Tag: Christ

Ignore the world at your own risk!


It says in the Bible that we are not to be part of the world, and yet we are supposed to take Christ‘s message to all of the world. Kind of contradictory isn’t it? Not really, but we can’t let the world and the things in the world affect our life and our witness to those who may not know Christ. How can we do this?

We can’t do it on our own strength or with our own power because Satan and his demonic forces are far more powerful than we are without Jesus in our life and our heart. Without Jesus, it is impossible for us to do good outside the influence of evil. Regardless of how good we think that we are or can be, we cannot withstand the influence of the principalities and powers that Satan has at his disposal.

The reason behind your failure to withstand him is that he hates you with an undying hatred! The reason for this is that he knew that God intended to put humanity above angels in the hierarchy of Heaven one day. That is the one reason beyond pride that Satan had for his rebellion. Everything else pales in comparison and he intends to do everything that he can to corrupt as much of God’s creation as possible.

So, in a word, no we cannot ignore the world! It would be very dangerous to do so because he is the ruler of this world and ignoring the world would be just what Satan wants, in a sense. He doesn’t want to be ignored, but if enough people regard him as a myth or a fairy tale then they won’t know to defend themselves from his attacks or even know that they need to.

Many Christians don’t even know that they need to take care of the thoughts that they have and give them to Jesus. To walk with Jesus on an hourly basis is the only way to defend yourself and if you choose not to be that close with Him then Satan can get into your life, even if you go to church. Mainly because he is there too! He and his demons are in every congregation in the world. They never miss a Sunday or a Sabbath, yet many don’t have any idea that they are there.

When you give your heart to Jesus, He comes in and cleans out anything that has been there before and makes you into a new creation! Your heart becomes the temple for the Spirit to live and work in and through you and for you. When this happens, your life can have so much more meaning not only for you but for God too.

Making Jesus the Lord of your life makes you one of His disciples and they were able to do many glorious, miraculous things as long as their trust and their faith stayed focused on Him. Can we do the same? Yes, we can if we truly believe in Him and repent of our old ways and truly change. Don’t go back to the same places that you went to before, make new friends and tell your old friends that you are a new person!

Take them to church with you and introduce them to your Savior so that they will come to know Him. God loves them, they just have to realize it and accept His love and grace and they will become part of His family too!

What can we do for the world?


We as Christians, are supposed to be the light of the world but are we? The few of us who are dedicated to furthering Christ‘s teachings in the world have little influence in it. Our sphere of speaking engagements and preaching opportunities doesn’t extend very far from our homes. We are not international evangelists, so how can we possibly make a difference?

In all seriousness, we can’t do it without Christ’s help and influence behind the words which we do speak and the limited amount of influence that we do have. Without Him, we are nothing but with Him our words and our actions can make a difference. The difference will be in accordance with His will however so don’t expect things to go as you might hope. Our own feelings and wants are not a part of the equation when God‘s hand and His Spirit are involved. Our prayers to Him are for our benefit but ultimately, He is in control of everything.

I am not writing this to dampen the spirit of those who truly are followers of Christ and have their hope in Him but we have to face reality. The reality of our world is that even though Satan has control over most of the governments of earth, God is still in control of what he can do. We are not left alone, without help. God is behind the scenes, but in control and that is what we have to hold on to in order to be strong enough to stand up for what is right and for those who need to know Him. Even though there are many places where God is not known, His presence and the works of His hands are always visible to everyone. So no one has an excuse for being unable to know about God or who He is.

God’s handiwork is evident in the night sky or the cry of a newborn baby or a new sunrise. The beauty of His creation is that it is because He put it there. Nothing and no one is here by accident or evolution, regardless of the scientific community believing otherwise and trying to teach it as fact.

There will always be people who don’t want to hear about religion or God or creation and that is fine. They are free to believe whatever they wish to believe, but what if all of Christianity and the Bible is true? When you die you don’t get a second chance. There are no “do-overs” or re-incarnation for anyone to fix what was done wrong in their previous life. Your life here and now is the chance that you get, regardless of how long it is. If you choose to believe that there is no God and that you just go to sleep when you die and that is it, no one on earth can change your mind.

Although, when you open your eyes in eternity after death what will you say to the One that you stand before? It won’t be a blank screen staring back at you and it won’t be a computer asking for your ID card. It will be the Creator of the Universe who may ask you “What were you thinking?” or “Did you really think all of this was an accident”? It is possible that the Bible is true because the Creator does not lie! The words that He gave to His prophets and to His disciples are all true, whether you choose to believe it or not!

Yet, there are many who will wake up in eternity to find that it is real. Then what? At that point for them, the Truth is standing in front of them and cannot be denied except that it is too late. You can only accept Christ while you are alive, in the flesh. Once you have crossed over into eternity, what decisions were made here are cast in stone and cannot be changed. Make sure that you have checked all the possible explanations, especially the one about Christ and His saving grace for you before you die. Decide to make a difference in your life, because He will.

You almost persuaded me to be a Christian


 

“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian”. Acts 26:28

King Agrippa’s comment to Paul is the only time in the New Testament that anyone said to a disciple that they were almost persuaded to become a Christian. These eight words give a sad testimony to King Agrippa and yet, many people say this today, nearly word for word. It is a frightening thought to me to see or hear someone say that because the punishment for those who have rejected God‘s offer of salvation is spiritual death, eternal separation from God!

God loves all of us and yet we, in our own ignorance, tell lies, we cheat, we commit all kinds of sinful acts daily which cut us off from communication with Him even now. He can’t and won’t hear us when we have become defiled by the world and the things in it that draw us away from Him. In many people’s eyes, the things which come between us and God on a daily basis doesn’t matter in the here and now. But, just for a moment, think about this: we are going to be in eternity whether we are in heaven or hell!

True, what you say or do on a daily basis may not hurt anyone right now but if you are the one saying something hurtful or out of character for a true Christian, who is it hurting? You in the long run, because you are going to pay for it by losing something which you would have gained in eternity! It also may hurt someone who hears what you say or sees what you did. Your witness as a Christian is visible to those around you all the time, especially your family but also your students, your friends and co-workers. Every word and deed, small or large will have an impact on your life now and in eternity and it will have an impact on someone else’s life too!

Being “almost” a Christian is like not being one at all! Any little misstep that you make in front of someone, regardless of who it may be, can be eternally damaging. That is why we have to crucify our “self”, the person who wants to say what they always said or do the things that they have always done; it has to be done daily because if you don’t stop that “old you” from showing up, it will happen again and again until no one will be able to tell if you ever changed or not!

Jesus was ordained to follow the path that He did from the beginning. It was not as a result of what happened in Eden, God knew it was going to happen. and we were purchased with His blood, every person from that point until the last person on earth is born and chooses to follow Christ or not. They and we are all forgiven, it only matters who decides to choose and which choice is made, whether to follow Christ as your Savior or not. That is the only choice which really makes a difference in your life now and in eternity!

What about those people who have not accepted Jesus as their savior, do they have to follow the same rules as we do? Actually, they don’t because they are not bound to any commitment to Jesus. They are free to do as they please. Many people would comment that that is unfair but how is it unfair? Being bound to Jesus is a choice, a choice that we make as Christians, while the same is also true about people who have chosen not to follow Christ. They have chosen to be committed to their own beliefs and moral codes, regardless of the eternal consequences.

Their choice is for their immediate satisfaction, right now and they choose not to worry about eternity until it gets here, if it ever does. Now, we know that eternity is true because Jesus spoke of it in the Bible, by many who do not believe don’t think that there is anything beyond this life. Many who do not follow Jesus, don’t come to church and even if they do, they don’t believe what the Bible says so they don’t “listen” to what they hear in church anyway. Their ears heard it but they choose not to listen, yet when they cross through the door of death and find their judgment waiting for them, it is too late to decide then.

What can we do for our loved ones if they are un-decided about their Christian life or whether they will even follow Christ? Pray for them, witness to them, answer their questions, bring them to church with you. After all of this and they are still un-decided, pray for them some more, but don’t push because other than prayer will seem as if you are doing just that, pushing. Many people don’t like “pushy Christians” and they will put even more distance between themselves and you and Jesus! At this point, the seeds have been planted so let God grow them. The Holy Spirit will take over as the gardener and it is out of your hands.

Can you be a Christian and a communist?


In many people’s viewpoints, the Church started out as communist because they were “selling what they had and giving to those in need as they had need”. This is not a communist viewpoint but a command from Jesus to help those who are less fortunate than you are. Modern Marxism and communism both deny the deity of God and Jesus and both pursue the idea that man is his own god and that outside of man there is no other help. Granted, I have used a very simple way of writing this but that is what their views boil down to.

So, to answer the question then the answer would be a resounding “NO!”. The viewpoints are on opposite sides in every respect, especially when it comes to Who is in charge. God is and always has been the Creator, regardless of the humanist viewpoint of communism and other human-centered ways of belief. I a believer in Christ and a pastor of a small church so my view is skewed toward God but the overwhelming evidence that has been put forth to prove evolution just doesn’t! There has never been a fossil dug up that was in the transition stage between one form or another. So, with that in mind, why can’t the “intelligent design” or creationist view be correct?

I know that I have strayed from my original argument about communism but since both evolution and communism try to give man the preeminent place in the world, I wanted to touch on both. Are there Christians in communist countries? Yes, there are but they are not the ones in power usually. Are there Christian scientists in the world? Yes, but they don’t believe in evolution entirely. They do believe, at least in theory, in intelligent design and not evolution. Now, I have not interviewed them because I don’t have the resources to do so. But, the evidence in most Christian magazines and articles is that evolution can’t and doesn’t happen and it is backed up by scientific proof.

Communist ideas and ideals attempt to show that we, as humans, are the ultimate animal, the pinnacle of evolution. We are the pinnacle because God created us that way! He did so because He wanted us to be created in His image, not the image or the likeness of an ape! Life doesn’t spring forth from a primordial soup of protein spontaneously, regardless of the composition of the “soup”. Scientists have used computer models and proved this. Even a short sentence being randomly created from letters is nearly impossible and Richard Dawkins agrees with this in “The Blind Watchmaker“.

So, how do we and all other life forms on this planet come from a pool of protein? We don’t. God created the life that is here from the plants to the trees and the fish to the insects and bacteria, as well as mankind himself. The Designer of the universe, Who placed all of the stars in their places as well as the planets, did this and no other.

Communist thinking tries to insert man into the area that is occupied by God. He is the One that is our Creator and He is. If anyone can regrow a finger or cause gray hair to turn back to its original color without chemical application then prove it! We are not and never will be gods but we are His creation. The Creator doesn’t and will not give His seat to another! Man can’t create life from nothing. Without previous amino acids or DNA, we can’t and never will be able to create life, therefore we will never be “like God”!

Satan, who aspired to be “like God”, is a created being and therefore can’t be! He desires it, but even he can’t  cause things to happen so that he will be like God. Our world and the universe that it resides in was created by God and made in such a way as He desired to perfect His will, not ours nor any others. One day, we will find this out and it will be proven beyond a shadow of any doubt. Until then, there will be those who are against this line of thought and against God and all that He stands for.

Read God’s word and don’t doubt what it says because His is the truth regardless of the hype and spin that has been put on it. Many so-called “experts” have given their opinion on the truth and the truth is that God’s Word has stood the test of time and history and has been proven by archeology. All other religions were influenced by Satan and his fallen angels in the past in order to put doubts in the minds of humanity. Listen to God’s word, give Him a chance in your life and in the life of those that you love. He loves you too and He can only  prove it if you allow Him to.

Righteousness, can we have it? Do we get it?


In the book of Romans, Paul writes in chapter three verse ten: “As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one”. Does this preclude anyone and everyone from obtaining it? Can we be righteous?

We are able to be righteous, but not on our own or by our own strength. Anyone can be righteous. Everyone can be righteous, but there are conditions for our ability by itself is not sufficient. How can it be obtained for us? Is it possible for us to be righteous?

Yes, we can be righteous but our own power and will, cannot accomplish this. At least, not to the satisfaction of a righteous God although in many ways He doesn’t condemn our efforts. It’s just that there is nothing that we can do to be good enough compared to His perfection. Our efforts and our own goodness can never be good enough without Christ and His righteousness covering us with His perfect righteousness.

The prophet Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 64:6

6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all of our righteousness is as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The apostle Paul wrote again in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”

None of us can hope to attain a level of being as some today teach that we can that is comparable to God and His perfect righteousness. The only way that we can be righteous is through the transforming power of Jesus and by accepting Him as our Savior. When He comes into your heart and your life, then you are made a new creation, righteous through Him toward God!

We can’t accomplish this on our own in any way that mankind has devised. Through morality, or charity, or any of the good things that man can do. None of them are good enough, even though the world looks at them as being good. In comparison to God’s perfection, they are not.

Yet, according to Paul in Romans chapter six verse twenty three: “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Again in chapter 5:8, he wrote: “But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.

Can we ignore these things that God has done for us even though we don’t deserve any of them? God’s grace and mercy toward all of mankind is more gracious than we could possibly deserve. Truly, God could have just destroyed the earth and started over someplace else but He chose not to. We can’t understand why He did this or what His reasons are for loving us enough to be this merciful, but that doesn’t discount the fact that He does love us, all of us and He will never stop loving us.

What about our love for Him? Do we show that love in service or in dedication to Him? Why not? Doesn’t He deserve our love? If for no other reason, He deserves it because He loved us before we decided to come to Him. He loves you even while you are a sinner and He loved all of us in that way, before we felt the call to give our life to Jesus. God doesn’t require you to “clean yourself up” before you come to Him. Jesus didn’t ask the thief to “clean up” before he would be in paradise. He told him that he would be in paradise that day!

If He can accept someone who has done something bad enough for the Romans to crucify him, then we certainly are able to come to Him at any time in our life. There was no time left to “clean up”, all the thief did was ask Christ to remember him when He came into His kingdom and he did this in faith. Can we do no less than this? Jesus told His disciples that they needed to have the faith of a child but in many ways, that may be why so many can’t or don’t come to Him.

It is too simple and easy and they aren’t required to do or give anything for this grace. That is not exactly true. We are required to give our life to Jesus in exchange for His righteousness and forgiveness of every sin that we have committed or will commit. Giving your life or my life is not an easy thing because we must continually do it on a daily basis. That is what Jesus meant by taking up your cross daily and following Him because in doing so you have to stop doing what you have done before. Giving your life to Jesus is a daily process; it isn’t finished when you ask Him into your heart, it is just beginning!

I know that is not what many people have heard or been taught but it is the truth because that is what Jesus taught. Taking up your cross means laying down your life (your old self) daily to follow Jesus and it is a process that doesn’t stop until you meet Him face to face. As you walk with Him daily through your life, the process of laying down your “old self” will become easier. The beginning of your journey with Jesus will be a little rough because your friends and your habits will still be around and that will complicate things.

I am not saying that you have to get rid of your friends, but you are not the same person once you give your life to Jesus. If there has been a change in your heart, it will show and they will see it. It will shine through your heart and into your character so that the world will see that there has been a change whether you tell anyone or not!

When your friends ask you what has happened to you? All that you have to say is that “I have met Jesus, and I am His and He is mine!” If they want to know more, well, bring them to church with you. Show them some things that you have learned in the Bible. If you don’t have the answers for them, call someone who does and let them answer their questions. Your life in Christ is your witness to the world, but only if you allow Him to change your heart and your life into a reflection of Him. If you decide that you want to go back to what you were doing before, then there may not have been a change. You may have felt an emotional high when you came down the aisle, but that could have been it.

Only God knows the condition of your heart, no one else can discern your spiritual condition except Him. Give your heart to Jesus and He will strengthen you and help you to do His will in your life because you can’t do it alone and you won’t unless you have Him there.

How can we know that we are saved?


Is it possible for us to really know that we are saved? According to the Bible and most preachers, yes it is possible for us to know for sure. How many people know for sure? There is no answer to this question because the relationship that you have or don’t have with God is your business and it is between you and Him. There is no foolproof way of knowing if someone is saved by talking with them or looking at them because we don’t look any different from the outside. The proof is on the inside and that is where God sees the change and knows that there has been a change. We see it from the outside by the lifestyle that the person leads or the changes in their lifestyle.

When there is a true spiritual change in your heart and your soul, then it will show by your character and the changes in that character. If you were a person who got drunk every weekend, like I did when I was young and foolish, and after you accept Jesus you don’t want to do that anymore then that is the first visible change in your life. The language that you used before may change immediately or gradually, but eventually it will change. People will notice these changes.

I am not saying that it is required of every person to go through these changes, but consider this: if you wouldn’t do certain things in front of your mother or grandmother, then you shouldn’t do them when you have given your life to Christ. Mainly because He and His spirit are with you constantly after you have accepted them into your life. So, they are with you no matter where you go or what you are doing or saying from that point on. Would you take your pastor to a strip club? If you wouldn’t then you shouldn’t be going either is the point I am making.

In the book of Romans, Paul wrote: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. Christ died for your sins and mine and everyone else on the planet, but He was raised to life everlasting on the third day. He did all that was necessary for us to become Christians, all that we have to do is believe in Him and ask Him into our hearts. Then, follow Him like the disciples did. Follow Him like many people follow their favorite singer or sports figure, but follow Him!

The change that comes into your life after receiving Christ is not immediate, but it is miraculous because you are not the same person that you were before and you can’t go back to the life that you had. Your life and your outlook on life is different, because your heart has changed. Once that has happened, everything that you are and everything that you do will reflect Christ to the rest of the world. You are responsible for your witness and everyone will be watching!

How does death affect you?


The life that each of us lives here is dependent upon the life that we are brought up in. How we are brought up by our parents or even the lack of parental figures can have a great impact on our life. But, what about our spiritual life? Our parents or grand-parents have a tremendous impact on how we view God or our belief in Him.

What about death? Does it have an effect on your life? It depends on who dies. If they are close to you like your father or mother, then yes it has a great impact on your life for years to come. Whether you admit it or not, it does have an impact on your life. Whether the death happens at a young age or if you are an adult also makes a difference.

What about your knowledge of their relationship with Jesus. Does that make a difference in how their death has an effect on you? For Christians, it does have a great impact because we have the hope of seeing them again in heaven one day. Then we will have an eternity to truly get to know them and understand them instead of the limited amount of time we have in this life.

Time, during our life on earth, takes away many joys of living because between our job and the things that have to be done for our children such as school, home-work, games, recitals, etc. all seem to get in the way. We do enjoy our children and being with them but wouldn’t it be better if we could get to know them individually, rather than watching them grow up in relation to other kids and their peers? I don’t mean to take their friends away or to school them at home (although that is what I do because I can’t afford the schools in our area), but to really get to know your children you have to spend time with them.

To get to know your friends, you have to spend time with them as well. “Facebook friends” are acquaintances, unless you live in a town that includes all of them and you take the time to get to know all of them! Many people could not know, really know, all of the people in their friend’s list. What about knowing Jesus? He is the most important friend that you can ever have and yet many just know about Him. They have heard about Him in church or from family, but they don’t know Him!

Death may not seem to have much in relation to knowing your friends or Jesus, but it does. Your friends’ death impacts your life. Your death will impact your family and your friends lives. If you are close friends, it will be a more profound impact. Just as the death of Lazarus had an impact on Jesus, it also had a profound impact on his sisters. When Jesus came to the tomb, “he wept” but He did not weep for Lazarus. He was weeping because of those who did not believe who He was, even after raising Lazarus from the dead.

Death is a great equalizer. No one can escape it and it comes to rich and poor, old and young, Communist or Democratic, and all continents and to those who believe in Christ and those who do not. Compared to eternity, which comes after death, our life is like a puff of smoke. I know that some may not believe that they have an eternal soul and I don’t have the proof to give you. But we will all find out about it after our death and our belief in eternity or not won’t change the reality that we will find ourselves in at that point.

Look for Jesus and salvation through belief in Him because eternity is a long time and I would rather meet you in Heaven than find out that you are in hell because of a decision not to come to know Him.

Do you know Jesus?


There are many in the world today who have either turned their back on Christ or they have never invited Him into their life in the first place. Many people live in areas where belief in Him would mean their death or imprisonment, but there are still followers of Christ there anyway. In my home country of the United States, there are many who are turning their back on religion, Christianity in particular and yet in other places in the world there are many who are embracing Jesus and the love that He offers them.

Why are there such divisions, so many who just turn away from Christ and from the way of life that He offers? It seems that there are so many choices, so many “ways” to serve a god and so many “gods”, how can this be? The trees and the fish cannot save you from going to hell. Your job, your spouse, your children or grand-children cannot save you, your grand-parents or your ancestors cannot save you either. What is the attraction to everything that is created, the creation instead of the Creator? Why can’t we realize that the One who Created it all is the One that we are to humble ourselves before?

The life that you have, and everything that is yours was given to each of us by God. We have these things because of Him, not because of something that we have done. Your job, your pay, your home, your family was given and provided for you by God because everything belongs to Him and always has. God’s Son, Jesus, came to give us a chance at being adopted into God’s family. All that we have to do is believe that He died for us and ask Him to come into our hearts.

When that happens, we change from the sinful people that we are into children of God. The transformation doesn’t give us the ability to be “gods”, it gives us the ability to come before Him and serve Him. I know that there are some people, in fact there are many people, who don’t like the idea of serving or being a servant. But, consider this, you and all of us were born as rebellious children. Our nature is that way from the time that we are small and only gets more so as we get older. Notice, I did not say “as we mature”, because we don’t mature until that side of our nature is either under the control of Jesus or by some force of our own will through meditation, martial arts or some other “mind over self” control.

When you have given your heart to Christ, He will come in and begin to clean things up, but this process is not immediate. Just as polishing a piece of brass takes time, so does our “clean up” take time. It may not be enjoyable and it likely won’t be fun but it is necessary. When you see an artist or a sculptor working on something whether it is a painting or a bowl, it doesn’t show up as a finished product immediately. It takes time. Just as when we pray for something like a healing in our family or a job, the answer doesn’t come the next day. It may not come for a week or two or maybe even a few months, but it will come in God’s time.

We have to understand this and at the beginning of our walk through life with Him, it is difficult. It is the most difficult lesson that we have to learn, but until we learn patience enough to wait on God and His answer, in His time, we will be frustrated and sometimes angry with Him. Asking for patience from God is a prayer which will be answered but you may not like the answer. Because in the cultivation of patience, God will try yours to the point of breaking. As the adage goes,”be careful what you ask for”!

God loves each of us far more than we can understand because He knew us before the foundation of the world. He could see into the future because He is outside of time itself and knows the beginning from the end. He knew then and knows now what you are doing and what you will do in the next second, the next minute, or hour or week or even the next decade if you have that long. He knows when you are going to die and the cause of your death, but He also when you will decide to give your life to Him or not. Nothing is a surprise to God!

The time and place of your birth, your life and your death are all known to God and have been known by Him since before the world began. Adam‘s sin the the Garden was known, Satan‘s rebellion against God was also known before it happened. God would not be God if He did not know these things, but He does. Give Him a chance in your heart and in your life before your life is over, because once you are before Him at your judgement it is too late. Your chance to come to Him is now during your life here, once the door to this life has closed and you stand before Him there is no second chance. Salvation is only a prayer away, just a few seconds of time to change your life forever. Think about it.

Jesus feeds us today


Feeding the five thousand

Matt. 14: 13 through 21

(paraphrased in my own words)

When Jesus heard of John the Baptist being beheaded, he departed into a deserted place. John was his cousin so naturally, it bothered Jesus that this should happen to him. While He was there, many people found out where He had gone and followed him on foot to be near him. When he became aware of them he had compassion on them because they were far from home and he healed the sick that they had brought with them.

Afterward, toward evening, his disciples came to him saying for him to send them away so that they could get something to eat. Jesus said “they need not depart; give them something to eat”. What do you think Jesus was trying to do at this point? Have you any idea?

He was trying to get them to exercise their faith in Him. They told him that they had five loaves and two fishes. The multitude numbered about five thousand men not counting women and children and yet he told them to sit in groups of fifty and an hundred. Then He blessed the food and brake the loaves and fishes and gave them to his disciples to distribute. They all ate their fill and had twelve baskets left over.

What was shown during this feast? The power of God and His Son to be sure but what else? The power of faith in Him. If the disciples had not had faith in Jesus when He gave them the pieces of fish and bread, would they have distributed it as he had told them to? I don’t think so. Their faith was rewarded with substance, just as ours is today. When we have faith in the prayers that we pray and the outcome of those prayers, then the result with be answered prayers.

When Jesus came into history and chose His disciples we began to learn about Him and the Father because they wrote down their experiences with Him and what He said and did. Jesus and His Father worked together and that they loved all of us, not just one people. We learned by Jesus’ words and His work that He wants all of us to come to Him. Many people look at this and say that we are to be slaves to Jesus. Is that actually so bad? Considering that He will reward us with eternity in Heaven, is that so bad?

Granted, God may not answer our prayers in the way that we want Him to but they will be answered.

Can we have faith as they did when they were with Jesus? Yes, we can because we have the testimony of the Bible to bolster our faith. Many people today think that the bible is outdated and useless for the twenty-first century but God can see the time we live in and beyond so His Word and the promises contained within it is never outdated.

We, on the other hand, have our own agenda. We gravitate toward discounting the Word of God and not give it the power that it actually has. Is it possible that we don’t look at God the way that He is portrayed in the Bible? Why would we do such a thing? God created all that is around us, for our benefit and for His Glory. He created us the way we are, warts and all, to reflect His glory so that others will see what we have in Christ and want it too.

Do you look at the bible as being an old book full of children’s stories but not something that we should not pay attention to today? God revealed Himself to Israel through His prophets and they wrote down the words that He gave them to say and to write down. In those writings, we can learn who He is and we can learn about Him. We can learn what He wants of us today, not just Israel. How we are to treat others, how He will treat us, how much He loves us.

Some religions today say that we can be gods. Can you, by willing it, be any taller or slimmer than you are? I know we wish we could at times, but we can’t. Our Creator, Jesus, loves and cares for each of us. Right down to the last hair on our heads. How can you possibly understand a love like that? It is hard for anyone to understand it, but He does. He and the Father have loved all of us since the beginning, long before we were born because God sees the end from the beginning. Time was created by Him and yet He is outside of time. We cannot understand the concept of this, but it is true.

The universe was put together by Him for us so that we could see His majesty and power, even if we never heard a sermon preached. Nature cries out that the Creator is here! He has been from the beginning. The smallest life-form is perfect in its ways because He made it so, not because of some accident.

We cannot make it without Him. He is the One who sustains us, protects us, gives us our faith and our courage for everyday living. Oh, we can pridefully do it on our own for a while but what happens when the really bad stuff happens and our way just doesn’t cut it anymore?

What about the times that we have lost someone dear to us or they have been diagnosed with cancer that is inoperable? Can you hold up to that on your own strength? Maybe for a while, but eventually your strength will fail, then where will you turn? To what or who will you turn to? If you don’t know Jesus, will you blame Him or God for all the bad things? Many people do, which is exactly what Satan wants us to do.

The provision that Christ showed to the five thousand, He will give to us if we only turn to Him. Whether we turn in our hour of greatest need or we turn because we are drawn to Him by the Spirit. He loves us, which is why we are all still here to begin with. If it were not for the love that God has for us and the mercy that He bestows on us daily, the world would have ended years ago. We might never have been born, but God knew that we would because He has a purpose for each of us. That is why the mouth of hell is not yawning beneath us, because of His pleasure and His mercy toward us and those who have not accepted Jesus yet.

We are loved by the Creator! The One Who put all of this together perfectly so that we could see its majesty and His Glory! Can we comprehend a love like that? I can’t and I would imagine that you can’t either! Almighty God, His Son and the Holy Spirit did an awesome work in this universe and man cannot fathom why we are special enough to be the only life here. In reality, we may not be or God may have something else in mind, who knows? Only God Himself knows why He did what He did.

The love and mercy of Jesus, His compassion toward the people that He fed and healed and toward us, is what is keeping hell and the end of the world at bay and Satan too. What will you do when the time comes that Satan’s wrath comes to earth? If you are still here, who will you turn to?

Jesus is the only way to eternity, regardless of the promises you may hear from any “false Christ”. The end of our life is only a heart beat away or one more breath away, what will you do about Jesus? You don’t know when your life could end. It might end tonight or tomorrow. I may not make it home, but I will be with Jesus. Some might ask me: “How do you know that you will go to heaven?” Because the Spirit within my heart gives me peace in the knowledge that I am His. Are you?

Why all the hostility toward the Bible?


The main reason for all of the hostility toward God‘s Word is because of its claims to the Truth. The Bible is an old book and today, many people look at it as such. Why should I read something which was written over two thousand years ago? It was written as our hand-book for life, that is why. True, it was written for the Jewish people to begin with, but when Jesus came and the New Covenant was established in His sacrifice for all of mankind it became everyone’s book!

Jesus said that “I am the way, the truth and the life. He that comes to Me will have everlasting life“; I paraphrased that but those words were spoken by Him for us today, now! The time is growing short, much shorter than it has been since He went to His Father and He said that He would return and He will, soon. No one knows the day or the hour but with the world on the brink of what the Bible calls the end times.

There is hope for each of us if we will give our lives to Christ and ask Him to come into our hearts. This web address is very helpful in answering your questions and pointing you in the direction that you need to go: http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/.

The world and those who are in the world, at times, cannot see or understand God’s Word. If you have not given your life to Jesus, think about it, pray about it. It is not a weakness to ask Him into your life because being a Christian is sometimes one of the hardest things to do.

I know that many people see it as being weak and some even view Christians as people who have their screws loose. That is not the case but the secular world doesn’t recognize the wisdom which is contained in God’s Word. Even the Bible says that the world sees God’s wisdom as foolishness.

Regardless of the message that other religions give, Jesus is the only way to heaven and eternal life. Can you come to Him by any other way than accepting Jesus as your Savior? No, the only way to know that you are saved from your sins is by repenting (turning around/away from) of them and asking Jesus for forgiveness and asking Him to come into your heart and change you into the person that you were meant to be.

The ruler of this world, Satan, doesn’t want you to come to Jesus or the knowledge that you can change your life by coming to Him. He will do anything to keep you from this because he hates you and God! Pride can get in the way of your salvation too. There are many things of this world that can keep us from turning to God, but your heart knows where to turn when there is nowhere else to go. Give your life to Jesus and your life will never be the same, it will be better!