Tag: Christ

What will you do with Jesus?


After you have asked Him to come into your life, what then? Can you just go back to being the same person you have always been?

If there was true repentance and acceptance of His Lordship over your life, it is not possible for you to return to your old life and habits. Your heart and your Spirit won’t let you and your conscience won’t allow it either.

Can you ignore the prompting of the Spirit and your conscience and return to your old life? Yes, you can and each time you ignore the prompting of the Spirit, it will become easier and easier until you quench the Spirit entirely. Then you will be just another hypocrite who said they got saved and then turned away from it.

Will you feel good about doing so? At first you won’t, but eventually that small voice in your heart will go silent. Like ignoring your wife or your parents, it becomes easier with time until one day you don’t notice it at all.

Satan loves it when a “Christian” returns to their old ways because he has been watching you closely and so have your friends. If this was genuine, true repentance you wouldn’t turn away like Lot’s wife did. Why does this happen? In our society today people look for easy ways to get their way or what they want.

This has been happening ever since humans have been on the planet, so it is nothing new. Society hasn’t changed all that much in the thousands of years that we have been here. The facts speak to us from the pages of the Bible.

When they were in the wilderness and thought that Moses had died while talking to God, they begged Aaron to make them a god like the gods of Egypt. The Israelites wanted a god they could see and touch in the wilderness, even though they had seen the miracles that were wrought by God to bring them out of Egypt.

Then when they were in Canaan, they did not do as God had told them and they intermingled with some of the inhabitants of the land. Eventually, they began worshiping their gods and doing the detestable things that the Canaanites did, like sacrificing their children to a piece of wood or stone.

Our so-called modern society isn’t much different. We work more hours than our fore-fathers did, sacrificing our family life and our relationships with our children in the process in order to have “stuff” like everyone else. Our neighbors buy a new car or truck, so we think we have to have one as good or better. Your child comes home and tells you that Jordan or Sarah has this kind of game or toy, so you go get then one just like it.

Why? Why do we have to do or be like everyone else in the world when our Lord said that we were to be in the world but not of the world? This is not in the Bible word for word, but He meant that we are no longer ruled by sin which is of the world. When we come to Him and give our heart to Him, we are His and to be that which He wants us to be we have to be different. Different in ways that the world can see and therefore want to have. But, it is striving each day that makes us this way because the temptations are there every day. As children we may not see it as much as adults do, but the world, Egypt, whatever you call it is there and the ruler of our sinful world is Satan.

Satan and his fallen angels are real, whether we can see them or not and they rule over this world by tempting us and causing us to fall from the grace which we have been granted through Jesus. Some might ask, “Will I lose my salvation because of this?”. Losing your salvation is not possible in a real sense, except when you walk away from it yourself. Your witness to others will be affected because they might see that your life changed and then when you walk away from it for some reason they question if you were saved to begin with.

A person who has truly given their life and heart to Christ cannot just walk away from it because you have been changed from the inside out. If that change never really took place, if you never truly gave your heart to Him who sacrificed everything, then you never belonged to Him in the first place. Churches are full of people who think that they are Christians because they are in church and have belonged to it for a long time. They tithe, they volunteer for projects and help in the church, some may be deacons or even lay ministers. You can do most or all of these things in the church under your own strength and still not be a true Christian!

The ones you know that are easily identified as Christians, may not have Christ at all. True Christians, those who have Him in their life and in their heart, are humble and are usually behind the scenes. Not all of them are this way, but many are. Their life reflects the humility of Christ and His way of serving. Many so-called “upstanding pillars” are more like the priest who told God how great he was and that he was glad that he was not like the sinner who was in the temple with him.

As Jesus’ story illustrated, the person who went away justified was the sinner because he acknowledged that he was a sinner and asked forgiveness for it.

The priest only magnified himself in the eyes of those who may have heart him, not in the eyes of God. Pride was the sin he was guilty of that day and he didn’t even acknowledge his sinfulness.

God knows your heart, so bare it to Him. Ask Him to show you how to be His, ask Him to help you be the vessel that He knows that you can be. He will give you the strength and the wisdom from His word, the Bible so don’t neglect the reading of it. Even a few minutes each day can make a big impact in your walk with Him and in your service to Him.

God, the Creator of everything, is waiting for you to answer His calling on your life. We are important to Him, He cares for us and wants us to know it and to show it to others by allowing others to see what He has done in our life.

Through modeling and reflecting Jesus’ character by what we do and say everyday, we magnify God to the world. Isn’t that an awesome and humbling responsibility? Think about that as you go through this week.

 

The Apocalypse of 2012?


In reference to the end of the Aztec calendar, maybe but not likely the end of the world as we know it. At least not yet! Nobody knows when the world will come to its end but the alignment of planets with the center of the galaxy won’t bring it about.

The end of the world as foretold in the Bible is also in our future and it is foretold in the Koran as well but trying to cause it to happen will not work. Praying that it will end tomorrow or the day after that won’t work either. It will be when it will be and nothing that we or anyone in the world does will cause it to begin sooner.

God can and does see the end from the beginning so only He knows when the end will come. The book of Revelation tells about many things which will happen at that time but the timing of the 70th week of Daniel is up to God and no one else.

The world and many people around the world are expecting something to happen this year. Something may happen, but we don’t know what or when because only God knows that. If there is a person who comes on television or the Internet and says that the world will end on such and such day, don’t believe them.

The future of our world is in God’s hands but Satan is in control on earth, at least as far as God will allow him to be. We have more to fear from those who hate Israel and Christians than we do from the doom-sayers that are pointing to global warming and the other possible scenarios that some say “may happen” this year.

A revival in this country and in the world itself should be our priority right now. Make sure that your heart belongs to Jesus because in the end, whenever it comes, eternity will depend on that one decision alone! Search the Bible, ask God to show you His wisdom and open your mind and heart to the Truth that is in the scriptures. He will never abandon you or forsake you but you have to be willing to ask Him to come into your life. He will not force you to do anything, it is your decision alone so make the one that will benefit you rather than condemn you.

God doesn’t want anyone to perish apart from Him but if you choose to go through life without making the choice to accept Jesus as your Savior, you will. It doesn’t matter if you were raised in a Christian, church-attending family because association doesn’t mean anything unless your heart has been changed and filled with the Love of Christ. Many people who have filled pews in churches will be in hell because of that one decision that they failed to make because they thought they were religious enough the get into Heaven.

That is the biggest lie ever to come from Satan…the one that says “all I have to do is join the church and I will have my “fire-insurance”!” Religion doesn’t save your soul, regardless of which religion it is. The worst disaster in history won’t hold a candle to the time of Tribulation that is coming. No amount of religion will save anyone from that time, only by accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior will you be able to stand in that day! I don’t know when that time will come, no one does, but it is not far off. Your personal meeting with God could be tomorrow since we are not guaranteed any number of days or years, so don’t put it off any longer. I pray that everyone who reads this will pray and read the Bible in order to at least have an idea what they need to do.

Politically correct or in denial?


Many in our society today cling to the “politically correct” way of relating to one another, especially during the holidays. Which is fine but it is not what we have traditionally done in the past. The politically correct way or PC for short has only been around for a few years and in limited circles, particularly politics and not in the general publics view.

Being PC about everything is wrong because it is not following the wisdom found in God‘s Word. Today, this would put any reference to Christmas, the Nativity, God, or Jesus out of bounds and that is the way many would like it to be. Why is that? The majority of people in the world believe in God or Allah so why does the minority get the most votes because they don’t want to hear about Him, especially in reference to the Christian view of Jesus or God or the Bible.

Almost any other view is fine except for Christianity. Is it because of fear or anger or hatred toward Christians? I believe so but it is also due to the Bible being viewed as God’s Word and therefore it is correct in its wisdom and in its laws. The behavior and humility set forth in it are at odds with many world-views.

Many are in denial about the facts that have been proven true throughout the Bible and they want to disprove, in any way that they can , what the Bible says. Especially when it shows that they are wrong about their lifestyle choices or about who they worship.

We were created by God to have free will to choose to follow Him or not. But, we also resent being told that the choice that we may make is wrong if it doesn’t follow Him and the wisdom found in His Word. The choice that you make is an eternal one, our souls do not die or come back in another life, we are accountable to God for the choice that we make and you will give an account of that choice when your time comes. Unfortunately, many will realize too late that their choice was incorrect and at that point it will be too late.

God doesn’t condemn you to hell, your choice about Who you will serve does. If you choose to do what makes you feel good and neglect or disregard what you have heard in church or on the radio or even by television ministries, that is your choice. The majesty of God’s creation is all around us and the miracles of birth and rejuvenation in the springtime are there for all to see because He set them in motion a long time ago. God loves us so much that He put on humanity in the form of a baby and came to ransom our sinful ways so that we can ask forgiveness and believe that He did just that. Once you accept the gift of His grace and love for you, your life will be changed and nothing will ever be the same.

Come to the Christ and ask Him into your life. You won’t be disappointed because He knows who you are, He is just waiting to show you who you can be!

The most needed book in the world….the Bible


The Bible is the Word of God given to men by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit and Jesus is the manifestation in the flesh of that Word. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How can we just ignore Him or tolerate His presence when the glory of His majesty is shown to the whole world every day and every night?

The world has been pushing God and His Word away for a long time although lately, it seems that no one is paying attention at all. I am sure that Satan enjoys seeing this because it is what he has been counting on all along. Eventually humanity will turn away from God, but God has never turned away from us.

God’s Word, the Bible, is the most inspired book in existence. It is also the only one that gives us hope and purpose and direction for our lives, but the wisdom contained within it must be followed and learned by the reader. If we won’t do that, then it is just another book on a shelf.

For the Bible to be of any real value to the one who reads it, it must actually function the way it was intended and shape how we think, feel and act as well as shaping our beliefs, our values and the truths that we teach others. If we don’t allow the wisdom of God‘s Word to penetrate our mind and our heart and to shape our character, its value is diminished to nothing. The Bible has many things to say to many people today.

It is not old, even though most of it was written over two thousand years ago.
The messages contained within it are fresh because the Word is alive and the wisdom is from God. Each person that reads the Bible gets a different message, especially if you pray for God to reveal His wisdom to you through His Word! There are many people who need what the Bible has to offer and yet some refuse to take advantage of it.

If you read the words of the Bible and notice the wisdom contained within it, much of it parallels the so-called “self-help” books which are on the best seller lists. They may use different words for modern language and reference things which a modern audience can relate to but the wisdom hasn’t changed. That wisdom came from God no matter who is getting the credit for it.

We are into being politically correct these days and the Bible was not, which is why it is attacked as much as it is. That is also the reason that Christians are ridiculed and hated as much as we are. Our faith and our religion is not an all-inclusive religion or one which allows anything but what our Lord expects in His Word. God said, “Be Holy because I am Holy”, which we can only do through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us which we receive when we become Christians and ask Him into our lives.

That doesn’t mean that we are perfect, sinless people after becoming a Christian, far from it! We are still human and not God, nor will we become gods as some religions profess. We will rule with Christ one day, but not today, and then only if we have been faithful to Him and the calling that was placed on our lives. Give the Word of God a chance. Read it, ask questions about it, pray about it while you read it…these are the only ways that it will finally make sense and give you a sense of peace about your life and what God says in it and about you.

Can we do without Christ?


In my opinion, NO! I know that many would disagree. Many people try to live their lives without Christ and that’s OK but what will you do if the God‘s Word is true?

I have seen discussions about a world without Christ describing or attempting to describe how we would be better off without Him. How could that be possible?

If He had not come into the world there would be no Christian religion, no church unless the Catholic faith could come up with something else to worship, no love for anyone, no freedom. All of these things would be changed and hundreds more if He had not come. There would be no hope in our world, no thought of an eternal life with God in Heaven. Living like that would be unimaginable to me and to many others.

I know from the news media that there are many atheists, agnostics, and other religious or non-religious people who would like to see any reference to God or Jesus eradicated from our world or at least out of sight. How do you think this makes God feel toward us? How would you feel if someone that you love were continually telling you to leave and get out of my life? Don’t bother me anymore unless I need you. What would you do?

Thankfully, God’s patience is deeper than the ocean and wider too. If it were not, our world would already be experiencing judgement from an angry God. Some of you may remember a show called the Hulk on television. When the principle character was being pushed by someone he would usually tell them, “Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I get angry.”

What about the Creator of the universe? He could wipe out the earth with a thought if He wished, but He won’t because of the promises that He made to the Jewish people. Our world is under the rule of Satan and his followers, whether we believe in him or not. We will be better off when we wake up and see the problems that we have are not caused by God or Allah or any other deity but by Satan himself who is not a god but a created being just like the angels of God.

The problems that we have in our lives are also caused by our own choices, right or wrong, good or bad. When we make choices based on our own thinking rather than asking God to help us, we open our lives, and the lives of those around us, up to the consequences of those choices. God wants to be involved in your life daily, He doesn’t want to control it but if you give your heart to Him you will change and the life that you live will be in line with Him and in His will if you allow it.

We are never forced into a relationship with Him and even when we accept Him as our Savior we have to initiate the daily walk with Him. We are not forced to do it. So to answer the question posed in the title, yes we can live without Christ but it will be an existence it will not be living. If you never ask Him to come into your heart and life, the consequences for eternity will not be fun the way some try to make you believe they will. Eternity is a long, long time so I think I would rather be counted among those living in Heaven with Him than with those in Hell without Him.

Why do we abandon our search during the holidays?


I have noticed that on the blogs that I have the testimony of God, the traffic seems to dry up around the holidays. I realize that we are more busy during this time with many things to do but the reason for our thankfulness and for the season itself is God and the Savior, Jesus Christ!

Our thankfulness and being thankful to our Creator just for giving us life and the blessing of living it is what we truly need to be celebrating during this time! Not the football games, or the turkey and dressing or eating too much, but the risen Savior who came to save us from our own nature! God loves each and every one of us more than we can imagine and He wants the best for all of us. Unfortunately, Satan, hates mankind because we are loved by God and he only wants to make our lives as miserable as he can. If that means killing us or one of our family, he will make it happen. If it means causing some illness that will cause us to question God’s purpose, he will do that too!

We are not without hope though because our Savior, Jesus Christ, has overcome Satan and made a way for each of us to come to Him with no strings attached. All we have to do is come to Him and ask that He come into our lives and our hearts. Once we believe in Him and His saving grace that has been paid for through His sacrifice, we are His! Then the fun begins!

Our changed heart and nature will cause us to want to serve Him in whatever way we are able. If we can teach, then as a teacher. If we are able to be a missionary so someone can learn of Christ through us, then that is our calling too. Whatever your job is in life, be the Christian that you are in that job so others can see Jesus in you and through your life. That is all that we are required to be is a reflection of Him! He has already done the hard part and all we have to do is let people see it in our life–see Him in our life!

Our search for meaning and purpose is not hard once we realize what we were created for and by whom we were created. He is the only one who can re-create your heart and your life from being a sinner in a sin-sick world to being an evangelist to the world. Some of you may become even greater than other well known evangelists of our time but only if you preach and teach the gospel of Christ and His crucifixion for our sins. At one time I was like Moses, I did not want to be or do anything that God was calling me to do. Especially if it had anything to do with being a teacher or a preacher!

God changed my heart and my attitude toward doing what He wanted me to do and He can give you a peace about your troubles that will enable you to be His servant as well. You have nothing to lose from giving your heart to Him and only eternity to gain. How could anyone argue against that!

Pondering Scripture


2 Chronicles 7:14 says: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

In the scripture above, the Lord gives a number of conditions for our healing. We must humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and repent from our ways in order to be forgiven and receive our blessing, is that right? It was in the day that God said this to the Israelites and to some extent, it is today as well. We still have to humble ourselves and seek Him and pray and repent of our sinful ways, but the forgiveness has been paid for by Jesus on the cross.

What else can we do? Do we have to do anything to be forgiven? Mainly, we have to seek Him and ask for our forgiveness, but the seeking needs to be done daily, not weekly or only when we think we need Him!

Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

Do we offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice to Him daily? That is how we are supposed to start the day, giving it and ourselves to God’s service. It is only right that we do this because of the sacrifice made on our behalf. Even though, we aren’t required to do anything, we should because we belong to Him! We were bought at the price of the Savior’s life and we owe Him our lives and more but our life is all that we have to give if it is given willingly and with a humble spirit.

Are we His? Do you know His purpose for you?

These are questions which many people in history have asked and many are still asking today. Yet, few are finding the answers that they seek. Why is that do you think? Is it because the answer can’t be found? Of course not! It is there, in front of us every day and yet many people do not find it because they are looking for something else.

When we read the Bible, we are supposed to be praying about what we are reading so that God can reveal His wisdom from the Word to us. I admit that I don’t do this all the time, but that is how we are to know the mind of God, at least as much as we can know Him as we are now.

In Jeremiah 29:12-13: “Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” When we seek Him with all of our heart, He hears us and responds to our prayers. If our heart isn’t in it, He knows.

Our life in Him can be awakened by our attitude toward our service to Him. With God, attitude is everything because it shows what is in your heart and soul. It proves what kind of change has been wrought in your innermost being or even if there has been a change!

That is why Jesus said in John 14:14-16: “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth.”

There are those in ministry today that are saying that this is the way to prosperity. God only gives you what you ask if it is in His will for you. He is not a rich grandfather who hands out goodies when we ask for them! Many people would like for that to happen, but that is now how our relationship with Him works.

We are to be reflections of Jesus’ character and show the world what He has done for us and what He has in store for them, if they will only come to Him and lay their lives down for Him. For many people the thought of giving your life to Jesus is just too much, although I am not sure why. The fact that Jesus gave His life for all of us before we were ever born speaks volumes toward the character and the foreknowledge He had pertaining to us. Why can’t we, at the very least, give our lives to Him and His service so that His sacrifice was not in vain?

When we spend time with God and His Word, we are in contact with our Creator and our Redeemer. What more could we need? Our walk with Him will be sweeter and any temptation that comes our way can be pushed aside with scriptures that we have taken into our mind and our heart. The Spirit Himself can bring them to mind whenever you see or hear something which might cause you to stumble if it weren’t for the Word and its wisdom.

Our world and each of us in it needs that wisdom to carry us through the struggles that we face, but God gives us hope and strength through His Word to be able to handle whatever life puts in our path.

Can we be the children that God wants us to be? Not on our own or by our own strength, but with His strength and His wisdom by reading and studying His Word, we can be true ambassadors to the world for Christ. Our world, our country needs Him today—now, as we are getting closer to the time of reckoning for this world and its ruler. I pray that each of you will search your hearts and decide for yourself if you will follow Him daily from now on.

If we don’t, our way of life and our eternal life hangs in the balance by a very thin thread. Can you look around you and consider facing eternity without those that you love and hold dear? I can’t.

 

Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?


Many of the disciples were followers of Jesus and the Word confirms that there were at one time or another about seventy of them. Were they fans or followers or true disciples?

Those who fall into one category or the other out of those three show three different levels of commitment. The fans of Jesus and his teachings were the ones who were with Him daily and tried to understand His teachings. The followers were the crowds which went with Him hoping for a miracle or some food or both!

His true disciples were the ones who went out and preached the Word and the good News of redemption through belief in Jesus and the Father Who sent Him. In the book of Jeremiah, there are a few verses which illustrate what following means, it is in chapter 6 and verse 16: “Thus says the LORD, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls.” Even though it says that, at the time, the Israelites said to him that they would not walk in it.

There are many who find the right path but for one reason or another, they decide not to walk in that path. Some reasons that I have heard are “it is too hard”; “I don’t want to right now, I am having too much fun”; “Following Jesus requires too much time and effort”. If that were the real reason, no one would ever follow Him.

How can we follow Him and be a disciple of His instead of a fan or a follower for our own reasons? In today’s language being a follower could mean that you know about Jesus and everything that He did. You have been to church, you have listened to sermons and even read some scripture about Him, but do you follow Him?

Are you classified as a fan of Jesus? Fans know their teams and the stats well. They know about all the things that their favorite team does and each team member and their statistics. Some might be able to tell you how many children some of the team members have who are married. In reference to football fans, they can tell you everything that each player did in college and in their rookie season. But what happens when your favorite team starts to lose or has a losing season. If they have a losing season or two, their fans tend to trickle away and lose some enthusiasm for them.

What happens when life gets a little tough, do you fall away or do you cling to Jesus? What do you do if the road that your life with Christ is following gets a bit bumpy or hard like a mountain trail? Do you feel the need to get off? Our trail that we are following is not easy because Jesus said that He did not come to make things easy but that He would ease your burden by taking the weight of sin off of your shoulders. He did not say that you wouldn’t sin but that you would not be tempted beyond what you are able to bear.

How many fans get to play in the Super Bowl? (Answer: none) What about true followers, do they get to play in games like that? No, because they are not players or professional football/baseball players, they religiously follow the game and its players but they can’t play.

What about Christians? Do we get to play? Let’s look at what it takes to be in the game as a true follower of Jesus: 1. I have given my heart to Jesus; 2. I read my Bible daily and study it, praying over the passages so that I can understand; 3. I pray about little things in my life as well as BIG things so that God knows my heart in these matters; 4. I ask God to help me to understand and know what He wants me to do with my life after He has changed it and decide to live my life for Him from that point on.

The problem is that there are many people who are in church and have been in church for many years and yet are still “fans” and not followers. Even though they do many of the things which followers do, their hearts are still “far from me” as Jesus said. How can we get back from that far country to the place where we belong?

The only way to get back from that far country is to humble ourselves and admit that we need to get back in the first place! Once we do that, we can become followers of Jesus and our new life will keep us in that place close to Him. Then our lives will be even more useful and productive, not only for God’s kingdom but for our own walk with Him daily as well.

In many ways, our lives are mirror images of the world in which we live. Some of us live in the world and have very little to do with church and its doctrine which is preached there. Even if we come to church, there are things which are said there that we don’t agree with so we tune them out entirely.

When we look forward toward the years that we each have left or think that we have, what do we see? Do we see a life full of promise like we did when we were young? Or do we see the end of our lives approaching and decide to wind down like a toy and “take it easy for a while”?

We were not made to “wind down”; our lives are to be useful to Him regardless of our age or our point in life. He decides when our time comes to “wind down” from this life, but that still doesn’t mean that our life will end. You have an appointment with eternity and where that appointment takes you is your choice.

The narrow road following Christ will lead to eternal life and service to Him that will never be boring, the broad road leads to destruction. On which road will you be when it is time to meet Jesus?

Are you a true follower of Jesus?


I have been reading a book called “Not a fan“, and I can see that many of us are in the fan category, regardless of how long we may have been in church. Is it possible that our pastors haven’t taught the correct sermons about being a true follower or disciple of Jesus? I have included a link to the book mentioned and I hope that you may read it because it brings out many points that we need to address in our lives as followers of Christ.

Many of the people who followed Jesus around in His day were only fans because they were following Him for a healing or for food, and not for His teachings. When His teaching became a bit hard for them to take, many of them abandoned Him. There are many in churches today who are in the same place as those who were only fans of Jesus. They may have been in the church for many years, they can quote scripture chapter and verse about Him but they don’t know Him!

Is it possible that in being politically correct in our teaching, we have neglected the truth of the gospel itself? I am afraid that many pastors, me included, may have done so. I am pledging that I am no longer doing that from this point on. In our society today with all of its problems and time-crunched families we cannot be without Him!

Time, that many young people think that they have plenty of, is a precious commodity which we truly don’t have much of to spend with our families. There are many in our society today, especially school children, who have so much to do until they are feeling stress at a younger and younger age. When they are stressed, mom and dad are too. The entire family suffers because of it, but Christ came that we could live our lives more abundantly through Him.

Knowing about Jesus is easy, all you have to do is read your Bible. Christ or a representation of Him is there from Genesis to Revelation. But, knowing about Him is not enough, we must not be just fans of Jesus and His teachings we must be followers! Live for Christ daily, walk with Him, talk to Him and listen because He will speak to you too.

What can we do?


We can do nothing without Christ. Oh, we can go to work and make breakfast and all the other things which our world regards as living our life but without Christ nothing that we do really matters. If we do it under our own power and our own merit, it will not last. The Bible says that man’s ways are as filthy rags and that at the end of the age anything that is not done for Christ and His Kingdom will be tested by fire. If it is found to be worthy, it will go through the fire and show its worth, but if it was something done in our own power to be seen of men and without His strength behind it, it will burn up like the dried grass in a field.

In the book of James it says: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (James 1:19–20)

We have to listen to the Word of God because if we don’t, our life and the consequences of it will mean nothing. The wisdom contained in the Bible is the only wisdom that we need in this life. All of the self help books out there are good but when you compare their “so-called wisdom” to that found in the Word, it seems that their wisdom is not new or different at all. They may have worded it differently or made it more politically correct for today’s audience but the true wisdom found in God’s Word always shines through, even when someone dresses it up to look like it didn’t come from God.

In 1 Corinthians we read: “If any man be in Christ [Jesus], he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Now if your religion hasn’t changed your life, you’d better change your religion, this is just the cold hard truth. Religion has caused more pain and heartache in this world than most anything else. It has been the cause behind many wars and atrocities that mankind has done and I admit that, but it was due to the warped nature of man. People have done many things, terrible things in the name of religion and from a sense of being superior because of their religion. Only Christ and the truth in God’s Word can change a person to the point of being a new person. Religion cannot because you can be religious about going to work or to the bar down the street. Being religious doesn’t help anyone, unless you are being religious about reading God’s Word and abiding in Him.

That is the only thing that we can do which will matter in this world and have lasting effects in the next world which we will live in if we belong to Him. God loves you all and wants all to come to Him. Hell was not created for mankind, it was created for Satan and his demons but men will be cast into it if they don’t choose to follow Jesus. It is your choice whether you go to hell or not, God doesn’t send you there. You do by your own choice to follow Jesus or not. Don’t fall in with the one’s who choose not to follow Him.