God’s abiding love

When you read the Bible, especially the Old Testament, you see so many instances of God’s love poured out for His chosen people. Yet when the next generation comes along and the old one that “lived right in the sight of God” dies out, they go back to living their way and the way of those around them. In the book of Judges at the end of the book, the author gives this condemning description of their religious life before God: Judges 21: 25
25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

God loves us today even though that verse fits today’s world perfectly. He has offered us a way to salvation through belief in Jesus Christ but we are supposed to follow Him just as the disciples did too. Being grateful and thankful for our sins being forgiven and for our name being written in the Book of Life. We aren’t supposed to live our lives afterward as if nothing happened in our hearts unless it really didn’t happen. Your life after you’ve given your heart and your life to Jesus is supposed to reflect Him to the world, not your desires, and your dreams.

Being a Christian means being a “little Christ”. Other people, whether they are Christians or not, should be able to tell that you are a Christian by the way you live and walk and talk. It should be evident to everyone around you, not as a coat that you put on and take off when you feel like it. Although it seems that there are more who do exactly that today. They put on their Christianity when they need Him and when their need is met they remove it and go back to their old life. This has been made easier since this pandemic has been with us for nearly three years now and it gives people a legitimate excuse not to go to church.

God is still reaching out to those who will hear Him regardless of where you live or the conditions in your country. God knows your heart and He knows those who will seek Him in due time. Please seek Him and come to salvation in Jesus while you can, even if you have to do it secretly.

God is faithful!

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/1co.10.13/6035

What is faith?

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Each of us has a “measure of faith”, how big that measure is has been determined by God. He gives our faith to us, whether we use it for His purposes or call it “hope” and use it for our own purpose, it is part of our salvation process. Because without faith we can’t please God and without faith, we won’t recognize our need for salvation, so we have to have it in order to be saved in the first place.

Abram believed in God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Faith and belief go together because if you don’t have one you won’t have the other. It takes faith to believe the promises of the Bible and to believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior. Some say that the Bible can’t be true but it is. It is the most truthful book in our world because all of the prophecies about Jesus were fulfilled in Jesus the Christ. All of the prophecies about the Jewish people have come true except their having peace in their land and that will come true after the Tribulation.

Help me be acceptable in your sight

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/psa.19.14/46360

Do not be afraid

Joshua had to take over the leadership role of Moses after his death. Wow! Talk about some big shoes to fill. That is why God was telling him to be strong and courageous and that He would never leave Him. So, why can’t we, as Christians, learn from Joshua’s experience and be courageous in our faith and our life? Sometimes we are but until we learn to be bold as well as courageous, most of us just hide in the background and let someone else be bold.

What would’ve happened if Peter had not been bold on the day of Pentecost? The day of Pentecost wouldn’t have had much to show anyone if he and the rest of the disciples had not been bold. While it is true that the Holy Spirit is what made them bold, if they had not followed the lead of the Holy Spirit there would’ve been no New Covenant church. All of the Christians over the past two thousand years would have never come to know Jesus as their Savior.

The Holy Spirit gives us strength and knowledge today so that we can be bold in our faith. I pray that anyone who is looking for their Savior will seek Him in Jesus Christ because there is no other Name that can bring eternal salvation to you along with eternal peace and assurance.

He will…

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/1pe.5.10/68496

Praise Him!

For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:13‭-‬14 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/psa.139.13-14/19109

Walk with Christ through the Bible

How do I do this? I gave my heart to Jesus over thirty years ago (I think). Why do I not know the exact date? Because I have known about God and Jesus for many years, but that’s not enough. I had to have the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to come into my heart, not to give me the gift of tongues as some believe is necessary. The Holy Spirit did change my heart so that I could be used as a pastor for almost ten years. So…what happened? When did this change take place? My only answer is that it happened when I fasted for a month on juice and water in January of 2011. I have never felt as healthy since then but during that time…I can’t explain it.

Fasting by itself does heal some areas of your body because your body isn’t having to process food anymore but my only explanation is the Holy Spirit was working inside me and through me. I prayed for a friend of mine who had just had an operation of some sort and he came home and couldn’t keep his food down. While I prayed for him I felt something go through my arm that was touching him and I found out later that he didn’t have any more trouble eating and keeping it down. God did that!

Ever since then I have read through the Bible at least once every year from Genesis to Revelation. As soon as I finish I may take a day or so but then I start over because I have grown so used to reading His Word until a day without it feels useless and empty. You might ask me “Don’t you get tired of reading the same thing over and over again?”; I would have to say, “No, I don’t”. Because God’s word really is the living Word, Jesus Christ, so the message is about Him from the beginning to the end. It is hard to see in some books like Numbers or Leviticus since they are dealing with the duties of the priests but He is still present in every book in either a type or a representation in the book. When you re-read Scripture like I do, whether you intend to memorize it or not it will take root in your mind and your heart. God wants you to write His Words in your heart and keep them so you will have them to defend yourself when they are needed. He will bring them to your mind so that you will not be confounded by someone trying to trick you.

Adam was a type of Christ, Abel was too. Enoch was a selected type because God took him to be in heaven. Noah was a type of Christ, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were types of Christ. Joseph was a type of Christ, Moses was a type of Christ. Wherever you see the word angel written with a capital A, that was the pre-incarnate Christ visiting His people. So as you can see, Christ or a type of Him is present from the very beginning and He never really leaves His people without His Presence in some form.

The Word of God

Hebrews 4:12 says it all: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The reason that I am beginning with this verse tonight is that it is true! God’s Word is alive and His Word, the Bible, does have the power to read your heart and bring you to the point of knowing that you need Jesus as your Savior…but only if you will read it and ask God to show you why you should believe in Jesus. Having a Bible in your possession doesn’t help you, having one on the table in the living room won’t help you until you pick it up and allow God’s Holy Spirit to show you exactly who you are and why you need Christ!

Our lives are short and we are never promised that we even have the rest of today let alone the promise of waking up tomorrow. No one has that promise. That is why my messages have been briefer these past few months. We don’t have the time to waste. There is nothing left to do, no more prophecies to be fulfilled except for the number of people who will give their hearts to Jesus. It is possible that you are the holdout or maybe a family member. Whoever it may be, when that person has been reached with the message that brings them to the conviction that they need Jesus and they have accepted Him…then the entire world will know that the Bible is the Truth. It may happen at the very instant that they accept Jesus and when the rapture of the church happens, the world will know beyond any possible doubt that “thy Word is true!”

If you’ve never given your heart to Christ and allowed His Spirit to change your heart and your life, then you need to know for sure that He is the Way to Salvation. He is the only way to salvation and there is no other name by which we can be saved. God loves all of mankind but He knows who will and who will not accept His invitation to become an adopted son in His Kingdom. Many people say that it is too simple. Belief in the name of Jesus…that is all that is required of each of us. But some want to help God save their souls.

God doesn’t need our help to do anything! How arrogant of us to think that we would need to help God when it was He Who formed each of us in our mother’s womb and gave each of us a measure of faith that would allow us to believe in Him for salvation. Most of us spend many hours and possibly years trying to find that part of us that feels empty. We try to fill it with money or drugs or sex but the only Person that fills that space is Jesus and until we feel that and know that we need Him, it will always be empty.

Don’t be afraid

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/2ti.1.7/3087