Category: Religion

Times are changing


What can we do? Not much really, except pray and turn our hearts back to God. Our world, this nation, and every nation on Earth needs to turn toward the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Why should we do this? Because we have pushed Him out of our lives! We have taken prayer and Bible reading out of our schools and we are reaping the consequences of that decision.

Some people may not notice that this is happening, but if you ask anyone who grew up in the sixties and seventies they can tell you that our world is definitely NOT the same anymore. So many problems, so much anger and violence, so many wars and things which are happening all over the world. These we see and hear about on the news programs or on the Internet on a daily basis and they change our perception of people in our world.

We look at people in a different light. We think about them in ways which are wrong, because we are allowing outside influences, like the news, change our perception. God knows each of them and you. He doesn’t change His ways and we should try to be more like Him. No, we will never be perfect in this life but we should strive toward that goal through Him and by knowing Him.

Why am I saying this? Because…the world is the way it is today simply because we are coming to the end of the church age or the age of God’s grace. He hasn’t given up on us, but His plans are in motion to bring about His purposes in the world. Many people can’t seem to believe that this is where we are today, but if you have read the Bible and the prophecies concerning the end of the age, then most of it makes at least some sense.

No, we can’t understand His ways or why things are happening the way that they are, because they seem so wrong to our way of thinking. But, God sees the picture outside of our time and space and He knows what is going on and how it will work out. This is the message to all who read this post: God has it all in His hands and His ways are better and more perfect than ours because He can see the outcome before the beginning.

Seek Him and trust in Him in all of your life’s journeys, no matter how small or big they might seem to you…because God is bigger than your problems! It might not seem so right now, but He is!

Is there a way out?


I have heard people on Facebook and in church or in other public places ask this question and it makes me wonder, why do you need a way out of life? Life is given for us to live and work in it and through it. Not only for God’s purpose but for our own enjoyment.

I know that many people don’t really enjoy their life or the work that comes with it. Sometimes it is hard on your body and your spirit to have to make it through just one more day. Friend, it is not easy to live with pain and illness whether you are working or  not! My arthritis is painful, whether I am in the bed, in a chair (like I am typing this out), or anywhere else. I have constant dizziness from inner ear trouble, so I have to be careful how I walk, but that doesn’t keep me from going or doing things when I can.

I am not being a complainer here, I am just telling those of you who will read this a little something about me. I would love to get up without pain or to put my clothes on without almost falling to the floor, but it is what I have to live with every hour of every day. God gives me the strength to get through it all and not complain, even when it hurts. Most people don’t even see what could be wrong with me, but I know it’s there and I know that He is with me too.

We don’t need a way out of life, we need to embrace the Author of Life! Our Creator and our Savior is that and so much more! He can be a healer and a comforter to you as well as your Savior, just as He was to so many when He came. God loves us and He is not the cause of your pain, Satan does that. But, because of some teachers and preachers who say that we are in trials because God is working some of our kinks out, we tend to blame God for our ills.

He allows us to go through trials and things which will make us stronger and more effective as Christians, to be more like Jesus, but He is not the cause of those trials. He allows Satan to be that cause, and Satan thinks that he is hurting us, like he did with Job. But, God allowed that trial to prove that Job was a better man and one with more faith than Satan thought. It is the same with us. As long as we keep our faith trained on Jesus like the scope on a gun, then we will come out victorious and stronger because of that trial.

So much pain…


There are many people who live with pain in our world today. Some of it is because of disease of one kind or another. Some of it is due to the loss of a loved one, but we all have pain in our lives at some point. Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is just not right. Then it is your job to find out where the pain originates and if there is a way to lessen the pain or cure the cause of it.

Spiritually, pain comes into our lives through the loss of someone or by God’s Holy Spirit making us aware that we need Him. Grief is painful, sometimes it is terribly painful to the point of making us feel sick and without hope. When that happens, we need to turn to God’s Word and seek Him and the comfort that He gives to us. HE is the only cure for pain that deep. Other so-called “fixes” do nothing but put a mask over the pain or dull it for a while, and when it returns it may be worse than it was before.

Pain, physical and mental or spiritual, is something that we all experience but God gives us the strength to get through it and come out stronger. Seek out Jesus and His strength so that you can be strong enough to stand in the presence of God and not be ashamed of your life. He is righteous and Holy and we cannot stand in His presence without the Blood of Jesus covering our sins.

God loves each of us because we are His creation, and He doesn’t wish for any of us to be in torment in hell. Which is why He provided the grace and the payment for our sins through Jesus’ sacrifice. All that we have to do is believe in Him and His atonement for us and we will be saved. Not belief like from reading it from a book or just hearing it from someone, but a firm belief like a child knowing that his father will catch him when he jumps. Book knowledge and hearsay don’t work by themselves, it has to be backed up with real faith.

Pain is something which gets our attention, but faith knows that it is only temporary. Put your faith in Jesus and all of your problems will fade with His grace and mercy. Because, He will give you the strength and the ability to make it through all of those problems.

What is your trigger?


It seems that today, people get “ticked off” at the drop of a pin or anything that has happened to someone who they don’t know at all. Maybe they have something in common with that person and feel that it, whatever “it” was, was directed at them in general. Such as the people who protest against police violence toward “black men”. They are protesting because they perceive that all police are racist and have a chip on their shoulders against all people of color. Which is not true, but for some reason it is coming to the front of news stories more and more today. Why?

Some would say that it is because it is happening more often and that the violence is justified. The “trigger” is very subtle though and it is not happening more often, it is because everyone in the street has a smart phone and it is capable of recording video of anything, anywhere and at any time. There doesn’t have to be a news crew around, but by recording an event, regardless of its significance, and uploading it to the Internet then it may become newsworthy.

I have a trigger which moves me to pray for all of those who come to this site and read or just look around. I don’t know most of you, but God does. Even if you have never attended church or sat through a sermon, God knows who you are. He values you above the riches of the whole world. He loves you enough that if you were the last person on Earth, He would want you as His adopted child. It isn’t fear or anger or frustration which drives us, it is our collective need for this world to be healed and all of the problems which we face every day to be taken care of. Only Jesus can do this.

Other religions boast of having more followers or having larger church buildings or worship centers, it doesn’t matter what they are called. If you aren’t worshiping God and His Son, Jesus, then you are in the wrong building. I know, there are many who would tell me that my way of thinking is too small or non-inclusive of others, but aren’t most religions today? Islam doesn’t allow for other faiths, you have to accept theirs, yet no one ever tells them to be quiet and not pray or not tell others about their faith. It is the same with any other faith in the world, with the exception of Christianity. We, who are Christians, and believe God’s Word can’t read our Holy Scriptures in public. We cannot pray openly, we cannot tell others about our Savior because it offends people.

Jesus said to turn the other cheek when someone strikes you. I think we have done that far too often, yet we are still doing it. Why? Because, Jesus said for us to endure persecution to the end and we will be saved. Is this world going to be better in the future? Yes, it will when Jesus sets up His Kingdom and rules the world from Jerusalem. But, until that time comes we must endure.

Yes, there is anger and bitterness in many cities today but there is also…hope. Hope for tomorrow, hope for a peaceful day today, hope for reconciliation between police and those who protest against them. Where does this spirit of hope come from?

Jesus.

The world can’t give you hope, but He can. The world doesn’t care about you or your circumstances, but He does. The world is ruled by the spirit of Antichrist, Satan and his followers and it shows in the news and in our papers every day. Jesus loves you and wants all of us to share in His love but in order to do that, we need to accept Him and then share Him with others too.

10 seconds


In our country, ten seconds pause before pulling a trigger would help in some ways. I know that ten seconds is a long, long time when someone is shooting at you, but could we possibly step back and take a deep breath before shooting someone. A deep breath, a few seconds even if it is only two or three or maybe five, but our country is in dire need of some respite from violence with guns.

I am a gun owner and a legal one. I only have my guns for protection of my family and I have a couple for hunting occasionally. Our country seems to be trying to tear itself apart because of a few people who have used guns in the wrong way, whether they were cops or ex-servicemen or members of gangs. There are many gun owners, like me, who have owned guns for many years and have never used them on another person at all. I learned a long time ago that unless you are going to shoot something or someone, you never should point a gun at anyone’s person. If you are hunting, then make sure of what you are aiming at and what is beyond that point so you don’t accidentally kill someone on the next hill over from you.

This is just how I learned to handle a gun and it is how I have taught my son. He knows not to point a gun, even a BB gun or air rifle, at anyone because it is dangerous.

If we could just somehow step back and seek God’s forgiveness for our mistakes, then try to learn what is going on in the neighborhood or in our towns and cities, coming together as just people, not cops, not whites or crackers, not Blacks or African-Americans, but as people of the United States!

I know that it is hard to do because there is mistrust and anger on both sides of the street and in our cities and government, but if we can seek the Lord in all ways and try to learn from Him how we should act toward one another, I do believe that He can heal the broken towns and villages and the hurts and the pain. Because it is going to take God being involved before any real progress is going to be made in this! We can’t do it because we are part of the problem!

It is our problem because of our prejudice toward each other. Something which should’ve been getting better with time, not getting worse as it has done in the past six years or so. I had hoped that by the time my son got to the age of going to college, maybe the problems between dark skin and lighter skin would’ve gotten to the point of not being something to worry about. It seems that political correctness has brought forward more issues to deal with rather than helping to blur the lines between the races.

Seek His answer for your life and for our problems in this world because God is the only One Who has the answers that will work!

How do you live?


Are you a Christian? Do you believe in Jesus’ atonement for your life? Have you walked with Jesus or did you just get baptized and go on with your life?

Do you deny that Jesus is real? Do you believe that He was “just a prophet”?

If you believe and you accept Him as your Savior, then the first sentence should apply to your life, but are you living your life according to His will for you? It is a question that needs to be answered by all of us. Have you “given your life to Him”, but then walked away from the church and never went back? You are denying Him.

If, on the other hand, you fall into the group of people who don’t believe in God or Jesus at all, then who do you believe in? Yourself? Satan or Allah? Mohammed? Can you change the color of your skin or your hair by thinking about it? Of course not, you and I are not going to be gods and we can’t do anything like God can.

Has Satan appeared to you in a robe of white with wings so bright you couldn’t see? He can you know. Mohammed is dead and he isn’t coming back until God raises him up one day to pay for what he did in his life.

Satan can appear as an angel of light and he can tell you that he is Gabriel if he chooses to, but that doesn’t make it the truth. Mankind is easily deceived and especially when it comes to the master of lies who has had many thousands of years to perfect his deception. One day there will be a man who will appear to be our savior and he will be able to do things that will look miraculous, like Jesus did, but he will be a false savior. Many people will be taken in by him and his words and power that he shows, but he is not the Son of God.

All of those words that I wrote in the past couple of sentences are foretold in Daniel and in the book of Revelation. It is God’s Word and it is True. It will come to pass. I don’t know when, but with all that is happening around the world I would bet that it won’t be much more than a decade or so away. I could be wrong, of course. The point that I am trying to make is that when this person shows up and everyone seems to think he is so wonderful, that should cause a bell to go off in your mind. Remember what you may have heard or read in the Bible or in Sunday school.

Don’t just follow someone blindly because they seem to be more than they are! Many false “Christs” have appeared in the past, but they all died. Many things are going to happen in the near future which will cause many people in the church to leave their faith behind. When all of this begins, take notice and get a Bible and read it. If you have lived a life which wouldn’t have been acceptable to Jesus, then you should repent and ask for His forgiveness.

Why? Because if you see all of these things happening then the end is getting very near. When the peace treaty between Israel and all of her enemies is signed and the Temple begins to be built, take note of who is brokering that deal. All of these must happen before Jesus comes to get the elect, His church, His Bride. Make sure that you are part of that number. In the picture there are many promises for His elect, if you have repented of your sins and given your heart to Him and asked for His forgiveness.

Satan is happy today!


Satan is happy with the church right now.

“….Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:.”  Matthew 28:19

Do you understand why all of the problems are in the world today? It is because of ___________.

Really? The church has had two thousand years to make disciples of ALL nations and what have we done? Not much. Yes, there have been millions of people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior because of Billy Graham and other evangelists over the years. But…look at the population of the world. How many of them are Christians or part of a religion which claims Jesus as their Savior? 2.5 billion give or take a few hundred thousand. The population of the world is around seven billion right now and all we have reached in two thousand years is less than half??

On the day of Pentecost, when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, when Peter preached there were 5000 added to their number! That was just one sermon! The blank above referring to the reason for all of the world’s problems has nothing to do with Christianity, although some are blaming us for them. Satan and his followers, those demons that Jesus cast out and his human followers today, are partly to blame for the problems of the world.

Why is Satan happy with the way the world is today and the church in particular? It is because we aren’t doing what Jesus told us to do. Yes, I know we are sending missionaries all over the world and we have programs and Internet sites which tell people about Jesus and how to know Him. But, we just began that in the last twenty or twenty-five years or so! What happened to the last 1975 years that the church has had to work on this?

I don’t mean that the church could’ve added as many as Peter did in that one day, every day since then but if we had gone, if we had put our feet into the streets and the paths around the world every day since then….? Don’t you think that we would have more people who attend church and follow Jesus if we had done this? I mean, if we had witnessed to one or two people every day since we became a Christian and then invited them to church, doesn’t it begin to add up when you do that?

1+1=2 …then 2+2=4, then 4+1=5, then 5+2=7, then 7+2=9…that is linear progression that is staggered a bit by our own design; but what if those numbers doubled EVERY time? 1, then 2, then 4, then 8, then 16, then 32, then 64, then 128, then 256, then 512, then 1024, then 2048, then 4096……! That is geometric growth or getting into algebra (x squared).

What happened to our numbers? Why isn’t the church growing like this?

Because our enemy and the enemy of God, Satan, is at work in the world today. People give many excuses for not coming to church, for not telling others what they believe and for not being a true disciple of Jesus and all of these are encouraged by Satan and his demons. You can decide to believe this if you wish or don’t believe it, but if Jesus was having to deal with their influence 2000 years ago, then they are certainly at work today.

You can hear about the evil and their influence in the world on the news every day and all of that which is happening is likely caused by or influenced by Satan and his followers. It will get worse because he knows that his time is growing very short. He has had more than twenty centuries to become very good at deception so much so that he can influence the churches and their leaders to not follow the example set by Jesus and His disciples. Many of them think that they are doing God’s work and they are following the ideas placed in their heads by Satan himself, but he uses scripture to make it seem like the idea is from God.

He was there when all of the Bible was written so he knows scripture better than any of us and he can use it against you any time he wishes. So, is he happy with the church today? Yes, he is. There aren’t very many true, Bible-believing and teaching churches today. Sure, there are pastors who preach every week and they read scripture and teach about it. But, are they teaching God’s vision for His church or are they teaching their own version of the words that they read? Do they teach it from its context or do they choose one verse and preach on that without the verses before or after it?

Taken out of context, any verse can say or be taught to mean anything to anyone!

The scripture which I started with could mean anything if taught wrongly. Let us read the entirety of that chapter and see what was written there:

Matthew 28 King James Version (KJV)

28 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We are told to do this because we belong to Him, if we have given our hearts to Jesus. If you haven’t, then you don’t belong to Him nor He to you! God loves you and has provided a way to salvation through Jesus and belief in Him so that you can have eternity after this life! With such a good and wonderful gift to you, why wouldn’t you tell others that they could have the same? He didn’t die for one person but for the whole world and He expected us to go and tell others about His gift. Examine your life and your heart and question whether you really belong to Him. If you believe that you do, then you are saved as far as I can see because only God knows the condition of our hearts. If you are not sure, then you may want to seek Him earnestly and fervently so that you can know…for sure.

Amen.

Lives matter!


There have been many protests concerning certain lives matter, whether they are Black, African-American, or even White. Come on, God created Life! Your life, my life, and every person who has ever lived on this world, all of our lives matter to Him! The color of your skin or your ethnic origin is irrelevant to God. Slave or freeman, Muslim or Protestant or any religion in the spectrum, God loves you! So, yes, life matters to God…every life!

We, humanity, have put limits and regulations and stipulations on which lives matter and which ones do not matter, at least to us. Why should we compare and claim that my life or your life matters more than any other? A baby being aborted at a clinic could possibly be the person who finds a cure for cancer, but if they aren’t born and allowed to grow toward that potential we will never know. Someone being killed in Turkey or Iran or Syria might also be important to the peace cause in the future, but we will never know for sure.

Lives matter every day, not just today but every day in our country. So many are hurting this morning because of the actions of one person or a few people who are targeting people for the color of their skin. It is heart-wrenching to see this happening in our country when racism should have become a thing of the past. Yet, every time it seems that we have a handle on it, someone from one ethnic group or another will blow a hole in it and begin the process all over again.

I don’t write this in the sense that I am some perfect Christian because there was only One perfect man ever on Earth and He is Jesus. My ideas are that we should get along, but in the society that we have today, in America and around the world, it is not possible. Humanity hasn’t evolved to the point of getting past old hatred and wounds from decades past. We just don’t seem to be able to let it go. Every time healing begins, someone pulls the bandage off and starts it over again. This needs to stop but without prayer and cooperation between those with different tones of skin color, it won’t get a foothold or gain any traction.

God loves us and we were told by our Savior to love one another, but it seems that we haven’t truly figured out what that means yet. We don’t understand the meaning of the word because we have watered it down and changed the meaning of the word “love” so much until it really doesn’t convey the same emotion that Jesus was telling us to express toward each other.

Seek out the Lord in your life and follow Him. Why do I say this? Because if you follow the Author of Life, you will be more alive than you ever have been. You will also learn to be more loving and if you love others as Jesus loves you, then you will not be like those who are causing all of the division and hatred in our world today. Jesus came to bring eternal life to all of us, all we have to do is accept it by faith and ask His forgiveness. Being a Christian is not something which can be forced upon someone, just like you cannot force someone to love you, but if you have felt that you need Him at all, then all you have to do is ask Him to come in and cleanse your heart and to accept you as His child.

Jesus said…


“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.”

John 21:25

There were far more things which our Savior said and did during His time here. Things which we are not privy to, but His disciples saw them and heard them.

When He got angry about the way the temple was being used, His anger was a righteous anger not like rage or “blow your top” anger like we see in cartoons. Jesus was angry but He sinned not, and the reason for that was because the temple was supposed to be a house of worship, not a place of merchandise and money exchange.

Is it possible for us as Christians to be angry about something without sinning? Yes, if we don’t allow our anger to get out of proportion to the circumstances. Yes, we can if it is due to something not directly associated with our person and we don’t take it that way. But…when someone takes God’s name and uses it in a fashion which is disrespectful in the extreme, for no reason, then the anger that you feel and may express is righteous anger. Why do I say this? Because if you have the Spirit of God inside you and you truly are a Christian, then if someone says something like “God****”, they are insulting not only God but the Creator and the Father of our Savior!

To some people, that is not a cuss word, it is just everyday speech. If it is, then Christians are told in the Bible not to associate with them because we are approving their way of life when we do.

Before anyone gets all bent out of shape over what they see as “judgmental” thinking, that is not what I am doing. I am not judging them, but God will. I am not saying that what they are saying is wrong, although it is. But their actions and words prove that they don’t know Jesus. If you do not like what I am saying here, you don’t have to read it anymore. My point is that Christians shouldn’t put up with the world the way it is because we were sent out into the world to bring Christ to it, to change it. Not by force or by war but through our witness and by bringing the gospel of Jesus to them, all of them.

We are to love people the way that Jesus loved them, but that didn’t keep Him from being angry about their stubbornness and their refusal to listen and recognize Him for Who He was. Tolerating the actions of the world should not be seen as approval of their actions and the church and those in the church have been too tolerant in the past.  Amen.

Christians are needed today!


Real Christians are needed today, not the ones who have planted themselves on a pew for twenty years  or more. That is the problem with our country today, we say that we are Christians or Republicans or Democrats but are we? You can say anything about yourself, but is it really true? Does your life show that you are who you say you are? Do your actions and words line up or are they in conflict with each other?

We all know someone who says one thing and then does something else, they are called politicians. Whether they are found in schools or factories, at your workplace or in your church they are like a coin with two sides which don’t match. You may see one side of them today and tomorrow it will be a totally different person. So, what are you? Who are you in your walk with Jesus?

When someone who doesn’t know you sees you or hears you talking, can they tell that you are a Christian? Can they see or hear a difference in you which says that you don’t follow the world and everyone in it? If they can’t, then something is wrong with your walk if you even have one with Jesus.

I am not coming down on Christians or those who claim to be Christians, even though it seems like it. What I am saying in this post is that we, as the body of Christ, should check our faith and our beliefs. Do they line up with the Bible? Are we being disciples of Christ or just people who attend church? Would you be a follower of Jesus if He was here today?

Yes, I am asking lots of questions in this post but they need to be asked and many of us, me included, need to seek out the answers in God’s Word. We all need to make sure that we are seeking Him and living the lives that we are supposed to be living in front of our children and friends. Can they tell that we are Christians? It is a sobering question, particularly since we are in the period of time that Jesus described as the birth pains before true trials come.