your life in this moment, today. Yesterday is already past and can’t be changed. Things which were said yesterday or even last week can’t be un-said or changed either. If they caused anyone pain at the time, then you need to ask forgiveness for it and move on. If what was said caused you pain and you reacted to it in anger then both of you should ask forgiveness for that pain.

Why? Because, the wound will never heal completely if not dealt with. Old wounds create bitterness and fester over time, especially those which were caused by something that was said. Because it can’t be taken away, neither can the pain or hurt feelings.

The Psalms were David’s way of writing his feelings and frustration down in songs of prayer to the Lord. Because he knew that the only balm which would heal those wounds only comes from God. Life is like that much of the time. Unless you live a truly blessed life and have never had any problems or difficulties, although I have never met anyone like that.

Seek help for your healing from depression or hurt in the Psalms because God hears your soul’s prayers crying to Him even when you don’t know what to pray for or even what to say. Give your problems to Him because He is the Healer of all pain and suffering.

What shall we do with Jesus?

WomanbytheWell Some people see Him as a great prophet. Some claim that He is the Son of God. Christians believe that He is the Son of God, foretold in Scripture, born of a virgin, fulfilled the Law of Moses in His life, Who taught His disciples that belief in Him is the way to Heaven. Then after three years of a miracle-filled ministry, He was taken into custody, condemned as a heretic and a rebel toward Roman rule and crucified.

Yet, God confirmed His place and His claims by raising Him from the grave three days later. He then taught His disciples for fifty days until His ascension to the Father.

Do we have proof of this? Only that there is an empty tomb where He was laid and our faith through the Holy Spirit confirming that God’s Word is true!

So, what will you do with Him?

themissingpiece The Bible, particularly the New Testament, says that we should believe in Him. Archaeology has proven many, if not all, of the historical books in the Old Testament to be true and accurate. Science has proven that God’s rule of circumcision on the eighth day to be medically accurate because a baby’s body doesn’t have clotting factors until that time. There are many other proofs of the Bible which I won’t go into here.

My point in this post is to encourage you to learn more from God’s Word, seek Him out in it and make sure of your salvation! Jesus came to specifically save and sanctify each of us who will believe in Him. The next time He comes, He will be coming to take this world as His Kingdom and to prove to all that the Bible is true and that He is the One that He claimed to be when He was here the first time!

There is no denying this point, unless you just refuse to believe the Bible as the true Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to us to point us in the right direction. If that is what you choose to believe, then there may be no way of convincing you otherwise. I pray that anyone who reads this or any other blog about our Savior will at least give the Christian faith the chance by reading the Bible with an open mind. I am not asking that you believe something just because, say Billy Graham believes it. But, don’t dismiss it out of hand either.

Particularly if you have ever felt the Holy Spirit speak in your heart, your soul and haven’t acted upon it yet. Don’t put this decision off because it truly is of eternal value to you! There is a life after this one, but living through eternity without God would be…well the only way that I could describe something similar on Earth would be like a prisoner in a dark cell with no light, no air moving, and yet you couldn’t die. Even if you never got any food, you would be in that cell for years, decades, even centuries. No contact with anyone. Most people would go insane in a situation like this.

Except, in hell you can’t go insane and there will be heat and a lot of it. What else will be there? I don’t know except to say that anything like water or food, anything which would give you a chance at Life, will not be present. Don’t test this out to see if you might like it, because once you are there, you won’t get out. It isn’t temporary and you can’t be “prayed out” or bought out. Jesus is the only way out, but you have to accept Him before you die, not after.

Seek Jesus while He may be found and accepted into your life while you are here, please?

Is He your Savior?

Our Savior, Jesus, the Son of God is the Him of which I speak. He shed His divinity to come to Earth, be born of a woman, live the life of a man of Jewish descent, perfectly fulfilling the Law (which no normal human could do), teach a group of disciples so that they could carry His teachings to all parts of the world, died on a cross on the day of Passover and then rose again on the third day!

john_3_16_17_scripture_memory_card-raf7013e639264b87b918bea9971565b3_vgbaq_8byvr_540 Yes, a long sentence to tell of the life of Jesus the Christ. A short version of His life, death and resurrection, but a story which has significance for so many around the world! Some of whom believe that He is our Savior and Lord, some do not believe He was anything other than a prophet.

Do you know Him? You can get to know Him if you will believe in Him and follow Him. Learn about Him through reading of the New Testament and do the things which His disciples did…tell others what He has done for you! Why? Because they need Him too.

Accidental but on purpose

Many of the things which happen in our lives seem to fit this description. We think of them as accidents but later realize that God had a purpose in it all along. Depending upon the outcome of the “accident”, it could be good or bad in your life or your vocation. All of which is under God’s control whether it feels that way at the time or not. Like, Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. He knew that she was going to be there before His disciples went into town. He also knew that she was in spiritual need of what He could tell her and reveal to her.

WomanbytheWell Did He really have to leave Judea in order to get to Galilee? Kinda. According to some maps I have looked at, yes He did have to get out of Judea to get to Galilee, but He didn’t have to go through Samaria. Many people went the long, long way around to get there. But Jesus had a mission and a purpose for what He did.

Why do I bring this up? Because, it is something which all of us need to do. Some of us may do this on a daily basis, some may only try to do it when we feel the need for it. God gives each of us a purpose when we become His children. Sometimes that purpose is our life’s work, sometimes that purpose is part of our daily lives. In either case, we should be seeking His Spirit and His guidance in all of these things that we do. Especially when it comes to posting something on Facebook or even on a blog.

Why? Because something posted online, just as something that is said, can’t be undone. You can’t really take it back entirely. It may have been copied by someone and posted somewhere else, but it may still be out there and it can cause more hurt if it was something that should’ve been between you and God and nobody else! Talk to Him about it, pray about it, regardless of how hurt you may feel DON’T post it to a public forum like Twitter or Facebook.

I have been learning this lesson for many days and I am still learning it, trying to get it completely embedded into my mind so that my brain won’t forget it…ever! The only thing which I can ask of anyone who knows what this is about is forgiveness and to give you my utmost and most humble apology.

Psalm 51

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

⁴Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

⁵Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

⁶Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

⁹Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

¹¹Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

¹²Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

¹³Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

¹⁶For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

¹⁸Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Memories

Life is full of them. From small victories like seeing your child take their first steps or seeing your child being born to later ones like playing with grandchildren or watching your son or daughter get married. There are many more memories than these and they are strewn in all of the nooks and crannies of our lives. Some of them we can remember vividly and some not so much. It seems that the more years you have on your plate, more of those memories show up as the “not so much” bunch.

Oh, I can remember some of the times from school, high school and sometimes even some from grammar school. The recent memories like what did we get at the grocery store day before yesterday are pretty fuzzy and not available to me clearly. What did I do last weekend, other than preach a sermon on Sunday morning? What was that sermon about?

Unless I wrote it down, I can’t tell you anything about it. I barely remember which part of the Bible it came from. These are the issues that I am beginning to deal with on a daily basis and I didn’t think I was going to get to this point until maybe twenty more years had passed, at least I had hoped for about that much time.

I am writing this post, not so much to bring hope to others but to ask for your prayers for me. I don’t want to forget like this. Memories allow us to enjoy our life that was, when we can remember it. Old memories, those from more than five years ago at least I can remember pretty well. This has me concerned. Not worried exactly, but concerned. Thank you all in advance for praying for me.

So what are you reflecting?

are-you-a-reflection

Are you a dull mirror which barely reflects your God and His Glory which is in you? Or are you a mirror turned toward itself, which only reflects itself into infinity? Which are you?

Think on this the next time you go to church or read the Bible.

Identity….what is yours?

In America and in the rest of the world, people tend toward identifying themselves either by their occupation or by their “lifestyle” choice or choices. So, what kind of identity do you have? Is it one that you would be proud to show others or is it one that is looked down upon because it hinges on your beliefs rather than your lifestyle?

Some people hang their life, their identity on their occupation. Some do so to the point of obsession and it is so ingrained within them until when they retire…they die. Because they don’t know what they are or who they can claim to be when they let go of their occupation. Then you also have people who claim to be molded into a lifestyle based upon their preference for a sexual partner. Huh?

Sex doesn’t govern nor determine who or what you are? Neither does your job or occupation! God placed us here for one purpose and that is to bring glory and honor to Him in everything that we do! Sex was given to us as a means of pleasure but also of procreation and deciding to be with someone of the same sex as yourself doesn’t allow for creating another person! Your choice of “partner” doesn’t dictate your life or your lifestyle any more than your hairstyle would.

God loves us but we should not be defined by our sinful choices in life, no matter what those choices might be. Jesus died for each person alive and those to come. He didn’t die for a murderer or a fornicator or even a lawyer or a cowboy! He died for you! He paid the penalty for your life’s choices, your sins, your weaknesses so that you could gain His righteousness and be forgiven of those sins!

Life choices, whether they are good or bad, do not place you into a certain slot in life. What you do about those choices by choosing to follow Jesus or not determines your outcome in life or rather at the end of your life. Since this life is the “training ground” for eternity, we should be searching for our real and actual Savior in this life. Not fitting our daily lives into a mold or behavior that we feel is right for us, but seeking His life and His Kingdom so that we can be right in His sight one day.

By following your own choices and feelings in this life and letting those choices shape your life rather than searching for the Savior and Creator Who can give your life a real purpose and meaning, you are missing out on so much more than you realize. Sports and horses or Facebook and Twitter are distractions just like Pokemon and other games which take your mind away from meaningful pursuits like getting to know Jesus!

I know, Jesus is boring and bland and nobody wants to learn about Him much less follow Him daily. But consider this: what will your life’s interests do for you in eternity? Our lives are pitifully small in length in comparison to eternity, so if your interests and your passion in this life doesn’t involve knowing and getting to know Jesus then what will your eternity look like? BreadofLife