Tag: Christian

What is the difference between religion and Christianity?


There are thousands of religions in the world, but there is only one Christianity. Religion from a Christian perspective and viewpoint depends upon the doctrine that you hold to, whether it is Mormon, Baptist, Methodist, Protestant, Episcopal, or Catholic or any number of other doctrines in the world. Religion can be anything that you might want to worship and there are enough religions in the world to prove that, and yet other than Christianity none of them have a living Savior! Their founders are dead or imagined, made up in the minds of men, and yet each of those religions may have thousands or millions of followers, some may have billions of followers. The point that I am making is this…has anyone thought about which way, which path or road should you be following?

I am not trying to cause any more divisions between churches or denominations. What I am trying to point out is that true Christians are in all denominations, Christian denominations. There are also many who believe that they are Christians when their heart and their life doesn’t show it.

Here is a graphic which shows how much the world’s beliefs have changed in the past one hundred years or so: christianity-graphic-01

In 1910, America had 27.1 percent of the world’s Christians while Europe had over sixty-five percent. In 2010, the percentage in America has grown as well as other parts of the world, while the Christian population of Europe has shrunk to 25.9 percent. In the same amount of time, other religions have taken hold in many parts of the world which were Christian at one time. This graphic is seen more clearly if you open it in a new tab of your browser. The point that I am making is that our world is changing rapidly, especially when you consider cultures and their religions. Many things have happened in our world to cause this such as airline travel and other technological advances. The point is that there are more people claiming to be Christians but there are also more people who claim to adhere to other religions or even no religion at all.

What can be done about this situation? If you can evangelize those who have not chosen a religion or a belief, great. But many people who have chosen or may not have chosen, don’t want to be bothered by us or the religion that we represent at all! They don’t want to hear it and have closed their minds and hearts to anything that might point them in the direction of salvation.

It wouldn’t matter if you were the greatest evangelist in the world for some people, they have their minds made up and nobody is going to change their view except God Himself! If God has determined that they are going to be used by Him for some purpose, then He will get their attention eventually.What about those who are modern day Pharisees? They see themselves as Christians and don’t believe that they need salvation but are not followers of Jesus. I am not trying to be a judge of their faith, but if the fruit is not visible in their lives, then what are they?

Usually their reasons go something like this: “I have always been a member of this church, since my youth. I have served as a teacher in Sunday school and on various committees in the church as well as giving my tithes on a regular basis. How dare you question my faith!” Well, as a comical story I heard once went, “I could live in a garage all of my life but I still wouldn’t have four wheels and an engine!” You do not become something or absorb a faith and live it just because you have been exposed to it for many years! The messages that you have heard over the years may have been good, but they did not penetrate the soil of your heart and take root there!

We are accountable to God for the light that we have heard and read and lived by whether we have taken it into our heart and our life or not.Because of this there will be many who will be astonished on that day when Christ says, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Don’t let that day be the day that you hear those words, give your heart to Jesus while there is life in your body so that you can serve Him until He calls you home! Then you will hear something like: “Welcome home, good and faithful servant!”

Are you accountable for you?


There are so many opinions on accountability in the news and social media today until I was wondering if we as a nation and as individuals are accountable for our actions? Does anyone really take responsibility for the things that they say or do, whether on line or in person? I would say that many people don’t or wouldn’t take responsibility for their words or actions if someone brought it to their attention. Many people would get upset and voice that “You are judging me!” or “It’s none of your business so leave me alone!”; isn’t it possible that we are all like that in one way or another?

Will we take responsibility for our own lives? Sometimes we will, if we get caught or if what we have said or done has caused enough heartache and anguish that we feel the weight of responsibility on us. But, what if we don’t? What if it doesn’t bother us? If you call yourself a Christian and think that you belong to Jesus, then you might want to check again! Because, if you have said something or have done something that you wouldn’t do while Jesus was standing next to you, then you may need to fall to your knees and ask Him to come into your life for the first time! See, thinking that you are a Christian, believing that you are a Christian doesn’t make you a Christian!

You may have grown up in the church, regardless of the denomination, by going with your parents whenever they went but going to church, reading your scriptures, singing hymns, getting baptized in one form or another doesn’t make you a Christian!

The only thing that can change your life is Jesus and belief in His atonement for your sins! Asking Him into your heart will begin that transformation, but to complete it you need to walk with Him by learning about Him through God‘s Word. You need to get to know Him by learning about Him and Who He is, just as people who are fans of certain athletes get to “know” their favorites! Now, I am not saying that you should be a fan of Jesus, what I am saying is that you need to be a follower of Jesus! He is the only way to Heaven and all of these other so-called “paths” to heaven are just trails which will eventually lead you to hell! They all combine into a road which is wide and crowded because there are so many people who have been fooled into thinking that their little “religion” is the only way, and yet they will find that their “way” is the wrong one! But by the time that they do, it may be too late to change their mind or their life!

Christianity is called a “religion of blood” and it is called a “religion of intolerance”, but what about those religions which are so rigid that any doubt or straying from the faith might get you killed? Sounds sort of intolerant to me, but that is not Christianity. People don’t like the fact that our religion has as its hero, a man who gave His life for everyone and He did it by being crucified on a cross. That is the blood and the symbol that most people reject, along with Jesus.

We have a responsibility to those that oppose us, to tell them about Him and to let them see His love through our actions and our words. If they can’t see Him by seeing us saying or doing something that would be impossible for us to do otherwise, then we may need to check our own life out. Can you be gracious to someone who hates you? Do you respond in kind when someone cuts you off on the interstate? If you have a bumper-sticker identifying you as a Christian, then you had better think about it before you get on the highway…better yet, pray and seek His council every time you get behind the wheel! People watch those of us who claim to have something that they want, whether they recognize it or not.

It is our responsibility to let them know about the only One who can help and heal their lives and their illnesses because He told us to. What we have freely received, through Jesus, we must freely give away to those who are in need of it! Can we call ourselves followers of Him and not do that? I think not! Your life, if you have given your heart to Jesus, was changed because someone gave away what they had received from Him. The least that you can do is to give Him or the news of His love to someone else, regardless of who they may be or what they seem to be! Before you do, turn your scrutiny upon yourself and make sure that your life belongs to Jesus. If it already does belong to Him, that’s great! If you are not sure, fix it!! You can’t fix it, but He can!!

 

Live according to the Spirit


“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” (Romans 8:5)

What do we do when we get into a bind? Usually, we cry out for help in some way to someone or sometimes some “thing”. Whether it is a friend or co-worker, a family member or even Facebook, we lean toward finding someone to help us deal with whatever the problem may be. When the One who can help the most in any and all situations is not even consulted in whatever the problem is, then your life could take a very different direction.

I am not saying that God will punish you for not consulting Him but the results could be very different than what they would’ve been had you spoke to Him first! Remember, we are to seek Him first in all things…this is what God’s Word says. We are not to seek out help from those who are powerless to help, especially if the situation requires the One who can affect all parts of a problem, even those that we aren’t aware of yet!

Can you have an effect on all parts of a problem? God can and He does, but only when you ask Him. Many people blame all of the bad things which happen on God, but all things are known by Him yet this world is under Satan‘s rule at this time. He cannot do things without God allowing him to, but he is in control of all the evil and bad things, whether it is natural disasters or from mankind’s own evil ways. We, as Christians, can have an effect on this world through prayer and by living our lives according to the Spirit’s leading.

We have a responsibility to do just that. It is not thinking that you are better than anyone else, but we are to let people know that there is a better way, the way that Jesus lived! By allowing yourself to be led by the Spirit of God, submitting yourself to Him daily, you can be a force for good in the world. Others will see what you have and they will want it, although many will persecute you for not following their religion instead of yours.

Religion by itself is not bad, but those who try to push their religion on others is. Telling people the truth about Jesus and letting them make up their own mind is not the same as forcing them to be or worship one way over another. We, as Christians, don’t force anything on anyone. We just tell others like our Lord told us to do, and then let them make up their own mind whether to believe in Him and change their lives or not…it is your choice.

Your salvation is exactly what Satan doesn’t want you to have! He doesn’t want you to belong to God, because he hates God and us with a hatred that we cannot know. Don’t fall for his lies and the lies of the world. Listen to your heart, read God’s Word and ask Him to show Himself to you through it and He will! There are many in the world who don’t want to believe what the Word of God says and they try to convince others that it is false, but it wouldn’t have been such a popular Book and one for whom many people died for if it wasn’t the Truth! You wouldn’t die for a lie and nobody else would either. God’s Son, Jesus, came to give us eternal life through Himself and belief in that is what many have sacrificed their lives for over the centuries. We are awaiting His return now and I believe that it will be soon, although no one knows when except God Himself, although all of the prophecies have been fulfilled leading up to His return with the exception of the appearance of the world leader that will usher in peace for Israel for a short while.

When that happens, the world and every religion of the world will take notice, but those who have truly been following Jesus will still have hope and the assurance of life everlasting.

Is non-belief (atheism) new?


Not really. It is something which has come of “age” recently in America and by recently I mean within the last forty years or so. It was not a popular viewpoint prior to the ’50’s, but I am sure that, like today, there were a few people that held that viewpoint. Many tried to have religion abolished during the so-called “monkey trials” in the early twentieth century, when the courts had to decide whether to teach creation or evolution to children.

Recently, they have erected a monument of sorts to atheism right alongside a monument of the Ten Commandments. In an attempt to make their point that, I suppose, we don’t need Christianity or religion.

The following quotation from Madalyn Murray O’Hair is carved into the side panel of the granite monument:

“An Atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An atheist believes that deed must be done instead of prayer said. An atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated.”

When an atheist says, “I believe,” it’s an admission that atheism is a religion. When they (atheists) admit that they believe in something, it proves that it is becoming a religion, at least to them. Of course, I just repeated the statement which came with this quote from the website below:

Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/11193/why-i-support-the-new-atheist-monument/#ixzz2W1pDw8zC

I, on the other hand, do NOT support this monument because it gives the atheist worldview legitimacy which is something that it doesn’t need. I know we are supposed to allow all viewpoints to be seen and heard because of the first amendment, but this movement doesn’t want to allow Christians to have that freedom anywhere! In schools in particular but also in the military and in our government as well, so are we supposed to just get out of the way and let them have their say. I will agree to getting out of their way, but my constitutional right to speak up empowers me to say what I want as well.

God, the Creator, gives us each our measure of grace to be on this planet and in the places where we are in order to do His will. Whether we choose to follow Him and do that is up to us, we are not forced to follow Him even if we have heard scripture being read or a prayer being said in school or in a public arena. Why should we have to cower whenever someone cries out that they don’t want to hear about Christ, but atheists never say a word about Islam or any other religion. It seems to center only on Christianity. Why is that? Have Christians gone around killing people because their message is not getting out to the world? Have Christians used suicide bombers to make a point about anything in relation to Jesus? None of this has happened because our religion is one that is tolerant of others. We don’t force anyone to convert to Christianity, so why are we treated as if we do?

I think it has to do with the facts of history and those of Truth. When the Truth is revealed to someone logically without coercion then they make up their own minds about what they believe and usually when that Truth is brought to them through the Bible, they realize that their belief…whatever it was, was leading them in the wrong direction. God’s Word is truth whether you want to believe it or not. The reason that I believe it is because, not only because I a Christian and a pastor, Satan believes it too! The enemy of all who believe in God knows that it is true and he agrees with atheists that nobody should be forced to listen to prayers or to hear the message of Jesus preached.

The problem with that belief is that it is one that leads to hell. Satan knows this but he is not going to help you. He only wants to get as many people to go down that road as possible, because those that do won’t belong to Jesus. Romans 6:23 says: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When you make a decision to come to Jesus and stop believing the lie that is sold on television and by other media outlets, that we are our own saviors, you will be on the path to Life. The road to destruction is wide and there are many who find it, don’t get on that road! Make sure that you are on the road to eternity, an eternity which is not full of pain and anguish because of decisions which were guided by the world. Don’t let anyone tell you that when you die, you just go away. God put an eternal soul inside each of us and when your earthly body dies, your soul goes to be in eternity. The eternity that you will go to is determined by your choices here, between your self and the world or whether you chose Jesus as your savior. Those are the only two choices that really matter because they affect your eternal destination. So, which one will you choose?

Bashing Christian beliefs


When you hear about people doing this in the news and on the web what does it make you think of? It makes me think of children who can’t have their way who are throwing a tantrum!

“I don’t want to believe in God and they are forcing it in my face!”; “Christians are so dumb, they think that the universe was brought about by a god with his voice”; “The bible is not true, it is just a book of made up fairy tales and myths”; “Not one of the stories in it are true”.

OK, yes, I have heard these statements on television news shows and on web-casts as well as on twitter, face book and other sites. The point is that these so-called “arguments” are just that, arguments for the sake of arguing. Not one of the people who call themselves atheists has ever given it a second thought. How can a book which has been around for over two thousand years (I know that the English translation came about in 1611). The writings which went into it were written before that point in time.

Religions and the books which support them have been around for centuries, but the prophecies contained in the Torah were mostly fulfilled when Jesus came. The only ones left to be fulfilled are the ones relating to the end of the age, the Tribulation or whatever you want to call it. The places and people spoken of in its pages existed and have been proven by archeology, so saying that it is a book of fables is wrong.

You can’t get rid of something that you don’t like by not believing in it. Satan is laughing at you because even he knows that the scripture that you deny is true and he will likely point that out to you when you come to visit, even though it will be a long, long visit.

Penn Jillette has stated in the past that if it were true, Christians should be begging people to listen in order to keep them from ending up in hell. If you do not change your mind about what the Word of God is and the message that it contains, you will find out one day, but it will likely be too late for anyone to convince you.

Burning our book won’t anger us, it is just paper. Throwing all of them in the trash won’t change anything either. The Word of God is true and until the world wakes up and realizes that fact, there is very little we can do except tell you about it and the message that it contains. Whether you choose to believe in it or not is your own choice. It cannot be forced down into your being, God doesn’t work that way.

I challenge anyone who doesn’t believe in God and His Word to read it with an open mind, not a closed one. Sincerely ask God before you begin to read the book of John to reveal Himself to you if He is real, if He is not you haven’t lost anything and yet you won’t gain anything either. If He is real and He does open your eyes and your heart, don’t shut them tight and act like a little child saying, “I will not believe, I will not believe!”

The only thing that you will lose by believing in Him and the grace that has been given to you is that your eternity won’t be so uncomfortable!

Do you act like a child?


“When I was a child, I spoke as a child and played as a child; when I grew up, I put away childish things.” (paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:11)

This is something which we have heard from preachers for years, but what exactly does it mean?
To us, as Christians, it means that when we finally grow up, regardless of what age we may be when we do, we should act like it!
Do we act like it? Have we grown up? Are we, as adults, really grown up?
1. Most of us are not.
• We do what we want to do, when we want to do it, if possible. Then, we get mad if we can’t.
• People see themselves as good, but what about the thoughts that we all have. Are they good all the time? Would you want Jesus to read your thoughts every day? He knows what you think whether you have given your heart to him or not.
• Does it bother you that God knows every thought that you have? If it doesn’t, you might want to check your relationship with Him.
2. Can we fix our character, our heart or our soul on our own? Of course not! We can’t pull off something like that, only Jesus can do a soul-cleansing restoration on your heart and soul!

Many times, we believe that we are in charge. We start our lives wanting to be in charge of our life. “I can do it myself!” How many times have parents heard that? At those times it is cute, for a while, but when children get older it is called being rebellious. It tends to cause ulcers and grey hair and lost hair too.

The point is that, when we think that we are good enough to run our lives by ourselves, we are taking the throne away from the One Who is supposed to be there! We are doing the same thing that Satan tried to do when He was cast into outer darkness. He wanted to put himself on the throne which God was on or to put his “throne” above God’s. We can’t do that, although many people do just exactly that!

People that think they have plenty of time to get around to God do it. People who don’t believe that there is a God do it. People who have made their own version of “god” do it. This happens all over the world, every day. Billions of people think that they know better than God!

Can we be that ignorant? Are we? Many people think that they have all of the answers for their own problems and for the world’s problems too. You see them on television and on the internet every day. If they base their advice on God’s Word, and use its wisdom to advise people, then maybe they do have the answer for mankind’s problems. But, if they are using their own wisdom or some wisdom from man, such as Buddhism or Scientology, then they are mistaken. Even the Koran is only from a man, it was not given by God. God would not condone killing others because they won’t accept Islam as their religion. That sounds like it came from Satan himself.

The answers to our life’s problems lie in giving our hearts and our minds to Christ so that we can become more like Him. Following Him in all of our ways, every day and in all things. Give the day to Him before you begin it so that He will be in your mind and heart and direct your steps and words during your daily routine. It isn’t hard to do, but it is a conscious decision that we have to make. A decision that comes only when your heart is filled with the Holy Spirit and you have taken the Word into your mind. One sermon a week listening to someone preach doesn’t equip you for service to God, you have to do that daily!

I know that many people think that daily walks with God in His Word is what the preacher is supposed to do. It is what we are all called to do as Christians, to be followers of Christ. Walking with God daily is our responsibility because if we don’t, we won’t get to know the God who came to save us. Reading the Bible is the best way for us to get to know Him because it is His way of communicating with us and telling us about Himself.

God loves us more than we can understand but the way that we can learn about Him is by reading His word. Getting to know our Father better is one of the best things you can do for your relationship with Him, the better you know Him, the easier it is to recognize His voice when He speaks to you. I can’t imagine a more satisfying relationship than having one with the Creator of everything! He created us all for that, the least that we could do is return the love toward Him.

God knew you before you were born and He knows when your last day on the earth will be. Knowing this, He still chose you to be a child of His and all He is waiting for is your agreement with Him and your asking Him into your heart and life. God’s grace toward us is loving and eternal and doesn’t depend on anything that we may believe that we have to do, God doesn’t need our help in making us righteous. He works His changes in your heart and your life gradually and carefully, but sometimes those changes may hurt a bit.

We don’t agree with the pain and suffering that we have to endure during the time of God’s changes in our hearts and our lives because, even as Christians, it hurts or it is uncomfortable. That’s life! Jesus didn’t say that He came to make our lives easy. He told the disciples and us through them that we would have trouble and pain in this world, but He also tells us to take heart because He overcame the world and through Him, we can too!

There are many people in the world that are hurting every day and in more ways than we can imagine but God knows about each of them and His Spirit is with them through it all. He will draw them to Himself and if they answer the call they will have His strength to carry them through whatever they are being put through. Many people don’t acknowledge that call on their spirit because they are hurting too much or they are high on drugs or they are drunk, but God knows their hearts. He will keep drawing them until they tell Him to go away, if they recognize that it was Him to begin with.

Other times, which happens more often that we would like to believe, they don’t hear His call in their life. People are so caught up in what they are doing or having to deal with until they are spiritually deaf. Satan loves it when we are so caught up in our lives and our jobs or with our family that we can’t even hear God calling to us. That is when he will crank up the volume in our life so that we are even more involved and there is no way God can get through. But, God knows your heart and He knows whether you will hear Him at some point and it is at those times, whether you like what is happening to you or your family or not, that you will hear Him! You may wonder why this is happening at that point but it is because God has something that only you can do and He will not let you ignore Him.

I can hear many people saying that we are not predestined but God says that we are. He can raise up a ruler or bring him down for His purposes and He can do the same with us. He is the Creator and can do anything that He desires to do and if that means breaking down your will in order to build you up to be the person that He knows you can be, then that is what He will do. Give your heart to God before He has to allow that to happen in your life, so that He can use you in a more fantastic way than you could ever imagine! Won’t you call on Him today?

What do you do when you can’t do anymore?


Do you give up? I have heard that many people do just that and its a shame. What about looking for something that you can do? When we get to a place where we don’t think we can do or say anymore about something, what do we do then? The thing that I do is..turn to God and ask Him to show me what to do! In today’s society, there are many people who don’t do that simply because they don’t believe in God, but what else is there to believe in? Man-made religions and beliefs did not create the universe. Religion doesn’t have a risen Savior that is present to be called upon.

The thing that makes Christianity different from religions that are all over the world is that our Savior died in order to bring us into a relationship with Him! Many other religions require you to “do something” in order to be worthy of a relationship with their “god”, while the God of the Hebrews is the only God! And He doesn’t require you to work your way into heaven because you can’t! We cannot do anything on our own that makes us good enough to be allowed into heaven. The only requirement that we have is to believe that Jesus died for us and took the punishment meant for us, accept it and then do the best we can, with Him as our guide, to go out and spread the news to others!

Whether the world accepts Him or not is not our problem, all that we have to do is tell them about Him! He will speak to their hearts and minds so that they will be convicted of their sins and turn to Him or they won’t, but they cannot be forced into it. The talents that God gives to each of us, whether we are Christians or not, were given to bring Him glory. Though, most of the time we use those talents for our glory and our personal gain, especially if it is a talent like singing or acting. The bottom line is that we are selfish.

We, all of us, think that we are the most important person in our world and to some extent that is true. But, being that self-centered does nothing to give us a positive image of ourselves unless we are being praised or we happen to be good enough that we get praise for our performances.

And yet, if we are not good enough we begin to believe that we aren’t good enough for anything or anyone. We get into a real pity party and get depressed and turn to many other ways to make us feel better, even if only for a little while. People turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, reality television, money, etc.; the list could go on and on forever. Even our jobs and our house or how much money we make or the kind of car that we drive can turn into or be used as a status symbol, which many people use them just that way.

But, what does that accomplish? Does your job help you in any way spiritually? Can your car solve problems at home, or can money fix your relationship with your children or with your spouse? We tend toward idolizing people and things in our society and we don’t realize that we have actually turned them into idols. These “things” cannot do anything for us. They cannot help, but they do get in the way of our perception and keep us blinded to the One who can help.

Jesus, by the love that the Father had for us, was sent to be the sacrifice that would take the punishment for us all, and He did! He paid the price of everyone’s sins so that we wouldn’t have to pay the price for our rebellion. All that we have to do is to believe in Him and His sacrifice and that we are His when we do. We cannot help Him to save us, because there is nothing that we can do that would be good enough. The only thing that sends you to hell is believing the lie that Satan puts in front of you, the one that says “I can do it on my own, I don’t need you!” The other lie that many people believe is that there is no hell or punishment for those who reject Jesus or even that there is no Satan who causes us to believe more in our own self than we do in the One who created us!

The grace of God is extended to each of us every day when we are able to get up and greet another day, yet many people don’t acknowledge it as such. They take each day for granted because they believe that they are guaranteed their time on earth, but we are not! We have the time that God gives us and that may end tonight, we may never see another sun rise on earth. But, when your eyes close in death you will rise to an eternal life afterward. Your enjoyment of that eternity hinges on your decision to accept Jesus as your Savior and ask forgiveness through Him or not. Your immortal body will be able to withstand the terrors and the punishment in hell and you will feel it forever or you will be rewarded with a life in heaven that is free from pain and suffering. The choice is yours to make, but it must be made before you die!

 

Persecution of Christians


The news media doesn’t report this much, but it is still happening. Christians in many countries are being imprisoned and tortured or killed because of their beliefs. Christianity is not a popular religious belief in countries where Islam is the main religion. Converting to Christianity in those countries can get you put in prison or killed. The so-called “religion of peace” is not at peace with anyone.

Our faith in Jesus and in His grace gives us hope for a life in eternity with Him. Can any other religion give you eternity? Some claim to, but if you look closely at their claims it is a lie! Thousands of Christians have died for their beliefs since Jesus’ time, because they would not reject their beliefs or their faith in Him. They received their reward and are now in Heaven with Him. Few other religions, if any, can claim this truthfully.

To go to other countries and try to evangelize people with the message of Christ is our duty and privilege but it is dangerous in some parts of the world. Jesus told His disciples that they would be hated because the world hated Him and in many places that is still true today, even in our own country. Our country has banned prayer in schools and has taken any display of the Bible or the Ten Commandments from public buildings. In the media Christian principles are being challenged every day as well as in the courts.

We have to stand in our faith but we cannot be truly open about it or we get labeled as extremists. Any other belief, regardless of what it is, can be talked about and spoken aloud openly in the media and in public but not Christianity. Is it because no one wants to hear about a religion which has, as its base, truth and moral absolutes which no person in the world wants to hear about.

Moral absolutes are wrong by most people’s standards. We all ascribe to “personal or individual or even relative absolutes” or so the media reports. What is relative to me doesn’t have to be relative for you. For most of the past two thousand years there has been a standard by which the un-believers and the believers were judged and that standard was and is the Bible.

It is true that there have been wars and other atrocities over religious viewpoints as well as whether the church was the only authority in a nation or who could have access to the Bible itself but there are always opinions in our world. Opinions are going to differ inside a home, let alone on a planet where there are more than six billion people!

The point is that God has not abandoned us to our own devices and beliefs! He is still in control, although He is allowing our own choices to play out as they will. He doesn’t control us, but gives us the choice and the opportunity to see the Truth and to accept it. It is our own choice that will condemn us or save us because the choice is between living as if we are in control of our life or allowing Jesus to have control of it. One will allow your own desires and passions to rule your life and the other will change you into the person you are truly meant to be!

Many people don’t want to accept this change, they fear it. They don’t want to lose the life or the friends that they have. But, your life won’t change only your character and when your character changes, people will notice. Your friends may not like the change but they also may want to know what has made such a difference in your life!

Your witness about many things that you like or are passionate about is known to all of your friends because you talk about it and you tell them about it! It should be no different if you decide to follow Christ as your Savior  But in some countries, it is dangerous for you to witness to people, to tell them about Jesus. He will be with you to strengthen you and guide you through this, no matter what happens.

If you live in an area where persecution against Christians is normal, pray about it. God hears those prayers and He will send a comforter and a Helper. You are not alone. If you are considering becoming a Christian in a country where persecution is harsh, become one and then get on your knees and pray for strength and for help in your new faith. God is near you, when you ask Him into your life, He comes into your heart and is there always. You can make the choice to “kick him out” but that is the only way that you can “lose your faith” and it is your choice to do so!

He won’t leave you unless you force Him out and no one can take you from Him! Eternity is the prize that we strive for but the life that you will “live” in eternity is dependent on which choice you make while you live today, because once you die, the choice has been made. You will either live in eternity with Christ or you will be condemned to spend eternity away from God in a place only reserved for Satan and his fallen angels. It is your choice.

Can we live with Christ?


Our lives were created to be more complete with Christ in our hearts. The area that feels empty in our life, that you may have been trying to fill with something is the spot that was designed for Christ to inhabit. If He is not in that spot, then your life feels empty regardless of how much success you may have according to the world’s standards. So how can we be filled with Him and have a life that is truly meaningful? The simple answer is for you to just ask Him to come into your heart!

I know that sounds way too easy, but it is the truth. In our lives on a daily basis, we are confronted with many problems and different things that get in the way of our true lives, our life with Christ! I know that many people look at this and say “I don’t have a problem with Christ because I have Him already!” or “I don’t have a problem with Christ because I don’t want Him in my life!”

Many people think that because they have gone to church for many years, maybe even from the time they were children, that they are Christians and they don’t need to ask Him to come into their hearts. That is like someone living in a garage who thinks they are a car or truck. Just because you have been in church for years doesn’t mean that you are a Christian. You have heard many sermons and served as a deacon or Sunday school teacher, but unless you have asked Jesus to come into your life and change you into the person you were meant to be, you are not a Christian. You are just a religious person who attends church.

Can you get past the religious part of your life and just accept Christ into your heart? As I stated, it seems too easy and some people think it is a waste of time. But, that is exactly what the world and Satan want you to believe. If Christ and your belief in Him is a waste of time, why does the world and Satan try to keep Him out of your life? What is the point of pushing God away if belief and having faith in Him don’t mean anything?

Your life and mine are very short compared to eternity, so where do you want to spend it? I have heard all of the stories of how people will party forever with Satan in hell and they will have a grand old time. Nothing could be further from the truth!!

Hell was created to punish those angels who rebelled against God and followed Satan. It was not created for us at all, but if you don’t accept Christ as your Savior and follow Him, you are on the wrong side! Eternal punishment for simply not believing and accepting Christ is what you will get and it will not be a party!

Of course there are many people who have said that a loving God would not put you into an awful place like that. The truth is that He doesn’t put you there, you do! If you stole a million dollars from a bank and then were caught with it, what kind of punishment would you expect? Maybe a job at the bank that you stole the money from? If you killed an important person, would you expect to be given the responsibility of taking care of their children? NO! You would expect the punishment to be severe.

God looks at us as children, rebellious and un- disciplined but He also sees our potential if we come to know and love Him and His Son, Jesus. Our life will change, our outlook on everything will change because when your heart is Jesus’ home, you look at things around you the way He does. There are only two sides to life, serving yourself or serving Jesus. Life on one side can be hard, full of sorrow and pain and emptiness but on the other side you have Jesus’ strength and assurance and hope!

The life that we have here only lasts for a short time, but once you cross the threshold of death, eternity waits. Which eternity will you have to look forward to? One where you get to meet all of those that your life influenced to come to Christ? Or one where you get to spend eternity alone, in pain and torment because of the wrong decision, the one decision where you rejected the Son of God who came so that you would have eternal life, if you had  just asked Him into your heart?

Religion may put you in hell!


In Paul’s day and in our own time, people keep traditions alive and you hear “that’s the way it has always been done”, as proof of their Christian lives and their beliefs as well as the “proof” of their conversion. We see people in church as well as on the street that we know as “church people”, meaning that they are in church every time that there is something going on there. It could also mean that they volunteer in church to drive the bus or to help in the nursery or any number of duties. These people feel sanctified and saved because of their deeds or their work for the church and they may be, but what about the Person that they are serving? Are they working for Jesus or themselves?

In Paul’s day there were many who were “religious”, all of the priests, the Pharisees and Sadducees were religious and yet Jesus condemned them. They were convinced that they were right and everyone else was wrong and they would not listen to any “new” teaching. They were stuck in the past with all of their laws and rules and they had hardened their hearts against anything new.

Do you know people like that? I do, but what can you or I do about it? We can’t change them because they don’t listen or won’t listen just as those in Jesus’ time wouldn’t. So what can we do? Love them, and pray for them daily.

In reference to the title of today’s sermon, there will be many people in hell who are or were religious while they were here and they were that way their whole life. They were convinced that their way was right and that they were doing things right, so what happened? They weren’t shown the error of their ways? Maybe or maybe they just didn’t listen or really hear sermons which they attended. When your ears are closed to Christ and His way of living, your heart is too. So how do you get people like that to listen? By prayer and fasting. Even Jesus said that some problems can only be solved by prayer and fasting.

I am not speaking of fasting for forty days or even two weeks, but if there is someone that you love who hasn’t given their lives and their hearts to Jesus then pray for them and fast for one day! Drink water and juice during that time and pray.

Their life will be impacted and yours will too! God listens closely to those who combine fasting with prayer. The answer may not come immediately after the fast is over, but you can be sure that your prayer was heard!

When Paul wrote most of his letters to the different churches, he was usually in prison at the time. What does that say about his ministry? It says that it was effective for one thing because he was getting someone’s attention! He was striving for the prize, but what was that prize? The prize that Paul was striving for was to be more like Jesus and if it meant that he was stoned or imprisoned for the teaching that he was doing then so be it! The prize that Paul was seeking was also to be considered worthy of being a “good and faithful servant” to his Lord, which is something that we should also be striving for.

To live for Christ and with Him in your daily life is a conscious decision that has to be made daily. It doesn’t automatically happen when you accept Him as your savior. Many people think that once you have accepted Him into your heart, you have done your part. That is not where your part in your new life ends but where it begins! You have to decide every day to take Christ with you everywhere you go! And if you wouldn’t take Jesus there in person, then you shouldn’t be there either!

That is a radical concept for many people to accept even Christians who have been in church most of their lives. You can get up and have a bad day and from that point you may un-invite Christ or decide not to ask Him to be with you that day. Of course He will still be there but you may not know it because you choose not to recognize Him. We are supposed to know and come to know Him daily because of Who He is and what He did for us and yet we sometimes choose not to allow Him to be a presence in our daily life.

Why would you decide such a thing? The Creator of everything wants a relationship with you and everyone else in the world, doesn’t that sound cool?! We are enamored with all sorts of celebrities and sports figures and would enjoy spending time with them so why not be just as excited when the Creator wants to be in your life and share it with you? The disciples had that relationship for about three years and yet they didn’t fully comprehend it until He ascended to the Father. We have the Bible, God’s Word, to tell us all that we need to know about Him and about the Father and we have the Holy Spirit to guide us daily in our walk with Him, what more could you ask for?

Our world and the one who influences people everyday tries to tell us that the things of this world, right now are more important than anything we could have with Jesus in our lives. Money, power, and possessions are all temporary because when our life is over those things won’t mean anything. Some of them may have sentimental value to our family but other than that, nothing in this world makes the trip past death’s door only your soul and spirit do that.

The way that many people see being a Christian is that we live with lots of rules and regulations about what we can and cannot do. That is not the way this works! Following Christ and keeping our eyes on Him, spiritually and physically is the requirement that we should live with every day. It is not hard to follow Christ, once you get the hang of it. The hard part is the tug of war between your old self and the new one that now lives in your heart.

Until your faith in Christ can keep your new self in place and kick the old one out, you will be in turmoil because you can’t serve them both. It is a decision that you have to make every day. Get up with Christ on your mind, not what am I going to do today? But Who am I going to be with today? Am I going to go back to doing the things that I did before I met Jesus? Or am I going to read the Bible a few minutes and pray for strength and guidance from Him to carry me through the day?

We are living this life to get ready for the next but you have to make sure that you are going to have a life, a real life, after this one. Many people think that there is no life after this one and the Bible says just the opposite from beginning to end. Give yourself a chance to experience that life because the alternative is eternal separation from loved ones who are in heaven and from the love of God too. The only chance that you have to make this decision is during this life, now. Once this life ends, there are no “second chances”. Ask Jesus into your life, follow Him every day, learn about Him and the love that He has for you during the time that you have now.

The universe shows us every day the power and majesty of God so we are without excuse when someone asks if there is a God. Isn’t it wonderful that the Creator of everything wants to know you and have a relationship with you? Don’t you want to know Him too? All you have to do is ask Him into your life and your heart and you will have that relationship.