Tag: Belief in Jesus

A new day, a new year!


Sunrise-5 Do you know that God begins each day with a beautiful, glorious sunrise so that we can see His majesty? Oh, these beautiful sunrises may not happen where you are, but somewhere there is a painting that only God can create. We can see them in pictures on the Internet, or maybe on the news if the are breathtaking enough. God is in control of the universe and our world, yet many people don’t recognize this fact. God loves you and me and every person on this planet, whether they know Him or love Him or not.

We are all beginning a new year and the violence and news is already bearing that out. It seems that our world just can’t go one 24 hour period without some form of hatred and violence toward a person or group of people. Every day bears this out and it seems that nobody can figure out the problem or the solution. The Solution is Jesus and the problem is mostly from those who hate Him or those who serve Him. I know, there are crimes committed which don’t have anything to do with religion, but when you look at the news it sure doesn’t seem that way.

Life is imitating history every day because Christians have been hated and anyone who reads or serves God has been targeted in some way in the past two millennia. Even and especially if you are Jewish and Christian it all comes back to the Bible. It seems that few people can understand or even tolerate the absolute Truth found in its pages even when they know it is right! Our country and many of its Presidents in the past have acknowledged that “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”–George Washington “.

The world or our country needs God and the Bible and the wisdom contained in them. We, each of us, need the wisdom of God and the salvation that Jesus offers to us. It is something which we all need to understand and seek out for ourselves to make the rest of our lives more useful. Make this year one that you live for God and it will be the best of your life.

Time waits for no one


eternityEvery year you hear someone on television saying that their resolution for the year is to spend more time with their family. It is usually a different person saying this every year but the sentiment and the reality are the same…we feel as if we don’t have enough time. As you get older, the days and weeks seem to go by faster and just mush into one another until, if you are like me, you can barely tell one day from the next.

There are days that I have had to pay attention to the television set or the computer screen just to keep the days separated, so I will know what day it is. I know that those of you who are going to school or work don’t really have this problem because your days revolve around your schedule. But, it is true that time doesn’t wait for anyone. Consider that on New Year’s Day at midnight when the year and the date changed, that specific time period will never happen again.

A few years ago before we got out of the first decade of the 21st century, you could have months where the day, month and year were all the same number. Those won’t recur until another century has passed, and even when they do technology will have changed, our culture and society will not be the same. Nothing repeats itself exactly because once a minute is gone, the things which happened in that minute are in the past.

The best part about our life today is that we, as Christians, serve a God Who can see those seconds and minutes and hours and years even when they have past. Time is not the same for God because He lives outside of time. Just as we will when we are in Heaven. Eternity begins the second that you take your last breath here. One year will be nothing when you are there. Ten thousand years will seem like a day or two, maybe.

Consider where your time will be spent and how much time that you think you have now. Think about your family and friends, where will they be in eternity? Have you considered it for yourself? Don’t put this decision off because you think you have plenty of time, that is a lie from Satan himself and he gets plenty of people to believe it. Those who died the next day thought they had more time. The only time that you have is right now. Make sure that you are absolutely sure and positive about your eternal home. One of them you will enjoy, the other you will not.

Begin…


This is the day that we need to begin not tomorrow because you don’t know what it will bring or even if you will be here tomorrow. Begin something whether it is your dream for your life, or it may be stepping out to finish a degree that you wanted to finish. Life is a beginning, a new day with its sunrise is a beginning and if you are alive then you should begin!

Just as the proverb says that “a trip of one thousand miles begins with one step”, we need to begin. When God called Abram to go away from his country to a country that he knew not…he began with a step in that direction. When the Israelites were freed from slavery, they would never have gotten to the wilderness, let alone their promised land, without taking the first step.

In your life, every day, your day begins when you wake up. But…nothing gets done in the day until you begin it! You have to get up from the bed, put your feet on the floor and take a step, then another and another until you get to your destination. God knows His plans for you and they are plans to prosper you, but your prosperity doesn’t come to you without stepping out on faith and doing something about it!

We all have to begin to do something every day, regardless of the situation because in this life things don’t get done without a beginning! You can’t eat without picking up the fork, you have to begin your meal with an action. Like picking up the plate and the fork and putting the food on it and then thanking God for what we have to eat. Even then, if you don’t begin to eat with that fork, that plateful of food won’t get into your mouth without you beginning to eat it.

The thing about beginnings, regardless of the type of beginnings they are, is that some kind of action is required. In a relationship with your wife or husband it has a beginning, just as life has a beginning. When we decide to live our lives for Jesus or rather WITH Jesus, that life has a beginning too. So where do you and your family or spouse begin? That depends upon where you want to end your journey. Any trip or journey whether in life or as a vacation has to have a starting point…a place to begin and an ending point. So consider where your journey should end or at least where you would LIKE for it to end.

Regardless of your beliefs, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim or any of the other religions, there is always a place where your eternity also begins. For all of us, eternity begins when this life ends regardless of your beliefs. Some of you who don’t believe in an eternity will find that contrary to your lack of belief, there really is a God and you will meet Him. When your eternity begins, where will you spend it? If you don’t believe that there is one, then you will be surprised and not so happy about your eternity. If you are a Christian, then I need to ask this question:

Have you followed Jesus every day since you asked Him into your life?

Why do I make it that personal? Because a relationship, whether it is with Jesus or your family, is personal. To be in that relationship totally, you have to be present every day not just once or twice per week or once a month! How would your spouse feel if you treated her or him that way? Your relationship wouldn’t last very long would it? If it isn’t a daily walk with Jesus, then you might need to check with your pastor to see if you are saved! Sitting in a pew, reading a daily Bible verse, giving a tithe now and then, these are all good things but they are the motions that you can do that show others that you attend church…that’s all. Your relationship only shows when you are in it for real! Don’t be like the Pharisees were, so religious they couldn’t have a relationship with their Messiah.

The end is the Beginning


In some ways, it is difficult to make sense of those words. How can the beginning be at the end? It is a conundrum and a puzzle for sure, but to a person who is a Christian it is a simple and glorious thing! At the end of a long life, your eternal life begins! It isn’t an end, other than being the end of physical, Earthly life. The beginning for Christian believers starts when they give their lives to Jesus and ask His forgiveness of their sins.

You are reborn into a life of learning, love, sacrifice, and service. Learning from God’s Word as you explore the love of God for His people and for the world, learning Who He is and His meaning for your life. The love of God is all around you and once you realize it, you can feel it and see it in our world, in natural processes, in life itself. Sacrifice is when you live according to the life and teachings of Jesus, by giving away your faith, telling others about Him. To be true to the calling and life of a Christian you don’t really have to sacrifice anything, you just have to live your life according to Jesus’ teachings and to do that you have to read His Words and learn from them. Service happens when you are doing those things mentioned above, it is not “works” in order to be saved or to earn your way into Heaven.

Works don’t give you any extra “points”, only the saving power of Jesus and your faith and belief in Him will give you your Salvation which allows you into God’s Presence. Seek Him, trust in Him and believe in Him through the Bible, or by attending a Bible teaching church will show Him to you so that you can know Him if you will not harden your mind and heart to the love that He offers.

The Beginning at the end is what you get to experience if you are a Christian. If you choose to follow your own path, or another way of living not found in the Bible or any other religion then your eternity will be very different. Whether you believe in God or Jesus or the Bible has no bearing on the reality that you will find yourself in at the end of your life here. Your eternity will be waiting for you when you breathe your last breath here, so make sure of your destination before that happens.

Blessings for every day


How can we claim and walk in the blessings that God has for us? I wondered that so much when I would hear my Mom or my grandparents talking about it. The same as I would wonder about it when I heard it in songs or at church growing up. It seems that nobody every explained it to me then and I suppose it was because they didn’t really understand it themselves.

I have come to realize that our blessings are those things that many of us take for granted all of the time. Waking up in the morning is a blessing, even if you wake up in pain be thankful that you can feel it. When you walk to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, be thankful that you can walk, that you can see, that you feel the love of God in your life because you have these blessings.

I know, there are some who say that their pain or their troubles are not blessings. Maybe not, it is possible that God is allowing you to grow through your aches and pains like He did when Satan wanted to test Job. God did not afflict Job, but He allowed Satan to do so because of the faith of Job. Maybe that is where you are now. Maybe the pain that you feel in your body or in depression or some other ailment is a test or it may be Satan’s way of hindering you in your walk with God.

Be blessed in the knowledge that you have God in your life and that He is in control of all circumstances, good and bad. Get into His Word today and every day so that He can strengthen you and your faith in Him. His Word is more powerful than any weapon or disease, so use it every day to fight off the darts that the enemy slings in your direction. God is with you and me just as He was with David when he fought Goliath. He made David’s aim true and the strength of his sling powerful enough to penetrate a giant’s skull and He can overcome any obstacle that is in your life today.

Remember, you have the Spirit of God inside you if you are a Christian and you are made in His image just as Adam was. In that we are all the same, regardless of what race we claim to be or the culture that we live in. The Creator brought the universe together by His Word and the Living Word, Jesus, came and died to make you free from the bondage of sin! All that you need to do is claim His promises for your life and believe in Him, that He can and will accomplish them in your life today and the rest of your life!

Make sure that you follow Him in everything that you do, in life, in business and in all other areas of your existence. Read and study a chapter in the Bible every day, maybe two or three if you can get them in. Once you get into the habit of reading His Word daily, you will sorely miss it when you don’t. His Word can ease your pains and infuse your life with His power so that you can overcome those aches and pains and really be thankful for your blessings every day.

Why did Jesus come?


4thpage.jpg“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 These words were spoken by Jesus from the cross as He was crucified for our sins. Not just yours or mine but for every person in the past, in His present and in the future. Why did God do this? Why would God allow this to be done?

The simple answer is because of His love for us, all of us. This is a kind of love that we cannot comprehend…we cannot understand this depth of love. It is so far beyond our pitiful ability that it would be like explaining the concept of love to a shark or a snake. It cannot be understood and it can’t be comprehended by our limited minds. Of course, there are some who will contest this way of thinking but if you really think about it, the depth of love that it would take I mean, our human mind can’t comprehend a love like that.

That is the reason that Jesus said that we would have to come to the Kingdom of God with faith like a child. Trusting that God knows what is best and that we can give Him our life and our heart no matter what!

God created this universe so that we could experience the awesome reach of His power and know that He is the Creator and there is no other. No amount of spiritualism or pagan pseudo-religion will be a substitute for God, period. You can call the Bible a fake and the Word contained in it to be fantasy, but Christians have died believing in the God of the Bible and His Word. Of course, many people who don’t believe in Jesus will also say that they were delusional but people wouldn’t die believing a lie.

I know, sincerity breeds belief and beliefs are what those people ultimately died for BUT if that was the way that things have been taught for nearly two thousand years, what of it? At least Christians are not trying to kill all of those who won’t convert to Christianity. If we are wrong, then our lives have only been wasted doing the work of Jesus while we can. If there is no Heaven or hell, then why did Jesus come to bring the good news to the Jews and to the rest of the world? If the Bible is a lie, then the Torah is a lie and the Jewish religion is a lie.

Nothing about the Christian religion can be disproved. You can choose not to believe any of it if you wish, but the history contained in it has been proven by archaeologists. Science has proven many of the truths in the Bible as well. Such as the ordinance given to circumcise a child on the eighth day after they are born. A baby doesn’t have the capability to clot blood until that day is past, but that wasn’t proved until recently.

God loves each of us, this is proven because we live and breathe. You can laugh at this if you wish, but it truly is by His grace and mercy that our world hasn’t come to an end yet. When the time is up, every eye will see the result and hear it around them but if you haven’t made the decision to come to God by belief in Jesus…it will be too late.

Mary, did you know?


When the angel came to tell of the baby you were going to have, did you know that your heart would change completely? All parent’s hearts change in some way when their child is born, but your Child is special. He was and is not a child born of human procreation, but One Who was prophesied since the beginning, to be the Savior of mankind.

The story is told in Luke 1 beginning here:

26…the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Jesus came to a humble family, but one that was descended from the lineage of David of the tribe of Judah. The babe was sent into the world to announce to it that God had come down to mankind to offer salvation to all who would believe.

The story continues here:

Luke 2 (King James Version)

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

The shepherds went out telling all of the things which they had seen, just as we are supposed to do. Amen.

Love unlimited


This is the kind of love which God has for all of us. Why do I say this? Because, He wouldn’t have sent His only Son to Earth to offer salvation to us through belief in Him and the sacrifice that He made if He didn’t love us this way. God did not love just one nation or people this way, but He loved all of us in this way. He told Abraham that the whole world would be blessed through his descendants and He was speaking of the blessing of salvation brought to us through Jesus and His sacrifice.

Unlimited love and compassion brought the “seed of the woman”, the Messiah, into a manger in Bethlehem to be the Savior of the world! That is the blessing to all of the world through the seed of Abraham and David that we have today. The world has had this blessing since the time of Jesus because of God’s love for us.

The Messiah, the Creator, the Living Word of God brought down to mankind in the form of a baby. He was not born as a King, but as a commoner, a carpenter’s Earthly son but He was and is the Son of God. Your life can be changed and will be if you will come to Him and ask Him to come into your life. Your eternal life begins when you are born into the family of God through giving your heart to Him and asking Him to come into your heart!

You are loved by God far more than you can imagine. He would’ve sent His Son even if you or I were the only person yet to be born or saved, that’s how much God loves you and me. Heaven is going to be full of millions of people who have given their hearts to Jesus in the past and today. Give your heart to Jesus this week, today, because He loves you more than you know.

People tell me that a mother’s love is t he greatest love that we can experience on Earth. Yes, our parent’s love is a reflection of God’s love toward us, but it is a dim reflection. We cannot imagine or comprehend the love of God, but it is there and available for each of us. All that we have to do is ask Him to come into our lives. That is the gift that you can get from God, eternity and forgiveness. You will give Him another child to bring into His house one day and all of Heaven rejoices when one more comes to know their Savior. I know that I am looking forward to that reunion and many others are too.

Won’t you join us in our Father’s house? He loves you more than you can imagine and He will be near you regardless of your circumstances or what life throws at you from this point on. If you need confirmation of this, read Luke 2. It is a description of the birth of our Savior and the birth of God’s Son, the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

Merry Christmas!

So much strife, remember…


In our world, in our everyday lives, we experience problems of all sorts. Pain, heartaches, anxiety, fears, the list could go on and on. Remember, God loves you, and remember these promises as well:

PromisesfromGodsWord

I know, during this time of year many people aren’t really concerned with their eternal destiny but you should be! Why? Because it is going to last a LOT longer than this life will! God does have a plan for you and me, and it doesn’t stop when your life on this Earth stops. Consider this, God said that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Present tense, not past tense! Meaning, they live on into eternity and you will too…if you have given your life and your heart to Jesus. Ask Him to come into your heart and save you, because HE came to seek and save those who are lost which includes you and me! I accepted Him a few years ago, and I pray that you will too.

A prayer that this world needs


Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people… When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask  your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it  the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it  choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values
of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Amen!

If that prayer touches your heart, please pass this on to someone else. I pray that this Christmas touches your heart and brings you closer to Jesus, Who is the reason for this season after all.