Tag: Creator

So much yet so little…


We seem to never have enough and we are always wanting more. Today, everything may work out in the allotted time but what of tomorrow? Time is our enemy and our friend from one day to the next depending on what is happening in our lives. How can we make friends with it so that it doesn’t go away so quickly tomorrow? Can we coax it into extending its stay this week or next, or maybe even next year?

Unfortunately, the answer to those questions is a resounding “NO!” We can’t be friends with time, we can’t extend its effects for a day or a week or a month, or even one more minute and we certainly can’t add another year to our lives. No, we don’t have that option. God does.

He knows your date and mine from the moment we are conceived until our death at some point in our future (hopefully). But, even He won’t add a day or an hour to your life unless it is His will to do so. We see so many people living their lives as if there is no tomorrow and some live as if they have an unlimited amount of days left to them. No one knows your end day except for God and He alone is in control of it, regardless of your sickness or your health it is He Who knows when your life will end.

My “expiration date” may be in the next fifteen minutes, or it may be fifteen years or more from now but only God knows for sure. Either way, my heart belongs to Him and when my last breath is breathed here, I will see Him there.

So many look at how little money or time or other “things” that we each have here, but if you have given your life to Jesus and you live for Him each day, you are wealthy. Maybe not as the world sees here but consider that you will have an eternity to live and reign with Christ and no more pain or suffering or disease or death…it sounds like a wonderful place to retire to!

The streets of Heaven are reported by John and other prophets to be paved with gold so pure it is clear enough to see through like glass! Does that sound like a place that you could live in for a very long, long time? I think so. God can make anything that He wishes to and if He wants you to have a life in Heaven, accept His grace through Jesus and give your life to Him. Your life, your REAL life, won’t ever end from that point on and you will be a servant to the Creator! What could be better than that?

There are some who say that they would rather be in hell than serve God and they will likely have that opportunity. The problem with this thinking is that you will be in torment forever in hell! Heaven is serving the Creator not because you are forced to but because you WANT to! He gave you life and all of the blessings that you enjoyed on this Earth, it seems that you could repay a little of that love and kindness! Why am I talking about what we may be doing in heaven? Because it is very likely that we will be serving God and doing His work throughout the ages to come!

We who truly belong to God and have accepted Jesus as our Savior will live with Him in comfort but we will also work with Him in all of His ways and in His Kingdom, Amen!

Who is in charge?


Have you ever wondered about this today? In the world, in America and other countries, who really is in charge? Do you wonder about this at times? I do.

It seems that many people are against one thing or another, especially when it involves religion and its viewpoints and in particular the Christian religion. An interesting article was on ministrymatters.com about the American Library Association’s list of books that were challenged due to their content. Here is a small sample of that article:

“The Christian Scriptures are a “regular” among the complaints forwarded by public libraries and schools to the ALA, according to James LaRue, director of the association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. But it’s been seven years since the Bible received enough complaints to make the Top 10 list, LaRue said.

“There’s almost a little retaliatory feel to people speaking up against the Bible because they want to go on record as being opposed to Christian opposition to LGBT (issues) or Christian opposition to Islam,” he said.”

So, who do you think is in charge in this situation? God is still in control whether we see it or not. He knows the reasons and the outcome of these opposition matters which are against the moral laws brought out by the Bible. He knows which parts that every person on each side of this discussion are against and which ones they are for. So, in today’s world as the sides draw lines and begin pounding on desks with gavels, how can we understand the part about who or Who may be in charge?

Truthfully, our understanding is limited by our own viewpoint and on which side we may be standing on. Our understanding is also limited by our knowledge of Scripture and what it tells us that we should do and how to do it. The problem with this lack of knowledge is that it involves each of us and how much we have studied God’s Word. Not just read it, but actually, prayerfully, study it word for word. Asking God to reveal to us what He wants us to know about Him and what we should do with this knowledge in our world today.

Why do I say we need to do this? Because our world, everywhere around us and where we work or go to school, NEEDS Jesus! The more we know from His Word, the better we will be prepared to defend our faith or tell someone about our Savior. Time is growing shorter, and many people are searching for Him. They may not realize that Jesus is the one they are looking for, but He is the One that they NEED!!

What is your question in this life?


Do you go around asking or just wondering about life and all of its do’s and don’ts? Have you seen all that there is to see, for you at least or do you still seek out the next curve or over the next hill? Do you still question why the wind blows or where does the sun go at night? How does the grass know when it is time to come back in spring? How do the flowers and trees know when to begin to bloom again?

These questions have been answered by science, to an extent at least. The sun doesn’t go under the Earth and come out of a cave in the East during the night and even today few people can tell you where the wind actually comes from or blows to. Yes, we have weather vanes which can point out the directions for me for the wind blowing. But, how do the trees and the grass know when to wake from their slumber during the winter? I know, it is the ground temperature and the angle of the sun or at least that is what botanists tell us.

Questions allow us to learn things and grow our minds. They help us to see the world around us, not as a static place but as a place that is alive and growing. Science can explain many things but emotional attachment cannot be quantified nor explained. Love can’t be bottled or analyzed, but it can be felt and in a relationship it grows deeper and sweeter with age.

God created our world and everything in it and He gave us the capacity to love and to be loved. Why? Because He loves each of us! He created us unique and one of a kind. There isn’t another person on Earth who is like you or me. Some of us may resemble each other so closely that it may be hard to tell us apart, but our personalities are different, our likes and dis-likes are different. Why are we made this way? Because God wanted it that way. Of the millions of birds and fish species that are in the world, very few of them are “clones” of each other as well. Some are colored the same, but each bird has a different personality too.

Why did God make all of this diversity in the world? What is the purpose of it? Mainly it was to make us ask questions about Him and His creation! Scientists like to analyze things to the point of not having anything left to analyze, but unless you are looking to the Creator for your answers, you will never find them. God is the answer to all of your questions and mine. Jesus is the Savior Who can open the door to Heaven for you, all you have to do is believe in Him and give your life to Him. There are no amounts of money that you can give or even telling others about Him that will get you into Heaven, unless you have given your heart to Him first!

He LOVED us enough to give His life and shed His blood for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to do anything to earn eternity. There is nothing that we can do on our own to earn our way into Heaven. Believe in Jesus and His sacrifice for you, ask Him to forgive you and to change you forever and He will! That is all that is required of you…nothing else.

Will it matter that I lived?


I am not asking this question just for me but for  every person who reads this. It is a question which begs to be answered. Will it really matter that I lived? I don’t know the answer to that question. Have I done or said anything that is profound enough or thought-provoking enough that it will be noticed when I am no longer posting? Some may say that they will notice, but there are many more who don’t know that I am here even now!

My family will notice, of course, but will the words and the wisdom (if you can call it that) be noticed enough that the words that I write will be missed? Honestly I can tell you that I really don’t care and that is the truth. If you have noticed and read some of the things that I have posted, great! I pray that some of what I have said here has made a difference in your life.

NO! I am not dying nor have I been diagnosed with some fatal illness. I read something recently which asked this question and I became curious, so I thought why not put it out there and see if someone might notice or care to comment on this question. Just as an experiment if you will.

Before I go and finish this missive I want to make sure that you know this: God LOVES you with a love that is above your emotional feelings for your children or your spouse. This is why He sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins. The only requirement for your salvation is that you believe in Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask Him to change your heart and your life into the one that He knows that you can be. Join a church that teaches from the REAL Bible, not a paraphrase or watered-down version of it! Learn as much as you can learn about Who God really is because He is not the Man upstairs nor is He a genie that grants your wishes! He is the Creator of all the stars, the galaxies, our planet, the Sun and every atom that exists in the entire universe AND He cares about you!Inspiration

Prayer and faith


Praisethelord Yes, both are necessary for a Christian and for our world too. Why do I say this? Because there are so many people who don’t want to admit this or hear it. Prayer and praise go together with faith and all of it is needed today. Because life and living today is hard enough without having faith in a future with Jesus. Prayer and faith go hand in hand, but it seems that many people don’t believe in having faith in a God which they can’t see. You can’t touch or see any of the “gods” which are worshiped in the world today, many of them are actually dead and in their graves yet people still think that they are “gods”. If they were then they wouldn’t be dead!

Satan is a fallen archangel, a guardian seraphim and one that once lived on the “mount of God” but pride brought him down because he thought that he could be like God and take God’s place. No one can do that but he convinced enough of the angels to follow him until there were a third of the angels thrown down from Heaven. We don’t know how many this was, but considering how much our world is in such a mess today it was a LOT!

Today it seems that nobody wants to acknowledge God as the Creator, but He is and He is NOT dead! Seek Him out while there is still time to do so. Read John 3:16,17; Romans 8 too, because they tell you what and Who you should know and why.

Racetrack living


There are days which seem to fly by as if we live on or in a car on a racetrack, yet we can’t seem to get past the observation that God sees your life and mine from the starting line to the finish line. We can’t see it because our life looks to us like the view from a car on a track. All that we can see is the view around us, memories behind us and a little of what lies ahead of us, and that last part is blurred to an extent.

Some people think or at least seem to, that God is just sitting up in Heaven looking down on His subjects like a King without a care about us or any part of our lives. Our experience of God is limited by what we find in the Bible and what we see and hear in our lives, which today is very limited by political correctness. Yes, God can see all of our lives from His vantage point but from His point of view He can also see the beginning of time. He can feel all of the betrayal and frustration and pain that you and I and every human has ever felt. He sits outside of time, but He is also part of our lives even if we haven’t asked Him to be. He is present in your past and in your future.

We do live like our lives are on a racetrack, but I am reminded of the race tracks that you get as a child. You are in the position of God because you can see the starting line but you can also see the curves and the straight ways. You can see any debris that is possibly there which will cause an accident. You can fix it by removing it or you can allow it to happen and then help with getting the car(life) back on track again. God is in control of all and since He is God, He can choose to get involved in your life and mine a little bit or He can use your life as an example to someone else.

God can see your life and the life of everyone at any point and He is there at any of those points in your life. It is your job to seek Him out and follow Him though. God has left us a Book which gives us some rules to live by and plenty of wisdom to go with it, but just as you had to do in school…you have to learn from it. Not memorize it so much as to get it into your being, into your heart so that you won’t have to remember it when needed. It will just be there, just as He is.

Yes, God does see the end from the beginning and everything in between but it is our choice to come to Him during our “race” of life for advice and counsel so that our life will be useful and an example to others. He is perfect and good, we are not, but He is able to give us the knowledge and ability in this life to be servants and leaders for His Kingdom and as we practice doing those things we will gain the ability to be more in His Kingdom to come.

We have to learn about the “drive” in life so we can complete the course and the only way to do that is to read God’s Book, learn from His wisdom and apply it to our lives every day. Little by little, we can get through the turmoil and hardships which come our way as we go through the trials and the traffic of life, but it is so much easier to do so with God as your driver and coach rather than leaving Him in the “pit crew” after services.

Movement…


It seems that everyone wants some sort of “movement” today. A movement to legalize this or that, one to discourage this behavior or that behavior. Why?

God moved toward us when He sent Jesus to be the substitute for our sacrifice, for our deserved punishment because of sin. He caused a movement in the world because of His love for us which has been making a difference in people’s lives for about two thousand years. Yes, there have been some missteps by those who considered their view of “christian” living and worship to be the only one that was valid but when you step into exclusivity for anything that is the direction you are going.

The only exclusive part of Christian life is that Jesus said  “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” John 11:25. He is the Life and the Way to Heaven, there is no other path to take which can get you there. Jesus is our exclusive and inclusive way to eternity.

Why do I say that He is inclusive when there is so much division in the church all over the world? Because it is not the sinner which God and Jesus hate, it is the sin and the lifestyle of sin which they hate. You are loved by God as if you are the only person on Earth but if you are living in a sinful life, it is the lifestyle and the sins that you are committing which God hates…not you.

He created each of us as a person whom He could have a relationship with. He came down and walked with Adam before the fall in Eden and that is what He wants to do with you. Knowing about Him, listening to sermons, reading the Bible and going to church are wonderful in and of themselves BUT those things will not save your soul! Belief in Jesus and in His life and that He died for your sins is what will save you. Follow Him daily, confess your sinful life and repent of those sins so that others can see a change in your life that they will want in their life!

If there is no change in your life, then it is likely that a change has not occurred in your heart! God loves all of us, but He requires obedience and always has! Words and attendance of a church service or two don’t count. Reading the Bible is good but if you have not believed in the One Who wrote those words,,,it is just a book. Living your life according to a “code of conduct” is a great thing as long as the One Who wrote the code is our Creator and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

You can live by a moral code which many people do. One that is acceptable to the world, such as the so-called “golden rule”, but living by that rule will not save your soul. Being a peace-loving person and doing no harm to anyone is nice, but it will not save your soul…only belief in Jesus will do that. Yes, Christianity is a movement and it is one which is not accepted by many in our world today because it is a movement toward God and away from sin. It is a movement which causes us to reject the “accepted” way of living for the life of a servant of God.

It does require repentance from your old habits and ways and turning toward God  and His ways.

Worry, doubts and fears


It seems that every day people are bombarded with more things which cause fear and anxiety. We doubt ourselves at times, and we have fears which cause us to worry about things which we can’t control. What can we do about this? Can we do anything about this situation? It depends upon your situation and your faith.

Some people claim that they can handle their own lives and they don’t need to have “blind faith” in religion to help them get through life. The problem with this kind of attitude is that when push comes to shove and things get a bit out of hand, most will seek out a “higher power” for comfort and direction even if they claim that they don’t believe in a “higher power”. God is that One Who is higher than all, Jesus is the One Who can relate to our suffering and our pain and they can help in all of life’s situations no matter what!

With all of the news that is available to us on the Internet and television today, there is very little which goes on in the world that we can’t keep tabs on whether we truly want to or need to or not. All of this information can cause us to worry far more than is healthy, and the worst part is that we shouldn’t worry about it at all. God is in control of it all. He is watching and guiding your life and mine toward that day when He will call us home.

Yes, one day the whole world will see that we are important to our Creator. Important enough that He will be returning soon, much sooner than most think. Many people are going to be surprised and terrified when that day comes and the church, the believers who are waiting for His call, all disappear and are taken to Heaven. Then they will want to believe, but it will be harder to do so. Many explanations will be given which have nothing to do with God or the Bible’s prophecies but just as in the days of Noah, when the door to the ark was shut the only ones saved were the ones inside.

We don’t have “blind faith” in a God Who is not there. He is the Creator because there is no way that all of this universe could come into being as it is because of an accident. Our own solar system, out of all the ones that have been discovered, is the only one that is stable and with orbits for all of the planets that allow for life to flourish. All of the hundreds of solar systems that have been discovered are too close to their star or too far-flung to harbor life.

God loves all of us, no matter what your skin color is or your culture, but we refuse His provision and His grace when we try to take His place. When we think that we know better than He does how to fulfill our lives in this world, we are deluding ourselves. Seek God in the Bible or at a church which teaches from His Word. Pray that your life can have meaning in and through Him and seek His wisdom every day. This is the best way to relieve stress and worry because He is the One Who holds tomorrow in His hand. All that we have is today.

Live today for Jesus and then do it again tomorrow, then repeat until He comes again. That is the prescription which will conquer worry, doubt and fears far better than anything that a doctor can give you.

God is in control


JesusWhether the magazines or the newspaper agrees with that statement or not, He has always been and He still is in control. He allows us to make our mistakes and our choices, but in the end He is still in control. It doesn’t matter how much money that you have or how little you have, your treasure here and in your heart should be your family.

Why do I say that? Because money can’t buy happiness or joy. It can’t extend your life nor can it give you peace about life. Sure, having money helps in many of these situations, but money is only a tool which is why the Bible says that “the love of money is the root of all evil”. We are to put our faith and our trust…our love into loving our Savior, Jesus, because He is the One Who can bring you joy and peace and He can give you eternal life. Money is just a tool and that is all that it is, yet we put our lives and our happiness on the line for our careers and our business ventures in order to have more.

God is and always has been the most important person that you will ever know. He is the One that you need to get to know because HE is the Creator Who gave you life and formed you in the womb. He knows what you are capable of and what you can do today, but He also knows what you will do tomorrow. Nothing takes God by surprise.

He loves you, regardless of what you have done in the past or may do in the future. He already knows about it, so it isn’t new to Him. Why not allow Him to show His love for you by bringing you into a relationship with Him? You only have eternity to gain and the loss that you will have is the loss of the guilt from sins and the penalty for them. Jesus already paid that price so that we wouldn’t have to. Give Jesus a chance in your life and you will see a very different person in the mirror afterward.

Seek Jesus out and learn about Him, because He is the only way to get to Heaven.

What do you truly need?


Life is given to us when we are born, but our person and our soul arrives before that event which is why God said, ““Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;“Jeremiah 1:5

All of our needs are met by God with our life, our breath, our living on this Earth. True, there are people who are hungry and without shelter in the world and in our country, but that is a society problem. One that could be taken care of without a government program, if we would resolve to take care of our own instead of everyone else.

Life and our needs are the things which we are blessed with by God. With each breath and each blink of our eyes we see the horror of life which happens around us and we also see the beauty in a sunset or the smile of a child. So, how do you respond to all of the stimuli that you have thrown in your life, in your face by social media, by news or other programs? Do we, collectively, respond positively with an attitude which can lend a hand to others?

Many times we don’t in today’s society. We protest that there is not enough being done. We march around and parade in the streets and bring wrongs to the attention of the media, but…we could be doing something about these things. Not being dependent upon the government to take care of us, but actually helping each other. Teaching our children, showing them how much we really DO care about their education rather than depending on some stranger to tell them what the “education system” says they need to learn.

What does our country need? People who will roll their sleeves up and get to work to fix the things that need fixing! The government doesn’t know how to fix its own problems, how can they fix yours and mine?

Your life and mine belong to God. Whether you have given your heart to Him or not, He is still the Creator and whether you believe this or not doesn’t cause that fact to be false! We will face Him either when we die or at the judgement seat, but your belief in Him or your lack of belief in His existence doesn’t have an effect on His existence.

He provides for us, whether we acknowledge His presence in that process or not. Our needs are met, but our eternal need is for salvation and that only comes through Jesus and belief in Him. Seek Him out, learn of His Truth in the Bible and ask Him into your heart. How long each of us has in this life is just a puff of smoke compared to eternity, which will be your life after this one. Make sure it is one that you will enjoy rather than be in punishment during that time. It is only a small decision, one that a child can make yet many refuse to believe that it is that simple.

Don’t put it off.