Tag: Christianity

Faith, how much do you need?


mustardseedFaithThis is what Jesus said, “with faith as much as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain “Be thou removed into the sea and it will move”. Matthew 17:20

Our lives, spiritual and daily, would be so much better if we used our faith and cultured our faith through prayer and reading of God’s Word. Much of our country would be in better shape if people of faith used their faith in God in the way that He intended for us to. Truly, it doesn’t take much faith but it has to be unwavering faith. The kind where you don’t doubt what you believe in, which seems to be hard for many people.

I admit, unwavering faith is not easy to achieve, especially for people who have not been in church much or at all, but with prayer and learning about God from reading the Bible it can be done. We have faith in our football teams and in lotteries, why not have faith in the Creator Who can actually DO something about your problem.

Many will question me about this because God doesn’t answer prayer in the way that you or I expect Him to all of the time. It has to do with His will in the matter. What He sees as being the best outcome, may not be your idea of the best outcome but He is God and it is His prerogative. After all, He is God.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!


Does it occur to you why we are going through so much right now in the world and at home? Many are saying on TV and other media that it is because of global warming or some other nonsense science. The world is changing because of us and because of all the damage that we have done to it over the past 150 years or so. Really?

Why in the world would the climate change around the entire world because of a few tons of carbon dioxide? Yes, I know it is a greenhouse gas, so is methane, but these have been in our atmosphere since it became an atmosphere. The world is changing more because of overuse of resources, such as fish, than because of fossil fuel use. This is a more plausible reason for the “warming” effect than our one hundred years of burning gasoline and diesel.

The thing is, there is a lot more happening in and around our world than just “climate change”. Except, most of the news outlets are not reporting on that part of the news because it doesn’t pique enough interest in viewers. What is being reported on is that people are giving up on their belief in God, that they have walked away from their faith (if they ever really had any).

Yes, there are questions that need to be answered, not so much about climate change but about the difference in religion, religious beliefs, and Christianity. Religion and being religious can be about almost anything that you want to put in the sentence. You can be a religious fanatic about fishing or hunting or even making money, although what will that get you? Broke in more ways than one.

A religion is defined as: the belief in a god or in a group of gods;an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods; an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group

You can make anything, activity or a god or interest into a religion and follow it religiously, even fanatically, but what is the eternal answer that it gives you? Does it have an answer for eternity at all? Many religions actually don’t have an answer and those who follow them will get angry with you if you ask them this question. Especially if you are trying to find out if they believe in Jesus as their Savior or not. It seems that His prophecy that “you will be hated because of Me” is spot-on for the time that we are living in for today.

Although many don’t believe that we are living in the “last days”, I do. We are not living in the “Tribulation” as spoken of in Revelation, but I don’t believe that we are far from it. Many people, believers and non-believers, need to truly wake up and read the Bible. Compare the prophecies of Daniel and Ezekiel and the book of Revelation. Yes, they are hard to understand but with prayer and asking for God to reveal those hard parts to you, you can understand it enough to know the signs that are happening all around us. We cannot know specifics like dates or times, God alone has that information, but we can learn enough to be watchful of the events that are happening in the world. Even if the media won’t tell people the implications of what is happening, we can see it from a Biblical perspective which is what was meant by the Bible when it says “watch and pray” during this time.

Keep looking up, because our Redeemer and our redemption draws ever nearer every day!

The healing power of God


Anger, resentment, fear, impulsive rage are all emotions which Satan uses to begin a rip or a split in a community or a church. All of these can be overcome by God’s Awesome power to heal, but NONE of them can be overcome by our own strength or our own will. Consider these verses in His Word and think about what they are saying to all of us:

  1. “… But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness …” (Nehemiah 9:17)
  2. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8)
  3. “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” (Psalm 86:15)
  4. “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness …” (Joel 2:13)
  5. “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” (Psalm 145:8)
  6. “The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting …” (Psalm 100:5)
  7. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him … But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:11,17)

God loves each of us as I have said before in a post or a sermon as some call these words here. One of the main attributes in all of the verses above is His patience with us and His kindness toward us. His mercy and the fact of His character being “slow to anger” are also mentioned. The Lord is merciful and His mercy and His love for us is everlasting, meaning that no matter what we do or how we act or feel toward Him or His actions, His love and mercy will endure for eternity.

Satan is always quick to use any tool that he can to break a church or a community apart, especially if he thinks there might be a revival coming soon, or even if there is one coming at all! Our community and our nation NEEDS a revival of faith in God and in the power of Him Who has called us out as Christians. We are supposed to be different from the world around us! Not the same nor are we to be melded into the world enough that we can’t be seen as different because of the One that we have in our hearts!

God loves each of us, no matter what we have done or said to each other or about each other or even about Him! His love is not fickle like ours. One little word or even the tone of your voice can set off a chain reaction between friends or church members that can tear a church and a friendship apart. Come back to God in prayer and fasting, repent of your thoughts and ways which you know are against Him. This world needs Christians to stand up for Jesus and what the cross means to each of us and what it should mean to all who need hope and healing.

Have you spoken to God today?


Many people laugh at the notion that we can speak to God any time that we wish to. His line is never busy and the reception is great. The problem is with the believer or with someone who isn’t a believer. Some Christians aren’t sure if their prayers get past the ceiling regardless of getting them to God. In many ways we short-circuit our own prayers and our prayer lives. We hold grudges against someone from our past or we are angry and resentful toward a family member or a friend, for whatever reason it might be. Any of these so-called “little sins” will take the power out of your prayer life, cutting the line of communication between you and God.

That doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care about you any more, but you have to repent of whatever it might be which is getting in the way and ask forgiveness for it. God loves you and always has, but just as hurt feelings can injure a relationship here and now, even “little sins” can interfere with your walk and your prayer life with Jesus and God. You have heard the term “quenching the Spirit” before, and that is exactly what is happening when sin comes into your life and blocks your access to be effective in the Kingdom with God.

The thing is, God wants to hear from you and this is what most don’t understand either. But as it says in the first book of the Bible, “God walked in the cool of the evening in the Garden.” While it is true that this was the time that God found that Adam and Eve had sinned and broken the only rule that He had given to them, I feel sure that God had come like this before. After all, He was the only Teacher that they had and since they were formed as adults Who better to teach them about their world?

The same is true for us, although we have many teachers today. We begin life with our parents, then we are in school for such a long time with others (it seems), all the while we are learning from everything and everyone around us. While we should be learning from God’s Word at this point. Sure, it is hard for young minds to understand, especially some of the books in the Old Testament. But, the wisdom is there and the evidence of God’s love is there too.

Don’t discount God or His Word as something that is only for Sunday. Being in His presence every day is what Jesus meant when He said “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you.” It doesn’t mean that we have to read our Bible constantly during the day, but the day seems to go better when you begin the day with it and pray for the day before you start your day.

Consider it, learn about God, seek Him especially when things aren’t going good but also when it is and thank Him for it. Our lives aren’t very long and if we wake today then we have the day to do as much as we can do for God, regardless of what we are doing.

An urgent word from God


“In Satan, the individual follows their own destiny and choices. Satan only asks that the individual uses intelligent action based upon reason, but never faith, and thus the individual will prosper in this life and the next.” —-satanicviews

This was a comment that I got on a post which I had put up about Jesus coming to us and for us. It seems that this is a feeling or sentiment which many people have. It is one which we, as Christians, cannot understand or even comprehend. Satan is not a benevolent being as some seem to think that he is. He and his demons and powers and principalities HATE us with a hatred which even goes beyond any Nazi or communist or even Islamic hatred!

There is no love for us because, to Satan, we represent the image of God which we were created in. Another assumption that people like this make is that the next life, especially if they have rejected Jesus, is going to be an eternal party, when the sad fact is that it will be torment and punishment. Satan may help you in some ways to prosper in this life in order to draw you away from and keep you away from any faith or belief in God or Jesus. As long as you are not interested in becoming a Christian, then Satan has no problem with you because you essentially belong to him by default, whether you worship him or not.

In many ways, we are very much like Adam in the book of Genesis. We go about our lives doing this and that, thinking that everything is fine until one day something goes wrong. It may be a disease or a diagnosis or a wreck. Then what do we do? Many people blame God or fate for what has happened to them. If it is bad enough, they may even curse God and yell at Someone they may not believe in thinking that will make them feel better. But, it doesn’t.

Your lot in life, just like mine, is to sit here and take whatever life throws at you right? NO! It really depends upon your beliefs or your un-belief, whichever it may be. Consider the person or power that you believe in. Which one actually cares about you and your condition? Satan HATES all of humanity, because they are created in God’s image. It doesn’t matter if you are the high priest of a satanic coven or not, he will happily watch you float around in the lake of fire just as he will anyone else. Satan will allow you to claim all of the worldly success that you can stand and then some, as long as you are not trying to find God. So, in a sense, he will “provide” you with all that the world cares about including money, cars, a nice home, a four-wheeler and horses, land, all the guns that you want. Then what?

One the other side of the spiritual coin, there is God. He DOES CARE about all of His creation. Plants, animals and especially humanity since we are created for a purpose and in His image. God has given us life to live abundantly for Him and He gave each of us a talent in some area whether it is training horses, being a teacher or preacher, a policeman or woman, a mayor or any other type of politician, a truck driver or a farmer. He gives talents to all of us freely, whether we use them to gather wealth to ourselves or not is our choice. So, what is our purpose within this life that we are freely given?

To choose.

Choose Whom You Will Serve
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

We have the right and privilege to choose. Not by flipping a “spiritual coin”, but by making an intelligent choice. One that makes sense spiritually and eternally, not one from a point of reason. Why do I put it like that? Because from a reasoning point of view…a scientific point of view, God and belief in Him doesn’t make sense. You can’t touch or taste Him, you can’t put your finger in the wounds of Jesus like Thomas did. Belief and faith go together like PB&J, and you can’t really have one without the other.

It doesn’t matter what the color of your skin or the shape of your eyes or even the type of hair that you have, if you truly believe the Word of God is True and did come from Him then our ancestors were created in Eden by God Himself. We are all children of Eden, of Adam and Eve. We are all of one race, the human race. Culturally we are different, as different as six thousand years give or take will make us, but God can trace all of us back to Noah who is a grandson of Adam. I say is because his faith in God’s promise and his belief that God would save humanity placed him in God’s hands.

Understand that you and I are God’s children and His creation, but you have to choose whether you will serve Him in this life, in order to have true Life in eternity to come. This is not all that there is, working, living, loving your family, smoking, drinking…these are all enjoyable to us now, some more than others. What will you do if you died tonight, if you knew that you would not see tomorrow morning? Would you ask Jesus into your heart?

Would you decide that you would rather take your chances? On what? Have you fed thousands or healed the sick? Can you walk on water? None of us can do those things! We are not righteous in God’s eyes! The only way that you get into Heaven is by accepting Jesus as your Savior, repent of your life’s sinful ways meaning that you will turn from them! Could you do all of this if you were to have a heart attack right now or even on the way home? The time to decide about your eternity is now, not tomorrow, not next week. Make sure that you truly know where your eternity is because this life doesn’t last very long and it seems that the years go by faster every year. Don’t turn Jesus away when you know that you need Him in your life. Another chance may not present itself. Think about it.

We have a testimony!


Regardless of your belief or lack of it, IF you are a Christian you have a testimony. Your life has been changed because you cannot take part of God’s Spirit into your heart and your life without being changed! It just isn’t possible!

Just as those who are possessed by demons are changed and do not act like they did before, we shouldn’t either! God has always been One in Three, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! When you ask for Him to come into your heart and your life, the Holy Spirit comes into your spiritual heart and changes you into the person that you are to be from that point on.

The problem is that many of us stay at that point in our Christian lives and never mature. We don’t study God’s Word or really sit down and pray every day about our life or those around us. We don’t do what Jesus said to do, “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all of these things will be added unto you”. Many people don’t understand what the first three words of that actually means. How do I seek Him first? It is so simple and yet profound, pick up your Bible and read it!

When you are in a relationship with someone, you don’t go on dates for a few days and then get married. Usually, you see each other for a while and get to know them a little bit first, sometimes this takes months, for others it may take a year or more. The point is this, if you REALLY want that relationship, then you seek to know that person better. You want to know their favorite color or song, the type of food that they like to eat or their favorite shoes or hobby that they might have or enjoy.

The same is true when you become a Christian, or at least it is supposed to be this way. You want to learn more about God and Jesus. Who they are, what they like or don’t like, everything that you can learn about them is precious to you even if you can’t see or touch them right now. This is the relationship that we are supposed to mature into and the way to do this is by getting to know them through the Bible and by prayer, asking God to show you His ways, to help you understand His wisdom and His grace.

Our lives are brief, usually only seventy or eighty years although some live a bit longer. When we truly find someone who we love and want to spend the rest of our life with them then we are truly blessed in that relationship. It is the same when we come to a relationship with God through His Son, except…your life will not end and neither will the relationship or the fellowship! Eternity is a span of time that we can’t fathom, yet when you are His that is the life that you have to look forward to. It will not be a waste and it certainly won’t be boring.

God has a plan for each of us. That plan is for us to be His adopted children and for us to do His will while we are able in this life. Then, when we enter into eternity we will be ready for the next step in our life with Him. Learn all that you can about Him through prayer and study of His Word in the Bible. Grow into the person that you can be in Christ and then when you walk through the door into eternity you will be ready to know Him even better than you thought possible.

We are in between….


What do I mean by that? Simply put, just what I said. We are in between the time of Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension around Pentecost forty days later. Yes, I do realize that we live in the 21st century and it has been about two millennia since He was around, but what other person in history has had such an impact on the world?

The Bible itself has had a tremendous impact because many laws that are in many different countries are actually based upon principles taken from Scripture. Then, Jesus came and changed many things so much that the priests of the day wanted to get rid of Him. Mainly because He was cutting into their profits and His teachings gave power to the people and took it away from them. That kind of change was just blasphemous!

Even today, many who don’t want to change rebel against any sort of teaching that comes from a church. It seems that many people think that they can do it themselves. They think that they are responsible enough to handle all of life’s problems and they don’t need Jesus or God, so they choose not to believe in them and choose science and reason instead.

That is fine for now, but what will you think when you come face to face with Him and instead of welcoming you into eternity, He is your judge showing you why you don’t get to spend it in Heaven. At this point, there will be nothing for you to do except bow and say that you were wrong. Many people even think that they will argue with Him, but you won’t because it was and it is your choice in this life and it is this choice which will condemn you to hell, not God.

So, believing in Him is something that many already do especially the demons and Satan himself. Whether you choose to or not is your choice but don’t blame God for your eternity, because He gave you a choice of believing in Jesus for your salvation. The work of your salvation didn’t and does not depend upon anything that you do except that you must come to Jesus in faith. If you hear the truth of His grace to you and you may have read the words in the Gospels, then the choice is yours.

No one forces you to become a Christian. There may be a feeling in your heart that you need Jesus, but if you interpret it as something else then you might miss it. Seek Him out while you can. There are Bible’s available, there are resources in your library although I am not sure that is the place to look for a Bible.

Read the New Testament, in particular Acts and Romans, because these two books chronicle the beginning of the church itself. Pray about what you read so that God can reveal Himself to you in His Word. Time is growing short, be watchful and pray.

What’s up?


This is a very popular way of greeting today, but have you ever thought about what you would answer with? Many of us don’t really think about it. In a way, we treat it like we do when someone asks us, “How are you doing?”. We usually answer with “Fine” or “OK”, even when we really don’t feel that way at all!

So, what’s up with our world today? Everything seems to be upside down in a bad way. Tiger Woods is hitting the golf balls all over the place, while Jack Nicholas is still hitting a hole in one! The news that we hear is depressing, and yet almost every newscaster is smiling. It is almost like they know something that we don’t but they aren’t going to tell us the joke until it is too late. So, what is the one thing that is actually happening in the world around us? Is it something which people are really paying attention to or is everyone ignoring it?

In fact, it seems that most are doing exactly that…ignoring what is going on. They are living their lives, going about everyday business and busyness and just not paying much attention to the world in general. That is not helping you nor is it giving anyone hope for tomorrow either. Is it possible to live your life from day-to-day and then just die? Yes, people do it every day! But, what did they accomplish in the time that they had? It depends upon their view of the world, their culture and their beliefs but not necessarily in that order.

Your beliefs actually shape your view of the world and the beliefs of your family shapes your culture, so in this area of life it is your beliefs which are actually more important, not only to you and your family but to the world at large. In fact, there are many more people who believe in different ways than you do especially if you are a Christian. Oops, I let it out. The one word that will either scare people away or get them so angry they will stop reading right here.

I never have been able to understand why being a Christian, one that believes in the Bible and its message as well as the Savior as He is presented in its pages, is so repulsive to so many people. Is it because the Word of God is spoken of as the Truth and nobody wants to hear it or believe it? On the news, everyone that is against Christianity says it’s because of the exclusivity and intolerant views which Christians have.

Okay, so let’s try something different. That is what most people seem to want these days. If every person on the planet were to do exactly what they want to do, regardless of the consequences, what would the world be like?

It would not be a world that many people would like to live in. Anarchy would be rampant and the law enforcement would be so busy until they would likely feel like just throwing up their hands and walking away. Then what would we do? Some would be crying out to God for help and relief in this terrible situation. Some would be looking for a man who might have all of the answers to these problems, but there is no such person in power…yet. This man, which all of us crazy Christians call the Antichrist, is likely alive today but it isn’t time for him yet.

God is in control of this world whether you believe in Him or not. He is also watching out for Israel and keeping Satan from running amok in our time, at least until it is the right time. Yes, God is in control so, like it or not, that is how our world runs…on God’s time and because of Him. We are here to be caretakers and messengers, we are not here to be rulers. During your lifetime and mine we live our lives as examples to our children and grandchildren and they really do watch you and listen to you, whether they act like it or not.

If you don’t believe me, say something wrong in front of a little child one day. Sooner or later they will repeat it word for word in front of you or someone you know. We have to be better than that, especially if we are Christians. Not because we are trying to brag about it, but because if we don’t tell people about Jesus then we aren’t being true to our calling and our claim of our faith.

Life….


Life is hard by the yard,
but by the inch,
it’s a cinch. Author — Gean Gordon

What would be your take on this bit of advice? It is true, by the way. Most anything is easily done if you do it a little bit at a time–consistently. Even saving money is easy when you do it a little bit at a time, though it takes a while to save up much that way. In a way, this is another take on the old Chinese proverb about “A journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step”. Everything in life works this way to some extent except when it comes to tolerance between races or between Christians and non-Christians.

It seems that tolerance is one of those all or nothing things which people have begun to use against each other. It seems that everyone wants Christians to love them regardless of what they say or do, which most of us actually do by the way. But today, they also want us to support their habit or lifestyle and tell everyone else that we go along with it as well, even when it goes against God’s laws and the teaching found in the Bible!

When Christians ask for a little respect for our beliefs and the way that we live, it seems that nobody wants to go down that road at all! Its like Christians, like me, are supposed to be the ones who change our thinking, our lives, our tolerance and support of sinful living and lifestyles instead of the other way around! In truth, at least it is supposed to be this way, it really isn’t our personal opinion one way or the other which is against your lifestyle and the sins which we teach or preach, it is just what the Word of God says.

If a preacher or teacher isn’t preaching from the Word and the whole counsel of it, then I would be suspect of his teaching! It is God that is Holy and He can’t tolerate sin, yet He sent His Son to pay the price for ALL of our sins so that we don’t have to IF we repent of those behaviors and follow His teaching and His ways. By doing this and praying for His guidance and direction, we can come to God through the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and God sees the righteousness of Jesus instead of our sins.

Life tolerates others only as long as the they get along, no matter what “species” they are. Today, we try to divide ourselves up into different “races” of people. We are all culturally different from each other, not racially different. We belong to the human race, Homo sapiens and there isn’t another race of humans on this planet! Different colors of skin and eyes and hair color and texture and many different cultures from all areas of the world, even different cultures from one side of a city to another! Still ONE race! Like it or not, it cannot and will not be changed!

Good Friday, what is good about it?


At some point, I am sure that some have asked that very question. What is good about this day? What makes it “Good Friday”? First, it is the belief that Jesus was crucified on this day, although how you fit three days between today and Sunday for His resurrection I am not sure. Why would the crucifixion of our Savior make a day good? Another point to answer that would be that without His crucifixion, there could be no forgiveness of sins extended and offered to the whole world because of His death.

Why was His death necessary? Because He had to be resurrected from death in order to conquer death and the grave. I mean, you can’t come out of a grave unless you have been put into it, right?

All of this came to be, not because of a rebellion that Jesus started, not because He was inciting people to revolt against Roman rule although many wanted Him to do just that, it didn’t even happen because priests were afraid of Him and His power although that did have a part in it. The whole plan had been put into place at the point where Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. When God told them that “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15
Jesus’ life and death was foretold that far back in order to take care of the sin that had come into the world and many other prophecies between that time and Good Friday happened as well. The “woman” in that first prophecy was a symbol of many things. Not only was it a symbol of a mother, but she was a symbol or type of Israel and the Jewish people too. She also symbolized humanity, because God was not speaking of a serpent as a snake, He was speaking to Satan who had inhabited the snake to entice her and tempt her. Satan hates humanity simply because God loves us, that is where the enmity comes from.

Anything which he can do to destroy or hurt us, as humans, he will do. Whether it is by violence, war, diseases, famines, murder or any of a number of ways that he and his cohorts can bring to bear on us in order to hurt that which God loves, he will do it. Especially if he can keep us from accepting Jesus as our Savior, ultimately that is his number one goal!

Christ conquered death, hell and the grave as well as paid the price for all of man’s sins with His death and resurrection. God offers us the grace through Jesus to accept Him as our Savior to become joint heirs with Him in God’s Kingdom. It is a gift offered from God, all we have to do is ask for it and accept it in order to have it! What makes that so difficult? If someone offered to pay off all of your debts and give you ten million dollars also, would you refuse it just because you didn’t have to work for it? Of course not, so why do we refuse to accept the gift of eternal life with Him when we are given the option?

We don’t have to do anything to get it. Though, in return we do work for Him after we truly accept who we are in Christ. Nobody forces you to do anything, but it is not cool if you have accepted Jesus at one point in your life and then turn back to your sinful ways of living. Yes, you can do this but it is wrong. Why? Because you are witnessing to people with your life and telling them that you can get a free ride into Heaven. Just accept Jesus and then go on with your life as if you had not accepted Him. Wrong!!

If your heart is changed by Him, really changed, then you won’t go back to your old way of living as a sinner. you will be grateful for the pardon that you received from God and then tell as many people as you can about Him! Pray about this, read God’s Word and ask Him to show you what to do and then DO IT!!!