Category: Salvation

Are you joyful?


A Psalm for ogiving thanks.

Psalm 100 

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!

2  Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

3  Know that the LORD, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

4  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5  For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

This Psalm gives us the way that we should be worshiping Him every day! Why should we be so joyful? Because He has saved us from an eternity of separation from Him. That would be an unbearable eternity even if it wasn’t accompanied by the fire of the lake of fire. You will be in a place where there is no life-sustaining water or love…forever!

Why would anyone want to be in such a place? Seek out your Savior because He loved you enough to come and die for your sins so that you might live with Him into eternity. God knew that each of us would need Him at some point in our lives. Some of us will seek Him out and give our lives to Him and some of us will hear messages about His love and forgiveness, sometimes for years, and they may never give their life to Him. Why?

Some of us are not interested in following Him even if we feel that tug on our heart and we recognize it as the Holy Spirit. Is it because we think we are good enough or that we don’t need Him? I can’t say that about anyone because I don’t know your heart. I know at one time that I fell into that deceit about my own idea of my righteousness. God knows your heart and He knows that you need Him, so when He touches your heart you should listen to His call and respond to it.

Should we give thanks and be joyful in our worship of Him? Yes, every day! Because there is no other way for us to be saved, and we cannot save ourselves, from an eternity of separation if we don’t accept Him as our Savior. Some believe that they don’t need Jesus as their Savior. How could that be true? He came and paid the penalty for all of the sins of the world, every person’s sins and their penalty. Could you do that? No! He was and is the only One Who could fulfill all of the prophecies about Himself that were in the Old Testament and He did!

God loves you. He made it possible for you to have an eternity with Him in a place where everything is made to exalt Him and show His love for His creation. Eternity with Him will be the most enjoyable time of your life and there will never be a day with pain or tears or problems during that time.

Do not return to your old way


And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/rom.12.2/2600

Amen

Love like He does


Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 1 John 4:7 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/1jn.4.7/13737

Amen

Joy in the Lord!


“Nehemiah 8:10 KJV

10Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Every day should be as a holy day unto our Lord because Christians have salvation through Jesus Christ! We were chosen by Him to be His and to be a blessing to those around us because of our joy in Him. Have you ever thought about why you should have such assurance in Him? Consider what you have been saved from. When you gave your heart to Jesus and began following Him daily, not just on Sundays or holidays, the Holy Spirit changed your heart to be a new creation in Jesus Christ. You are not the same person who was born on a particular day to your parents. You are a new Christian born of the Spirit into God’s family and a joint heir with Jesus Christ! That is enough to bring joy into your life!

We have also been saved from an eternity of misery and pain by being in hell because of our choice to refuse God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ. There will be many people in hell who thought they would be in heaven and there will likely be some in heaven who thought they might be in hell. Salvation brings us to a place where we can be part of God’s family and assured of a home in heaven. We are brought to the point of salvation by God’s Spirit touching our lives and convicting us of our NEED for Him. That is when we feel an overpowering need to find Jesus and to ask Him for His forgiveness. Most people will follow through with seeking Him out and beginning their journey with Him, but some will turn away. 

Those who turn away from God’s calling for them to be saved will likely be doomed to hell because once you have been brought to the conviction of your need for salvation and then turn away, you will not be brought back again. If you accept it then you will be saved from that eternal punishment but there is no middle ground…no gray areas where you can be a Christian and then keep being your “old self” whenever you feel like it. Living and being a Christian is like being pregnant…you either are or you’re not!

God loves each of us and those that He calls to belong to Him are convicted by God’s Holy Spirit to know that what they were doing before He called them was sinful and they need to repent of it and follow Jesus. Have you felt that tug on your heart? Have you made your decision to follow Jesus Christ or will you turn away from Him? No decision is a decision and it may be one that you’ll regret for eternity.

Who was this Man?


Was Jesus just a man, like many people seem to think? An ordinary man could not walk on water. An ordinary man could not walk up to a grave after his friend was buried four days before and call him from the grave by name. An ordinary man could not orchestrate the place of His birth or His parents…God did. Jesus was and is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, and He has brought hope and healing to many millions of people in the last two thousand years. No normal “man” could do that.

Jesus died on a cross, one of the cruelest ways to die, and He was buried in a borrowed tomb but He rose again and walked out of that tomb on the third day. During the time after His resurrection, He was seen by all of His disciples and by at least five hundred at one time. Then He was taken up into the clouds while His disciples watched and two angels told them, “Why do you stand gazing into the sky after Him. He will come again in like manner one day”.

Jesus is our Savior and our Hope and the many who have placed their hearts and their hope in Him over time could attest to that. Many thousands of people have died for their faith in Him and you wouldn’t die for a lie or for “just a normal man or a prophet”. Many have died for their faith in Him that they wouldn’t recant and the “church” caused many of those deaths because people were reading God’s Word in their own language rather than coming to mass and listening to the Word of God being read to them in Latin. One day that church will be judged for those deaths.

God is waiting for the last person to come to know Jesus as their Savior and when that time comes, the church will be taken up and the world will mourn because they missed it. But then they will find another “messiah” and the time of Jacob’s Trouble will begin. The Earth will become more like hell than heaven during this time and I pray that any or all who would like to know Jesus as their Savior will seek Him out today because none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.

Seeking Jesus


Have you ever wondered why people seek to know Jesus? What is it that drives them to find Him? One thing that most of us notice even during puberty is that there is an empty spot or a hole in your heart that you cannot fill. Nothing that you try can fill it. No amount of money or sex or drugs or anything else can fill that space because it is made for only one person…Jesus.

Some people find Him early in their life and some don’t discover the object of their desire for many years. Most of us live a good portion of our lives trying to find that certain “thing” that fulfills us and when we do find Him we realize it wasn’t a “thing” after all. It is the person of Jesus Christ that fills every corner of that place that has always felt empty.

God has loved us deeply since before the Garden was created or even the Earth was formed, yet people still don’t want to believe it. He planned all of this because He could see beyond time itself and He knew that we would become our own worst selves without a Savior. HE provided the hope of a Savior even to Adam and Eve when He told them that the seed of the woman would redeem their sin one day.

Humanity has plowed through the ages on our own pride in what we have accomplished, especially during this past century. We have pushed God away and then we wonder what is happening to our world when things begin to go wrong. You have pushed God and His influence away from your children’s education and from the public square as much as possible. Why wouldn’t things be going wrong? We have taken the Creator out of His creation. What did you expect to happen? That is like beginning a trip and setting the cruise control and taking your hands from the steering wheel. Granted, you can do that today but I still don’t trust it.

God sustains us and His creation every hour of every day and when we remove this belief from the minds of people it causes big problems. They see themselves as animals who live by instinct and they look at others as being in their way to have things that they want. Seeking your Savior in Jesus is the only way to bring peace into your life that has been missing so I pray that anyone who reads this will seek Him as soon as possible. We are not promised tomorrow so make your decision for Him today!

Walk with God…


He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/mic.6.8/61799

Amen

Psalm 23


Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/psa.23.4/56531

Amen

God’s timing


We need to learn how to wait for God’s timing. It’s not easy, but the church needs to learn how to wait. Why do I say it that way? Because many in the church have gotten tired of waiting it seems. Many churches are teaching a doctrine that is very different from what is written in God’s Word simply because of the time that has passed since Jesus left to be at the Father’s side. Now, I am not trashing or trying to judge any church or pastor in any way. The times that we live in today should be pointing us toward Jesus’ return and it will be sooner than most think.

God’s timing is His timing because He is trying to save as many people in the world as possible. He is doing this because of His love for us…all of us. It doesn’t matter what country or religion they are, they are His creation and they are His children. He will bring as many to know Jesus as possible and He knows exactly how to bring them to know Jesus! It is also our job as His church to tell others about Him too…but are we doing that?

I pray that anyone who reads this will take His Word to those who need Him. In your family or your neighborhood or around the world if you post your Savior on FB or somewhere. Everyone needs to know Him. God’s timing is always perfect so be looking for Him in the sky one day soon.

A follower of Jesus


A Follower of Jesus

Are you born again Jn 3:3

Make prayer a daily habit Luke 6:12

Listen to Him Matt 17:5

Believe Him Jn 3:16

Obey Him Jn 8:12

Love Him Mark 12:30

Share Him Matthew 28:19

Serve Him Jn 12:26

Suffer for Him Phil. 1:29

All of these are the characteristics of a person who has become a follower of Jesus. IF you have given your heart to Jesus fully and completely, then you are a follower of Him. Is this required of us in this life? Yes, if you are a Christian in the most total sense of the word. The only time that we have to indeed be His follower is in this life while we are alive on Earth. Is this an easy task for us? Not in today’s climate of the “cancel culture” and other so-called “woke” attitudes, but during this time our world needs to see what a true follower of God lives their life like in this fallen world.

Being an active follower of Jesus and a Christian in our society today has even labeled us as “terrorists” from some people’s point of view. We truly are living in the end times as spoken of and foretold by our Lord, Jesus. How much longer will we live in this time we don’t know. It could be a few months or it could be a few years or even decades but I don’t think it will be the latter.

There are too many forces working toward a climax in our world. War, disease, economic collapse, or all of the above could be our downfall soon. Look up and be ready.

A true follower of Jesus needs to study God’s Word to be equipped as a representative of Him to answer the questions of those who do not know Jesus as their Savior. There are many today who have turned away from their faith out of fear. They are afraid of this “new” disease, COVID-19 and its mutated variants, because gathering in groups has caused spikes in the number of infected people. Many people have left the church and have not come back because of this. God can and will protect those who depend upon Him and seek His wisdom in this time of “crisis”.

Can a follower of Jesus be an effective tool for Him during this time? Yes, if we will seek His face and read and study His Word. Even a little bit of study of a few verses or a chapter each day is enough to give us better insight into the time that we live in today. I pray that anyone reading this who does not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior will seek Him today and then learn of Him from His Word so that you can take His message to others while there is still time.