Tag: God loves you

Laugh a little


As much as the news bombards us with things which bring us down, it is good to find something to laugh about. Just as David danced and praised the Lord as they brought the Ark into Jerusalem, we should laugh and find joy in our days. I know it isn’t easy to do at times, with all of the news being confusing and bad, in ways that make you want to give up. Find little joys in your day like seeing a child having fun or a bird flying and living its life the way God intended. Seek out joy and it will find you.

Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Life is too short to live with a sour face and a spirit which says to others “Leave me alone in my pain and sorrow!”. Children in happy homes find all sorts of imaginative things to do and be happy about. Unfortunately when we get older and have too many responsibilities, we lose that joy and wonder mostly because we don’t have time for it. Live…because you are designed for life and God gives you each day to enjoy every minute!

Lightning Storm Over City LightsLook at the stars, watch and sunrise or sunset and see the beauty of it, if you can watch a storm from a distance and see the dance of the electrical storm and the power in it. Above all…know that God loves you and has provided everything that you need in this life as a practice run for eternity! Run your race reaching for that goal of seeing your Savior and the reward of eternity after this life is finished!

Fear, what does it mean to you?


I read this recently and it does make sense, if you look at it the way the definitions are worded.

Fear has two meanings:

Forget Everything And Run  or

Face Everything And Rise

Which would you prefer? We all have a fear of something, it just depends on how deep that fear is regarding how we will react to it. The circumstances also come into play as well because as you get older your fears change. Some will cause less panic than they did when you were young. Some will cause more panic when they confront you as you get older.

Don’t be afraid of things which you have no control over, such as a hurricane or a tornado. God has your future mapped out perfectly and He knows exactly how and when you will die and where you will be tomorrow. His angels will guard you in every step that your life takes you through no matter what you have to face. You are never alone when you have Jesus as your Savior!

But what if you don’t have Jesus in your heart? What do you do then? If you don’t know or you’re not sure about your salvation, then I would say you need to turn to Jesus for your salvation very soon. Why? Because, He is coming back soon and you don’t want to be caught in the camp of the enemy when He does. If you are, then you will find out what FEAR really means!

God loves each of us and He doesn’t want us to be left here during the time of His wrath on Earth, so the simple solution is…don’t be! Give your heart and soul to Jesus today so that you will be caught up with the church when He returns. Seek Him out and get to know Jesus while you have the time because you don’t know when your time is up!

Bible verses about salvation

The classic hymn Amazing Grace says “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me”. In this post you can read a couple of Bible verses about salvation.

For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us:
‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
so that all the world may be saved.’ (Acts 13:47)

I wait patiently for God to save me;
I depend on him alone.
(Psalm 62:1)

Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:9-10)

Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us. (Acts 4:12)

I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already passed from death to life. I am telling you the truth: the time is coming—the time has already come—when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will come to life. Just as the Father is himself the source of life, in the same way he has made his Son to be the source of life. And he has given the Son the right to judge, because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:24-27)

He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace by means of Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but now it has been revealed to us through the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus. He has ended the power of death and through the gospel has revealed immortal life. (2 Timothy 1:9-10)

If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God. In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)

I am telling you the truth: he who believes has eternal life. (John 6:47)

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior. (John 3:16-17)

 

On this day……


There are many websites and news sites which are talking about 9/11 and I agree that we shouldn’t forget what happened and why. But, I am not going to go over where I was or what my feelings were at the time. Yes, there was sadness and anger and frustration at all of the agencies who didn’t or wouldn’t share the information which they had. My point for today is that it is a day we should remember and take the memory with us to learn from it.

The truth of the CrossPrior to 2001, this day was very much like any other day. We get up, either go to work or to church or maybe something else (depending upon which day it falls on). My point here is that until we were attacked on this day, it was just like any other day. Now it is a reminder of terror and being attacked by people who hate us. Understanding the hatred is something which we can’t actually do, even today many years later. The news media and other “talking heads” will discuss and memorialize the day, yet we haven’t actually come to an agreement with those who attacked us and we likely never will.

The religious fervor and anger from centuries ago will not go away because the religion of those who attacked us tells them to lie and do anything necessary to placate the infidels in order to kill them later. We are not going to see an end to this until Jesus comes back and puts an end to it forever.

Jesus loves all people but the time of the church age is drawing to a close. God’s patience for our world and its disregard for Israel and for His Son is drawing to an end. Please don’t wait until the Tribulation begins because even though it won’t be too late to give your heart to Jesus, it will be far more dangerous. You have time today…right now, don’t wait, seek Him out to be your Savior before He returns for the church.

The end of the season


Summer-to-FallWe have finished the summer season, although here in the Deep South, the heat will linger on until sometime in late September or possibly through October. We only have two seasons anyway, less heat and more heat. Usually with the “more heat” we also get more rain and more humidity too, so late spring for most everyone is sticky for us and it only gets more sticky as the summer goes on. Life, of course, goes on. We have mildew and mold in places where it should not be. After April or early May, it is not enjoyable to watch the Braves play baseball in Pearl because even sitting in the stands you are wringing wet with sweat (which is why I never buy season tickets).

Yep, seasons in the South are rarely the kind that you can actually enjoy outside. You just trudge through the humidity and the ticks and the mosquitos and hope you don’t come down with West Nile virus or Lyme disease. Living in Mississippi is not exactly a challenge as much as it is an ongoing ordeal in humidity. By now, you have probably noticed that I don’t really like the humidity here. Even though I have lived here since I was five, I would much rather live in the Midwest.

But, economics and all that goes with it demands that I stay put so I do. The Bible says that we are placed in the world to be light and hope for others. We are also to be the voice of Jesus in the places where we live and work, by telling others about Him when the situation comes along. So why aren’t we doing this? As members of the church and the body of Jesus Christ on Earth, we are supposed to be His feet and hands and mouth by doing what He would do and going where He would go and telling others about the grace offered to them through God’s grace.

This is the commission which He gave to His disciples when He went to Heaven and it is still valid for us today. As scripture says, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14

We are supposed to be those who tell others about Jesus so that they will have a chance to know Him and come into eternity when He returns. If we don’t do this when we have the chance to do it, then it will fall on each of us as taking away some of our rewards in Heaven. Those who have been near you who don’t know about Jesus, especially if they have asked you about Him, are the field which is white unto harvest.

We are supposed to tell them so that God can have more people brought into His Kingdom. You don’t have to preach or be a missionary, just tell anyone who asks what He has done for you in all things. This medium is a good way to do this but you should be ready when someone is seeking the reason for your joy.

Our bad side and our good side


During disasters, which seems to be the only time, much of the goodness comes out in people. You see people helping others, regardless of color of skin, without regard to nationality or political party. Nobody asks if you are a Democrat or a Republican, how much money do you have or where do you work, but when people are in need of help, people do show up to help.

There are some exceptions of course. During a hurricane or tornado or rather afterwards, there will also be some who show up to see if they can find something for free. The come to steal from people and from businesses who have left their home or business because of the flood waters or the damage caused by the tornado. While the law enforcement can’t be everywhere, that is when these people take advantage of the situation and steal electronics and anything else they can carry away.

Two sides of society which are present in almost every place where there has been some disaster to happen. The only time I have never seen anyone doing these things is in areas where fire has destroyed homes and woodlands and grasslands. Why? Mostly because there is nothing to steal and what may be found in cars and homes after a fire isn’t worth stealing.

we-are-not-born-racist-people-learn-to-be-racist-6800532.pngWe need more helpers in America and around the world too. More people willing to help, regardless of the cost or any expectation of reward. It does seem that there are more of the helpers than there are of the looters and those who were shooting at rescuers. But honestly, there shouldn’t be anyone stealing during a time like the people in and around Houston are having!

God loves all of us and the times that we have to live through tragedies and disasters are just proof that Satan is in control of much of our world. The storm and the damage it caused may be used by God to bring out the best of us, regardless of the damage that it caused. Does God use disasters like this? Of course He does! There were far more good stories which have come out of this than bad ones, so far.

Seek to do good for people, like Jesus did, no matter the cost. Your reward for this will be in Heaven and in the smiles and the joy that you feel in helping others who truly need your help.

Have faith in God alone!


“Isaiah 43:1-2, this is what the Lord says,” do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned and the flames will not set you ablaze.”

onebreathawayOur Lord and Savior is on His throne and all of these promises are given to those who believe in Him. Seek to do good for those who cannot do for themselves because that is what Jesus would do in this world.

Life, especially life on Earth, is precious to God and He doesn’t look kindly on those who take it lightly. We, the whole of humanity, are His creation and in spite of what some religions teach, God loves each person as His own. Why else would He send Jesus to die and pay the penalty for our transgressions, even before most of us today were born?

Yes, God will protect those who believe in Him and His Son and He will give them life even after this body has died. Will all of us see this come to pass in our lifetime? I don’t know nor could I tell you because only God knows when that time will be. He knows the day and the hour and when the time comes, it will happen and not before. It will also happen when God has determined it will and not because of what we are doing or not doing on Earth.

There are some who think that if they cause more death and destruction on Earth it will force the Tribulation/End Times/Whatever you want to call it to begin, but that is not how God works. Yes, He did bring about the flood because of the evil intent of mankind and Jesus said that the condition of the world would be “like the days of Noah”, but our wickedness is not going to trigger the Tribulation.

God’s timing of events will proceed at the pace which He decides on, not on anything that we are doing or not doing at the time.

Make sure that you are ready and looking for His coming when it does happen, because the world which will be here after the church is taken up will be much worse than the one we have now.

 

So much disagreement!


5thingsgodwantsyou2knowWhy do we disagree with each other so vehemently? It seems that it doesn’t matter what religion or race or political party you belong to at the time, our differences of opinion and culture divide us so much that we can’t seem to find any common ground to work on!

Why!?

As a species and as actually ONE race being human beings or Homo sapiens if you want to get scientific about it, our skin color and our hundreds of different cultures divide us to the point of barely being in any kind of collective community! It seems that, if you ask a question on one side of a room and then ask the same question on the other side, you will come up with many, many different answers to that same question…even if it is a simple one!

We just can’t agree on much at all, except what color the Sun is and that grass is green when it has water.

Is it possible for us to work around those differences or maybe work through them in order to find a way to get along long enough to NOT kill each other over ideology or religion?

Truly…in the world today, with all of the “politically correct” police all over the place, I doubt that we would ever fix any of the problems which are in our society now! When people are being told that they can’t say certain things or they will be put in jail for using the improper pronoun in reference to a person, regardless of their “born gender”; I don’t see any possible way of getting our world into a more compassionate and tolerant world.

Search the scriptures to find the wisdom of God in all of this. Because His Word is the only truth which is actually True. I understand that is a statement which is intolerant and narrow-minded but consider the same restrictions from Islam toward many of our freedoms and the lifestyles of people in the world? They don’t just preach and tell unbelievers that their sins according to Allah and the Holy Koran are wrong, in many instances the infidels are shoved from a rooftop or in some other way killed!

Has a Christian or Jewish church or temple ever done such a thing? I realize that during the 1500’s and 1600’s there were beheadings and wars and things such as that by the “church” of the time, but I am speaking of now…today!? No, the church of today doesn’t condone any kind of killing because you are sinning against God, because Jesus said that we are to love our fellow-man as He loved the people around Him. You cannot love someone and kill them!

Seek Jesus out in your situation and in the lives of those around you. Tell them about His love for them and that it is available to all who will believe in Jesus! Do this while there is time and breath in our bodies, because when the Trumpet of God sounds it will be too late.

The eclipse…


I know that I am not the only person writing about this but it is a big deal. I mean this eclipse can be seen by most of the United States! Maybe not in totality but any portion of our Sun obscured is a big deal. I took a picture with my cell phone and it doesn’t look as good as others but I am going to show it here:

Eclipse by phoneThere will be another eclipse for the Eastern half of the USA in seven years so maybe others will get to see that one too. Our God is Awesome! I hope that you had a chance to get out and see this event today. According to our news media there were more people watching this peacefully than have gathered together in a long time. We need this kind of unity!

Life is all around us every day but sometimes we only see the darkness. Take heart, the darkness only lasts for a little while. In an eclipse or in life, the dark times which do come, only last for a bit and then they are replaced by the Light of God’s love. Sometimes the darkness last for a while longer, but if you lean on Jesus and seek His strength during this time, you will get through it and emerge into the Light.

The darkness of the totality during an eclipse is truly dark as I observed on TV, but it only lasted for a couple of minutes in most places. Then the light began to return. It is the same with our lives today. When the darkness overtakes us, it seems very, very dark for a while but you are not alone. Jesus is always by your side if you believe in Him as your Savior.

God loves each of us so much that He sent His Son to live and die on a cross for us. Paying our sin debt in full so that we don’t have anything to boast of except for Jesus alone! Life is sometimes dark and dreary but the good news is that Jesus is the Light of the World and in Him only are we saved, sanctified and given eternal life! There is no other Savior nor any other way to accomplish this except through Jesus the Christ!

Please be in prayer for all who have not made the decision to give their lives to Jesus because, regardless of your idea of a Savior or whether there even is a God, believe the Bible as God’s Word and it is True! He loves you and there is no one else in this universe that could love you more than He does! Don’t turn away from Him when you feel His call in your life, in your heart because you may not get the chance again.

Summer….


The season of heat and humidity, at least in the deep South, is coming to an end. It hasn’t yet, but hopefully before November the temperature outside will get to a point of being tolerable. Summer is also the warmest or hottest part of the year no matter what hemisphere you live in or the time of year in which it falls. I never really liked summer because of the humidity and the heat but then I tried a little of it in Arizona a few years back. It wasn’t so unbearable as summer in the South, but hot is hot when you get in a car, with or without the humidity!

13419221_838712436261893_9132633303197040096_nYou may be wondering why I am beginning this post about the hottest part of the year? Well….there are many reasons. Life itself being one of them. We go through periods of learning and growth in the spring of our lives, then we get to the summer season where we are busy and doing things so much until we don’t know which direction we are going sometimes. The fall season is sometimes the best, although it is then that many of life’s problems show up in our health and relationships. Winter is when all of the accomplishments of life come together and we remember, hopefully, the best of those before we reach the end.

Why do I bring this up today? Because, a friend of mine has passed on to the next phase of life…eternity. I am not sure about their salvation, although I hope that he did give his life to Jesus before the end. Life is full of changes. Some of them are good, some are not, but we have to live through them regardless. It is in living through them that we learn and grow into the person that we are to be. For some of us it takes a bit longer, and for some the learning begins with an early realization that God is in control of all things.

God is in control and He does His will through us and without us, but His will is done in all things good or bad. and the good and bad are from our viewpoint. Not necessarily from God’s viewpoint because His purposes will be done regardless of our actions or inaction. Spring, summer, fall and winter are only seasons in the year even though we use them to represent our lives as well. Seek Jesus out during your spring so that the rest of your “year” of life will be productive and in accordance with His will.

Who is God?


The Prayer of Dedication

22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 23He said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart, 24who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You have promised him; indeed, You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand as it is this day. 25“Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way to walk before Me as you have walked.’ 26“Now therefore, O God of Israel, let Your word, I pray, be confirmed which You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.

27“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! 28“Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today; 29 that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. 30“Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive. (1 Kings 8:22-30)

God is the only Creator and Redeemer that we have to turn to in life. There is no man or beast or any created thing which can take His place. Anyone who thinks themselves to be “god of their own life” and they believe that God does not exist, then let them tell Him that He doesn’t exist. How do they believe that this will be possible?

Not believing in God doesn’t make Him or His power and majesty of no effect. Neither does it cause Him to allow you to enter into Heaven, since you are determined not to believe in the One Who created you. Atheist’s have determined in our country to get rid of any mention of God or His Word or anything which might be seen as pointing people toward becoming believers. Why?

They do not have anything against any other religion, nor do they keep other religions from telling people about their religion. Why so much hostility toward the Bible and the God mentioned in it? Because they know that this is the truth and the only Truth available to grant salvation to anyone who believes, that is why they don’t want it in schools or police stations or government buildings. If there were scriptures from the Koran or any other religion present in those places, nothing would be said about that.

The reason for this is that the Bible and its wisdom is absolute. There aren’t any flexible decrees in its pages. The world, whether they are religious to one degree or another or not, hates absolute Truth. They can’t dispute it, yet they cannot deny it either. Water is wet, the sun is hot, gravity works very well…all of these things they can “explain” with science. But when a disease is cured for no explainable reason or someone recovers from a horrific accident or comatose state and doctors can’t explain how or why…it makes people nervous.

If you feel any need at all for God in your life, I urge you to seek Him soon. Our time on Earth is coming to an end. The rest of the world doesn’t see this, many have not read the book of Revelation and realized that it is prophecy which is being fulfilled almost on a daily basis. Don’t wait until the Anti-Christ and the World Order takes over and requires an implant or mark on your hand or head to buy food! Seek Jesus and give your life to Him while you can and before the Bible is banned as a hate filled book!