Any time that you want a relationship of any kind you have to invest some time in it. Nothing comes quickly that is lasting. Money doesn’t. Friendships don’t. Marriage relationships don’t begin with deep, abiding love. There is affection and hope and a friendship that should develop as well but eventually, love becomes deeper and more meaningful and not so dependent on feelings or things. This is also how a relationship with Jesus grows. By learning about Him in His Word, praying to Him for understanding and wisdom, and learning to follow Him in everything that you do.
A relationship with Jesus doesn’t come from one hour or so on Sunday morning each week. If you don’t seek Him on a daily basis in the Bible and go to church to learn more about Him on a weekly schedule, then you are missing out on so much. The disciples were with Him every day for over three years and even that was just the beginning. Marriage and a relationship with Jesus require the same commitment in your life but many people don’t look at either relationship with regard to a commitment.
You and I are required to be accountable in every relationship but our society today wants to choose whether we should be accountable or not. It seems that most people don’t want to be accountable for their relationships or for their actions on a daily basis. Whether we are accountable in this life or not, we will be held accountable when we are standing in front of Jesus when we come into eternity. Whether you like this idea or not doesn’t matter, God will hold you accountable for every word and deed in this life. If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior then you are still accountable for how you conducted your life after you became a Christian.
While it is true that your sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, your witness of Him and the change brought into your life by Him is still a part of your life. We are required to tell others about the wonderful things that Jesus has done for us and if you don’t tell someone when you have the chance you will still be held accountable for how you did it or not. You will have to explain why you didn’t tell someone who may not know Jesus as their Savior. How many people have you been around every day that need to know Jesus as their Savior? How many people have you been in line with or encountered at the store that you might have told about Jesus? Do you even think about telling others about Him?
When Jesus told His disciples to begin in Jerusalem and then take the message to the whole world, this is also our order to take what we have been given to those who need it. God has given us the most valuable gift that we could ever have in this life…salvation through Jesus Christ. Isn’t it worth giving away? The value that God places on each of our souls amounts to more than all of the wealth in the world and it was worth it to Him to sacrifice His Son to save us from eternal death. That gift that we have been given by our Creator and our Savior is worth giving away even if we only give it to one person who will receive it.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:1-6 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.23.1-6.KJV
God leads us as a shepherd. Jesus is our Shepherd as well since He is also God. So, why don’t we acknowledge Him as our Master and Lord? Yes, many Christians truly follow Jesus and see Him as their Master and Lord, but why are the denominations split on doctrine and procedures? Why can’t the Christian church of born-again believers get along on doctrine and belief too?
There are so many divisions within the church because of Satan and his influence over the centuries. He has made so many inroads into the church that many things that are believed and taught in the church didn’t come from the gospels at all.
I don’t want to dwell on the influence of our enemy but on the goodness of our Lord. He does provide and care for us even on those days when we don’t feel it or even notice it happening. He gives us peace and He helps to quiet our spirit when the world gets to be a bit too much. God is good to us all of the time because He loves us and we need to notice it every day. Even when things aren’t going exactly as we had hoped, He is still working in the background for our good.
Don’t turn away from Him or the call in your life that He has placed there. He knows that you are the only person that can accomplish that certain thing that nobody else can do. So, be willing to follow Him and allow Him to lead you toward that goal. So much good could come from it and you may never know what happened until you are in eternity with Him.
These go together of course but they should be dealt with long before they get out of hand.
All of us have these from time to time. In our friendships, in our relationships with each other, and in business too. So what can we do about it? Well…that depends on the type of relationship. If it is between business partners sit down and talk about it. Find out what is the real problem and try to find a fix for it. If it is between friends, sit down and talk about it. Don’t just push each other away and let it fester into something that will break your friendship, especially if it is something that can be fixed. Put your pride away and try to be civil about your relationship. It is hard to do in our “my way” world because everyone seems to want things to always go their way and have no respect for the other person’s feelings or reasons for their actions.
This is especially true in marriage. “Me, and my and mine and I” really don’t belong in a relationship between husband and wife, but often those are the words that start an argument that can lead to divorce. It seems to be inevitable primarily when the children are grown and the “partners” are not on the same page anymore.
Life gets in the way and it can cause disagreements even between people that haven’t really had an argument for a long time. Personal issues, financial issues, sexual wants, and needs all get in the way of a lasting relationship and today the word “compromise” seems to have been taken out of our abilities and our marriages.
All of these problems can be solved through faith and prayer IF we are both willing to work on the relationship. When you get frustrated and tired of fighting or disagreeing, that is when someone will just give up on keeping the relationship going regardless of what kind of relationship it is. Thankfully, God doesn’t give up on us like this but we do. Many marriages and friendships are lost due to being tired of the words and the drama that goes along with them. As a friend of mine said, “It just gets old and I’m tired”.
The problem that I see in this is that each of us in a long-term relationship has been blessed with that person by God Himself and it is our responsibility to look beyond big or small disagreements because we should be honoring Him in this as well. Whether it is a friendship or a marriage, it has been given to each of us for a purpose. Finding out that purpose and holding on to it is our responsibility as Christians. Unless you have given your heart to Jesus, this won’t really apply to you. Being devoted to Christ and devoted to those in our lives goes hand in hand but our relationship with Jesus comes first. If that foundation isn’t there, the other relationships will also fail.
The foundation having Jesus Christ at the center of your life gives every relationship in your life a firm foundation, to begin with. If that isn’t there or if that relationship hasn’t been dedicated to Jesus, to begin with then there will be trouble in the long run.
Have you ever been tempted to ask this of Him? I have. The reasons are many and it has happened many times in my life but I’ve come to know that we don’t have to ask this at all. He is always with us if you know Jesus as your Savior. God keeps up with everything that is happening on Earth and He is in control regardless of how things look from our perspective.
Some people are truly wondering if Jesus will come back for His church but be assured, He will. Why am I convinced of this? Because He is our Creator and He cannot lie. He told His disciples that He would come back one day and take every believer to be with Him in Heaven, to His Father’s house, and He will. I know it has been a long time since He left but God has His reasons for not sending Jesus to gather His Bride and bring her to His house. One of those could be that He is waiting for some who haven’t given their hearts to Jesus yet. He knows how many more there will be and He’s waiting for them.
There are other reasons as well and we don’t know what they are. Only the Father knows, just as Jesus said. Are we living in the “last days” or the “end times”? Yes, the time just prior to the Tribulation is where we are right now. If you are not sure of your salvation then you need to make sure before that day comes. The trumpet of God will sound and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we who are alive and remain will be caught up to heaven to be with Him forever. Some people think that everyone will hear the trumpet of God and some believe that only believers will hear it. Either way, the world will know that something momentous has happened.
I pray that anyone who has questions about salvation or eternity will seek a pastor or even contact me. I’m not a scholar but I have read through God’s Word more than ten times and I study His Word daily. I was a pastor for nine years and I pray that you will seek Jesus for your salvation soon.
All of us ask this in one way or another because we are all looking for something. Whether it is food, money, healing, or love we are looking for it. God knows this and He knows what and Who you need to fill that empty place in your life. He is the God of plenty and the God Who provides for all who believe in Him. He supplies the needs of everyone whether they believe in Him for their salvation or not but HE will abundantly supply the needs of those who are following Him and learning wisdom from Him.
Life with God as your Savior and Provider is not easy but it is better than what we have now. God loves us and He watches over every person even if they don’t follow Him. When they are living by their own leadership, He allows it because they are rejecting Him. When He touches their life and their heart, they will seek Him to fill that empty place. This is not a vain belief, it is the truth! Your life can be useful and fruitful for Him if you will believe in Him for your salvation.
God’s inspiration will get you through all of your toughest days. No matter what might be happening, God is with you. He cares for the birds so He cares even more for you because you are made in His image!
Don’t think that He has abandoned you because He has not and He will not. Give your heart and your life to Him and follow Him every day because your eternity depends on it. Each of us has a soul that will live into eternity. The question that remains is…where will your soul and your eternal body live? Now, you can deny that this is the truth but Jesus mentions it many times and if He says that it will be this way then it will be. The determining factor of your eternity is your steadfast faith in Jesus or your rejection of Him.
You choose where you will spend eternity when you decide to either follow Him for the rest of your life or not. God doesn’t send people to hell. They make the choice when they decide to put off the decision of following Jesus or just reject Him altogether.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 21:7-8 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/rev.21.7-8.KJV
When it says, “He that overcometh”, Jesus was speaking of those who have given their hearts to Him and follow Him during the Tribulation. But…if you choose to follow the world and all of its “pleasures” and choose not to give your life to Jesus and be His disciple so you can overcome the world, then you will be thrown into the lake of fire one day and that will be your eternity. God loves all of His creation including you and me and everyone on Earth, but if you choose to live your life without Jesus it is your choice that will send you to hell.
You have this life to choose your pathway and it is your choices that will determine your eternal home. Make the right choice and choose Life with Jesus.
They also that render evil for good Are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation. Psalm 38:20-22 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.38.20-22.KJV
Does this sound like today’s news? Calling good evil and evil good is the condition of the world that Jesus foretold about this time prior to His coming for the church. His second coming, when He puts His feet on the Mount of Olives, won’t happen until the end of the Tribulation. God has not forsaken us and He has not forgotten anyone but He also will not tolerate sinful lifestyles and actions. You can choose to believe what God’s Word says or you can say it is just an old book, but you will be judged by the Word if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior and changed your ways.
Can you be useful to God when you feel broken? Many of us are actually broken in some way. It may not be a brokenness of spirit but it could be because of personal tragedies. So…could you be useful to God’s Kingdom even though you are broken?
Most of us could even if we don’t feel like being useful. Most of the time, when we are broken, our spirit is broken and our emotions feel all mixed up during this broken time. God refers to us as vessels of His Spirit and vessels should be useful but if they are cracked they can’t hold much. The vessel will leak.
Whenever God calls you and you feel broken would you answer His call? You are being called by God so the task can only be accomplished by you. If you are feeling like you can’t do it because something is missing in your life or in your walk with Him…God can fix that part and give you the ability to accomplish the task at hand. Your emotional baggage and your depression and brokenness should bring you closer to God.
All of us are broken in some way and it doesn’t take a genius to know this in our world today. With the pandemic and the wars and all of the other problems like inflation and high fuel prices, how could we NOT be broken in one way or another? So much uncertainty and anxiety about all kinds of problems that most of us can’t fix in our daily lives can cause even more of the same. It just keeps repeating.
Compounding the problems around us is the media’s ignoring signs that life is not getting better but more complicated. Then there is all of the social media drama that keeps cropping up about one thing or another that has no real meaning in the long run. Life at the point that we are living in right now has more than enough “drama” without the nit-picking stuff that shows up on Twitter or Facebook.
There are days that I would like to go back to the days when we had AOL and email and that’s it! No cell phones, no Twitter, no Facebook, no TikTok. Granted, the generation that has grown up since 2007 could not handle being without a cell phone. But, we could truly do without most of the social media that it seems everyone obsesses over today. All of the angst that people have to handle from life itself is enough without adding to being socially acceptable and not hurting someone’s feelings.
Consider the day when the Trumpet sounds and the church is taken up to be with Him in Heaven…social media won’t matter at all on that day. There isn’t a single story or tweet or post of any kind that will be taken into Heaven and your status or how many “friends” you had on Facebook or Twitter won’t matter one bit.
The only friendship that will matter is the one that you have with Jesus. If you don’t know Him as your Savior and He doesn’t know you, then you won’t be taken up into the clouds. Knowing about Jesus will not save you. Being a member of a certain church won’t provide entry into Heaven. Only belief in Jesus as your Savior and a life that reflects a change in your heart will make a difference. So, if you don’t know Him yet I suggest you need to search Him out in the Bible, pray and ask Him to come into your heart and repent of your sinful life today! Not tomorrow or next week because none of us is guaranteed even to wake up in the morning. Make sure of your salvation before it is too late.
The Living Message of Christ 