Tag: Bible

God uses the foolish things…


“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty.” 1 Corinthians 1:27

It is so true, God uses the simple things, the people who weren’t the most popular and the ones that nobody thinks will amount to anything,  and He will use them to do and accomplish the most in the world and for His Kingdom. Why would God do that? Because He is God and because He wants the world to see that He can do more with a little than anyone else can do with a lot!

I mean, He did create the world and our universe by speaking into the dark void, “Let there be light!”. The light that God brings into the world and the Light that He caused to shine forth in the beginning is alive! It is not just light like you get from a lamp or even the brilliant light that you get from our Sun, it was and is the Light from His Son! Light which can do more, Light which can cause things to change and people to change, Light which can bring life to a dead place. Light which will bring water into a wilderness or make “dry bones” get up from the ground and become people again!

The Light that God uses is more than just light, but it is also something which we cannot know until we have gained faith from Him and our souls have been revived to be “new creatures in Christ Jesus”! The Light of God also contains His love for us…each of us, because if He hadn’t loved us, then He wouldn’t have taken on the flesh of humanity and came down as a baby to be born into a world that didn’t know Him. A world that had mostly forgotten Him, like today’s world has.

God did exactly that and lived as a human for twelve years before he came to the temple in Jerusalem as a boy. Then He confounded the “wise men” of the day, by answering their questions instead of needing the answers Himself! After this, he spent eighteen years as a carpenter, learning the trade from his Earthly father (although He already knew) before He began His ministry in Judea. After His baptism by John the Baptist, He went into the desert and fasted for forty days before truly starting His ministry.

The men whom He called to become disciples were plain men, not Pharisees or Teachers, but during the three years of His ministry, He taught them all that they needed to know in order to accomplish that which He called them to do. They didn’t need a degree or a paper showing that they were anything more than they were, just plain people who came to know Jesus through faith and to believe that He is the Son of God! During His ministry, He was challenged by the “teachers of the Law” many times, but He passed all of their tests and confounded the wise men. How? Because, He was God! They could not trip Him up! Yet, He allowed them to capture Him, scourge Him and hang Him on a cross so that you and I could have a chance at eternity! He didn’t have to do it that way, but He wanted to do it that way. Then, after three days from sun up to sundown, He came out of the tomb victorious over death and He taught them for an additional forty days before ascending into Heaven! As the angels told His disciples, “He will come again in like manner as you have seen Him go”, and it will likely be soon.

He can use each of us in the same way today. Just as some of the teachers today have gone to school and to advanced degrees to show themselves approved, there are some who are just plain folks like me. Yes, I do have a college degree, but it isn’t in religion or theology. Yet, God has taught me through His Word and through prayer, the knowledge which I need to be useful to Him! My skills are not accepted in the “great churches”, because I don’t have a “seminary degree”, I am just an un-learned man so what do I know? I know that God can take me, just as He did those fishermen, and use me and you to do far more than people think can be done by someone as simple as I am.

Seek Him out today, read His Word and come to know Him through it because He can make you into a giant of faith if you will answer the call on your life now while there is still time. Don’t put it off until tomorrow or next week, you don’t know if you are going to be here that long! While there is time, especially if God is calling to your heart now, answer Him. His disciples did, I did, and many others have over the years. Give Him a chance to be your Lord and Savior.

Understanding the Bible, is it possible?


The reason some of us don’t understand the Bible any more than we do is because we have not been living up to the light God has already given us! If you want to understand the part of the Bible you don’t understand, begin to obey the parts that you do understand and then you’ll understand what you didn’t understand. Understand?

I know, its kind of cryptic to put it that way, but it is only by reading a letter that we can understand what the author meant about the story. It is also the only way that we will ever know the end of the story or its beginning. Your lives and mine are products of our educational system, a system which was broken many years ago and has never been fixed. Broken because we chose to take out the wisdom which our forefathers knew were necessary for us and for our country.

God’s Word, the Bible, was the main educational book used at the beginning of our country. When people began printing the Bible in English so that the common man could read it and understand it, it took away the control from the “church” and gave it back to God and the people who were reading it. This was deemed heresy by the Catholic church and the church of England! Many believers were killed for their beliefs because the teaching found in the Bible were slightly different from the “church” at the time.

The Bible should be part of our educational system now, but it isn’t because of politics and because a small minority doesn’t want it there. They are afraid of the Truth that it contains because it exposes their own sins and the failures that school systems have heaped upon our children for decades. People who like the darkness don’t like it when a bright light is shined into that darkness, because it hurts and it exposes the lies and the inconsistent stories which have been used to make us and our children go along with the “status quo”.

God’s Word is His letter to us…His way of speaking to us and it has been that way for more than four thousand years. Jewish scholars have accurately copied the scrolls which have been passed down to them for generations and this is our “Old Testament”. The followers of Jesus have copied the letters, epistles, which the disciples wrote to the churches so that we would have the “New Testament”. When one part of the Bible validates the other, there is no doubt about where it came from or Who had a part in its writing. The Spirit of God inspired the writers from both “Testaments” so that the New would validate the Old and verify it as authentic and it does this perfectly.

How can you know for sure that it is the valid and truthful Word? First, the Holy Spirit inspired the writers to write down what they wrote. Second, the prophecies in the Old Testament are proven and validated in the New. Third, and this is the most important reason, because it is the Word of God! He doesn’t lie, He cannot lie! So the inspiration that was given to the prophets and disciples through the Holy Spirit has to be the Truth!

Many people today think that you can take parts of it as the truth, and others are just metaphors for something else and can mean whatever you interpret them to mean. The Word is Truth and the laws and the wisdom contained in it is the Truth, like it or not. You cannot pick and choose! Either you believe it as the Truth or you don’t, but that doesn’t change its Truth. The love of God for us and the Truth of His Word is shown throughout the Bible and in our everyday lives. Seek Him out, read His Word and learn of Him and His wisdom because it is life to you now and in eternity, if you ask Jesus into your life and your heart.

Have you given your heart to Jesus?


Those who can’t believe or won’t believe are the ones that we need to pray for today. Their life has no purpose and no hope, at least spiritually, for a future. Because they refuse to see it or believe it, even when there is evidence for Him and His creation.

Many of you look at the Bible as a book and it is but it is also more than a book, it is the Book written with inspiration from God to us…all of us, not just Christians. Your life and everything in it, good or bad, is known to God. He knows the weaknesses that you have and the troubles too and it is likely that He has helped you through some of them during your life but you didn’t know it. Now, God doesn’t push His way into your life and your heart, He only asks patiently for you to let Him in.

The problem with many people is that they think that they have it all figured out and that they don’t need Him, period. They think that science and medicine can fix most any problem and if they can’t fix it then they can make it tolerable until you die, right? Okay, lets say that you are right and I am wrong. You will never know if you are right because if you are then after you die, that’s it, there will be nothing after death period. I won’t either so neither one of us was disappointed when we died, it was like being switched off and put up for storage. No harm done. Hmmm……but, what if what I have been saying is TRUE?!!

From a perspective that neither of us has experienced yet, lets just ponder this hypothetically. Lets suppose that there is a life that we go onto after this one, not one like being re-incarnated, but one where you are rewarded for your life on Earth with the rewards being dependent upon only one requirement: That you gave your heart to Jesus.

Let’s suppose that the Bible and all of its words and prophecies are true, just for this hypothetical. Even in the Old Testament, some of the prophets went to Heaven without seeing death. Some of the writers wrote about a life in paradise or Heaven. Then you have Jesus speaking of paradise or of a place of punishment for those who choose iniquity over their acceptance of Him. All of this seems to point to there being a “life after our death”.

Okay, now there is switch. Instead of being placed in a box and stored in the ground until eternity or until the Sun destroys the Earth, now we actually close our eyes in death and we stand before God Himself with books open which show all of our life, every word and thought and every deed that we did, good or bad. How is your book going to look? Thick with thoughts and actions that you enjoyed during life, but standing before a Holy God it doesn’t look so good now does it? I don’t mean that you have been a rapist or a murderer or some other heinous crime, but according to God, every word and thought which comes out of your mouth or your mind, has to come from your heart, and all of them are written in your book.

God’s books are not like our computers, they don’t crash and lose their data. So, how does your moral, good life look from that standpoint? Knowing that every thought, no matter whether you acted upon it or not, is there and that you will have to give account for those thoughts and actions…how does your life without God look now? I am not coming to this place to condemn you or your belief or lack of belief. I am just trying to point out that, at the end of your life, where will you end up? Standing in front of God with just your “self-righteousness” wrapped around you, how will you feel in front of a Holy God and the Righteous Judge? I would feel totally unworthy and would be on the floor begging for forgiveness. The problem with this is that after your life here is finished, you don’t get a do-over or a get out of jail free card. We have all been given the lives that we have, regardless of the length of them, to realize how sinful we really are and to ask Jesus to come into our lives and change us into what He knows we can be.

If that isn’t done prior to death, then Judgment comes to you and then you live out eternity with the one who enticed (tempted) you to do or not to do those things which would have brought you to salvation. This is the second death that is spoken of in the Bible…eternal separation from God and all that is good and Holy.

If you have given your life to Jesus, even if it was during your last moments on Earth, then you will stand in front of the throne of God but you won’t be alone. Jesus will be there and when the books are opened, the only things which will show up are those things that you accomplished in life after you accepted Jesus as your Savior. They will be shiny and bright because what you did afterwards was done through Him and with Him in your heart. Yes, there may be some dark spots that you forgot to ask forgiveness for, but they are covered by His blood and you are wrapped in His righteousness. Then, you will be admitted into Heaven and eternity will begin.

Revival of the Church


Is this something that is needed or is it already too late?

Yes, it is needed and it is absolutely NOT too late! Although many churches, or at least those who make up the body of the churches need revival in a BIG way. Revival of spirit, revival of conviction and of their purpose as Christians. It is not too late, but to most of the world, especially in America, we are silent about things that we should not be silent about. Yes, Jesus said to turn the other cheek but even He overturned the money changers tables and those tables which were selling animals for sacrifice in the courtyard of the Tabernacle!

We are not supposed to just roll over and say, “Oh well, so it goes.” Would Jesus be quiet right now in the face of all that is going on in this world? I don’t think so. When He comes back there will be many who will be wishing that He had not!

I know there are some who don’t believe in our God or in anything that the Bible says, but it is the Truth of God and when He comes they will see that it is and always has been true. As Ezekiel looked on the valley of dry bones, he did not know that they would live again but God knew. God could revive them and in the vision that he had, God did just that. He can do that to the church today! He can bring us up from the grave, no matter where we are in life or death because He is God the Creator.

The church today is not dead, but asleep and not doing the work that Jesus gave it to do. We must keep working for Jesus until He comes again. It is our duty and His command that we take His message to all of the world and we can’t do that sitting behind the walls of our churches. Jesus is and always has been the Son of God, the Living Word and He is the Creator because of the Word that was used by God to create everything.

We have to get out of our comfort zones even if it takes getting our shoes dirty and going places that we might not want to go, but where He commands that we take Him! He prompted me to begin this ministry online and it is His prompting that gives me the words to write. I am not and never have been a prolific speaker or writer, but in the past few years I have been writing what I was given by Him…here and elsewhere (my other two sites), in order to get His message out to those that might read it.

I don’t do this for my sake or for any kind of recognition, but for your sake and for your salvation in coming to know my Savior as yours. The church is not a building it is the people who meet there and come to worship Jesus there. Whether the church happens to be in a large building or in a home, the people gathering there are the church. We need to be inviting others to join us in our worship so that they can come to know Jesus too.

Fear….how can we overcome it?


Many people today have fears of all kinds. Some are afraid of flying, some are afraid of enclosed spaces, some are afraid of bugs or snakes or anything which crawls on the ground. These are natural fears, the kind that we learn while growing up and some are just fears which are genetic. Now, that is not to say that there is anything wrong with fear. A little fear can keep you from getting killed in certain situations, fear can give you a bit more speed at times when you really need it (Feet, don’t fail me now!!) 🙂

The point that I came here to make is that fear of things that we, as humans, can’t do anything about is not healthy. Fear of dying for example. Death and dying come to every person on this planet and there are none who can escape it…it is a fact and inevitable so get over it. The manner in which you die is what many people actually fear, such as drowning or having an automobile accident. Nobody wants to experience either of those because we fear the  pain which will likely come as a result.

In the book of Judges, Gideon is getting ready to fight with thirty thousand men and God tells him that he has too many men, let those who are fearful go home, and he lost twenty-two thousand men right off the bat! There was a lot of fear in that group don’ t you think? God’s reason for thinning out the number was not to get rid of those who were afraid, but to show His glory and His ability to fight for Israel. Gideon did not need that many men to fight the Amalekites, and even after the first bunch left he still had over ten thousand and God told him that there were still too many.

God knew that with such a large force, Israel would think that it was their power that had defeated their enemies and He wanted to show them that He would fight for them if they would let Him. To continue the story, God tells Gideon to watch them as they drink from the stream. Those who lapped the water like a dog would be the ones that he would use as his army, so Gideon was left with only three hundred out of ten thousand.

Why am I telling you this story from the Bible? Simply to point out that God can overcome any obstacle, no matter how big it seems to us but only if we let Him do it. He won’t take over your life, you still have a choice to make every day. If you ask Him to come into your day and help you with your everyday problems, He will, but He won’t fix them for you. You have to learn to listen to Him and then use what He has told you to fix them yourself. It is the obedience that we have always had a problem with. Adam couldn’t do it and many others in the course of time had problems with obeying the words and the prophecies given by God and we do too.

You can call it “being stubborn or hard-headed” if you wish, but the point is that humanity is that way and Satan uses it against us. We think that we are doing it, that it is our idea or our solution when the solution has come from Satan if it goes against God’s will for your life. “But, how can I know what God’s will is for my life?” you may ask. The answer to this is easy and hard too. You have to sit down and read a book….the Bible, God’s Word and wisdom for us. Pray about His will for you while you read it and you will find it, He will reveal it to you, but you have to put some effort into it. Reading a few verses here and some over there won’t help and in fact will confuse you even more. Begin at the beginning and read through, then pray about it and read it again. The fear of God will leave and the love of God will show up in your life and in your heart. Learn about Him because He already knows everything about you!

What do you do?


In the New Testament book of Colossians in chapter three and verse seventeen it says: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in (dependence upon) His person, giving praise to God the Father through Him.” AMP

In this verse of scripture, Paul is writing to those who have come to faith in Christ who are trying to reconcile their vocations with their new beliefs. He is telling them that regardless of your vocation, do it as if you are doing it for the Lord. If you dig a ditch, do it as if Jesus asked you to do so. If you are a doctor, treat your vocation as if you worked for the Supreme Physician.

All of us cannot be missionaries or preachers or evangelists, but we can do what we do as if we are doing it for Jesus. If you are a professional football player or golfer, play like you are playing for Jesus and the same goes for any other sport. Regardless of the work that you do, do it as if you are working for Jesus because you really are.

He gave you the talent and the ability to do what you do and the job or the business that you have so that you can be and do your work for Him. I know that many people don’t treat their job as a gift from God or a blessing from Him but it is. God gives to each of us a measure of faith as well as skill in an area that nobody else can match and we have that skill regardless of our education, it was given to us from birth. We may not find out about it until later, maybe after we have attended school or finished school, but it has been there nonetheless. I never thought that I could write much, until years after I graduated from college. I finally found my voice through finding my Savior and He gives me the words to write or say, I am just the messenger.

Your vocation, whatever it may be, is a doorway to other people’s lives. If you work in a hospital, you see people who are hurting in many ways almost every day. I used to work in the laboratory of a hospital and the specimens which we processed were from many people every day who were dealing with cancers of all kinds, HIV, viruses, you name it they were suffering from it. Nurses, Doctors, and all who work in hospitals should be on their knees every day praying for those who they have to care for, regardless of whether they might know any of them or not.

We should be praying for our country and those in Washington who are in charge of the laws of this land. We need to be praying for our military men and women who are serving and putting their lives on the line every day. Prayer should be in our minds and on our hearts for the whole world to come to know Christ, because Satan is busy changing the minds and hearts of as many as he can to turn against Christians and Jews. We are in his sights as a nation founded upon those principles, even though our country is trying to abandon them as fast as it can it seems.

Even though it has been two thousand years since the crucifixion of Jesus, He is coming back! We need to be prepared for His return by doing as much for His Kingdom as we can, whether it is just by praying or if we can preach or teach others to know Him. Teach your children about Him and your grandchildren because they need to know as well. Your family and your friends are the hardest to tell about Jesus if they don’t already know, so in many instances you may just have to pray and invite them to a Bible study at your home. Prayer can cover many things, especially in the lives of those who haven’t come to know Jesus.

Give your heart to Him, tell others about Him, live your life and your vocation as you would with Him by your side. This is the way to eternal life, follow it…follow Jesus and He will guide you.

Are we helping or hurting?


In the world today, there seems to be many who are hurting in one way or another. In many places all over the world people don’t have clean water or enough food. Are you able to help those in need? Are you possibly one who is in need of something? I am not writing today to beg or plead for money to be given to different causes, even though it needs to be given. I am writing to cleanse my own soul of the lack of compassion that the church in general has or seems to have for those who are hurting. Jesus told us in the gospels that “if you do these things to the least of these, you have done it unto me”. He was talking of giving to those who are sick or without food or in need of something, whether it is clothing or shelter or water, or even just a kind word and a prayer. Do we do these things today or are we the ones who are hurting and may not even realize it?

God loves us all and wants to help, but He will not push His way into your life or mine unless we humbly ask Him in, repenting of our sinful ways of living, whether we are addicted to something or maybe someone or maybe even in a relationship that is not in line with what He wants for your life! God doesn’t take control unless we surrender and give Him control each and every day. Just because you have given your life to Him and became a member of a church and got baptized, doesn’t mean that you have Him every day. You have to invite Him along with you daily, because it is your cross to bear. You have to get up and continue the relationship with Him, daily, every day! Yes, you are saved if you asked Him into your heart and really meant it by repenting of your sinful ways, but it is a conscious decision on your part to keep the relationship going every day.

It is what Jesus meant when He told the disciples to “abide in Me”, it means to cling to Him every day and make it a habit like prayer so you won’t have to think about doing it, you just will! Your life and mine depend on God’s grace for our lives and even the air that we breathe is provided by Him because it was created by Him. Many people today don’t believe that God did this, they have been deceived by the beliefs of the world and by our education system.

God loves us and has loved each of us since before the world was created. Since He lives outside of time, He can see the end from the beginning and everything in between. God knows each person in their time and how long they have to live. He also knows exactly what each person will do with their life and when, so nothing catches God off guard or by surprise. The same is true of our planet and the processes on it, nothing catches God by surprise and yet He doesn’t control our world like a clock or a toy.

The Bible is God’s advice to us for life as well as His love letters to all of humanity, not just the Jewish people. It is still relevant today because the advice given is timeless. All of the advice and directions found in God’s Word are relevant for today, even if you think that it isn’t, it is. Once you read through just the book of Proverbs, you will see that it is worth a listen and it is worthy of studying for life. Because it gives you Life everlasting.

How many times is the word “believe” found in the Bible?


How many times does the word “believe” or one derived from it show up in the Bible?

The word or one with believe inside it, appears 249 times in the Bible. You would be astonished at how few times it really shows up in the Old Testament though. I have published this elsewhere on another site of mine under another name, but I am putting the same disclaimer here: I researched this information using the search function on my Kindle Fire inside the King James Bible. The results may be different from other areas or concordances but the numbers that I have here came from this search alone.

In Exodus, it shows up six times. That is all of the times that the word believe or believeth is present in the book of Exodus, the chronicle of Israel’s journey out of Egypt and on the way to becoming a nation.

In the book of Numbers, it only shows up one time and that is in chapter 14. Why does belief or believe not show up any more than this? God is the only One who knows that answer.

In the book of Deuteronomy, the word only shows up one time in chapter one. Strange isn’t it? A fundamental word that goes along with and that the Christian faith hinges on seems to be absent from the very books that were written at a time when belief should have been easy because of the miracles being done by God for the people of Israel.

In the Christian Bible, the next time that it shows up is in the book of 2 Kings in chapter seventeen and it is only present that one time.

The next time is in 2 Chronicles in and it shows up twice in chapter twenty. Then once more in chapter thirty-two.

After that, it shows up three times in the book of Job, once in chapter nine and twice in chapter thirty-nine.

It also shows up in Proverbs in chapter 26 once, and it isn’t referring to belief in God even then.

Then it makes an appearance twice in Isaiah in chapter seven and in chapter forty-three.

In the Old Testament, the word only shows up twice more after this. Once each in Jeremiah chapter 12 and once in Habakkuk chapter 1.

So, altogether in the Old Testament believe or a word derived from it shows up a total of 20 times. Even during the time of their liberation from Egypt when God was doing so many miracles and wonders, belief or believe never came up much and out of the thirty-eight or thirty-nine books in the Old Testament, depending upon which Bible you have, the word “believe” only shows up twenty times, why?

The New Testament seems to have most of the occurrences of this word. Why? Because belief was and is necessary, along with faith, in the One that we should believe in, Jesus.

In Matthew alone believe shows up nine times!

In Mark it shows up 18 times, almost as many as in the entire Old Testament!

In Luke, believe shows up nine times, but in the book of John alone it shows up 94 times! Now, this sounds like a lot and in some results that I have searched through it showed up only forty-three times.
That is because some searches on the Internet Bible boards only show exactly the word “believe”, while the search that I did shows it and the word of believeth as well because I was searching through the King James Bible.

The point that I am making is that John’s gospel and the books written by him all focus on our belief in Jesus and in Who He was and Who He is. Yes, the demons of Satan and Satan himself believe in Jesus but they don’t have the same belief as we do. They will not bow to Him nor will they serve Him because they have chosen to be against Him and against God. So, how many times have we charted the word “believe” so far? At this point, only 150 times between the Old and New Testaments up to the book of John. So, there are about ninety-nine more occurrences of the word believe or believeth in the New Testament.

Why so much emphasis on belief? Believing in Jesus does save your soul! It is the first step toward a life of service to Him and in your sanctified life with Him. Belief doesn’t and cannot come to someone without God’s grace touching your soul, your heart and bringing you to a point of realization that you truly NEED Jesus as your Savior! Believing that Jesus accomplished everything needed for you to be saved doesn’t come to you from works and it doesn’t come to you when you decide to do so because you don’t decide to become saved. God is the One Who calls you to be saved through your belief in Jesus as your Savior.

Being a Christian is a process that begins with belief in Jesus and in His message for our lives and taking that message into your heart, striving to become more like Jesus daily. What does that mean? Asking forgiveness for your sins by confessing what you have done and accepting God’s forgiveness because of your decision to accept Jesus as your Savior is just the beginning of your walk with Him. Searching through the scriptures for references to Jesus is a wonderful exercise that will increase your faith in the truthfulness of God’s Word, but it will also humble you because you will find that God has loved us, not just Israel, for an eternity. He has known each person and how they will choose to live their lives since before the world began. Your life after accepting Jesus as your Savior doesn’t require you to work out your salvation. But…you will want to learn more of God’s Word because you will want to know your Heavenly Father and reading His Word is the best way to learn how He speaks from it and to us.

That is why belief in Who the Trinity of the Godhead is important to your salvation, because all three Persons of the Trinity are involved in your salvation every day. Belief in Jesus is the first step, accepting Him as your Savior is the second step, confession of your sins is another step along the road of becoming a Christian. God sent Jesus to do the work of reconciling mankind to Himself by being the perfect sacrifice for all of our sins, which He did. Then, the Holy Spirit, which is another part of the Trinity, comes into your life when you are saved and teaches you while you search for more of His Truth. So, the entire Person of the Trinity is involved in your becoming a fruitful Christian, not just Jesus.

Please forward this to anyone that you know that needs to come to Jesus. It is important because God thinks that they are important and that you are important. We all have a part to play in God’s plan, some may have a small part and some may have a bigger part. Just as the different parts of our body do their jobs, we as Christians need to do our job regardless of the role that we play in God’s plan and His Kingdom.

Give God the Glory that He deserves, because I cannot continue doing this alone. I am not alone of course, I have Him and His Spirit to guide me and you do too. The words that I have put here don’t come from my mind alone, but from His. I am just a messenger, but don’t disregard the message.

Looking for the good life this year?


In our quest to discover the good life this year, we must be careful that we do not drift into an aimless life. The worst thing that could happen to us this coming year is that we just let the year happen to us rather than charting a course and getting into God‘s appointed harbor and His will for us.

More than likely, you won’t drift. It may just happen. You’ll be coasting along at a good clip, and then before you know it you’re drifting away. . . that is, unless you have an anchor. That anchor is Jesus and faith in Him.

Reflect on this past year. What were some things you did right… what were some things you would do differently this new year? We have today to work for the Lord and there is no guarantee of tomorrow so live and give your faith away today. If tomorrow comes, then begin it with the power of God in your life and give away your faith and your hope to someone. Keep doing this until the year is over or until you go to be with Jesus, then you will have done your part and fought the good fight.

Consider this quote:
“No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means.”
–George Bernard Shaw

Your life and mine are worth more to God than they are to the world because this world and the ruler of it care nothing for us. Satan has exactly zero tolerance for you or me, especially if we truly belong to Christ. He absolutely loves it if you decide that God doesn’t exist or that you will turn your back on Jesus, because if he can cause more trouble and heartache for you then he will do it, and keeping you from being effective for Jesus or keeping you away from Jesus is his goal!

It is true that Satan took the Earth from Adam in the garden and it won’t be taken back until Jesus comes again, even though the battle is already won! When you are part of the world and have not given your life to Jesus, you are part of Satan’s kingdom. But, when you make the decision that you want a future and a real life, then give your heart to Christ and follow Him. From that point on, even Satan will hate it when you speak to others about Jesus and he will hate it when you get up every day and pray for a great day.

Update: The good life is something that we all strive for, but what defines the so-called “good life”? That depends on you, really. The good life for some is being out of debt, for others it may be having fame and fortune from being a movie star or Broadway actor or actress. Some people may get their satisfaction by serving people as a police-person or firefighter or maybe as a paramedic or ambulance driver.

The point of your life is yours and yours alone, good or not. Jesus did not tell His followers that they had to give up any pretense of wealth or prosperity, even though when He spoke to the “rich young ruler” He did ask him to sell his belongings and follow Him. The reason for this was not to make him poor or to get rid of his “stuff”, it was to show that his priorities were in the wrong place. The “rich, young ruler” placed more faith in his wealth than he did in religious areas of his life. We don’t have to give up our wealth or fame or power, as long as we keep the priority of our Christian life centered on Jesus.

For many people, especially those who are wealthy or those who have all that they need, dependence on Jesus and following Him is not really a priority. That is why there is a huge gap in church attendance in places where people have money enough to take care of their wants and needs as opposed to areas where lack of money is more rampant. God loves each and every person on this world, but there are some who place their faith in “stuff” more than they do anything else.

Just as someone who may have cancer but doesn’t know it yet, people who depend upon their money and position in society tend toward being “self-reliant” until something takes their cushion away. When the person with cancer goes to the doctor for something minor and then finds out about the real problem, then they will usually go to almost any length necessary to get better. It is the same with someone who has never realized that they need Jesus, when they do come to that point they will find out all that they can from many sources if necessary in order to make faith in Him possible for them. “Seek and ye shall find, knock and it will be opened to you”, that is what is needed today more than ever!

What is your salvation worth?


Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior? Life has a way of bringing us to a point where we need Jesus, and I mean to a place where we feel that we can’t make it without Him. Many people think that they can use some other way to cope with depression or loss and many do.

They place their life and their future in things that mankind has made, why? We depend upon chemicals, legal or illegal, to make life more bearable. I know that there are people who do not look to chemical fixes to their problems, but the news seems to glorify people who do! Man-made fixes for problems may work for a time, especially if the problem is made by man, but even then the real fix, the one that will lastingly fix the problem will ultimately come from God.

Regarding your salvation, many people seem to think that they can somehow have an impact on whether they get to Heaven or not. How can anyone think this way? We are not supernatural beings, we cannot have an influence over anything which might happen after our physical body dies! For many in the world today, when their life is over their religion teaches that they will come back as something or someone else or not and that is the extent of their “afterlife”. Some believe that when you die, that’s it. There is nothing, you will feel nothing nor see anything once this life is over. Death is the ultimate end to everything.

With that kind of world view, what would drive me or you to be or to do anything good in this life? What would you do if there wasn’t a hope of something better and more substantial after this life? To me, it would be a wasted, useless life if there was not hope for an “after” life. I mean, what’s the point? What really would be the point other than having stuff in this life and enjoying what you have access to now?

The point is that God created this world and everyone in it. He had a part in every person’s life from the beginning, but He also gave us a choice of whether to learn about His love and whether we will follow Him or not. We also have the ability to be adopted as sons through our belief and acceptance of Jesus as our Savior. Once we do that, our eternal life begins. That doesn’t mean that we will never die, but that we will live on after this body dies.

Doesn’t that sound preferable to being put in the ground or cremated and there being nothing after this life? The Truth is that Satan knows that there is an afterlife and if you don’t accept Jesus as your Savior, your next destination will be in hell with him and the demons with him. Hell was not made for us at all, it was created for those Angels that rebelled with Satan. But…when you reject God’s love for you and His grace through Jesus, you end up on the same side as the demons are.

Your life is worth far more to God than you can know or realize without Him in your life and until you do, your life will feel empty and without…something. That something is not drugs or anything man-made, but it is Jesus! He is what your soul is looking for! That is what the empty part of you is searching for and until you allow Jesus to come in, it will always feel empty. Until you fill your “God-shaped hole” with the One that is supposed to be there, it will always feel empty, so fill it with Jesus.