Tag: God loves you

Why don’t relationships work?


Truly the reason that this happens is because of the foundation. Many marriages begin on the wrong foot and certainly on sand or loose gravel for a foundation. Why do we pursue a relationship that ultimately will fail?

IAM-JesusWe do this because we haven’t found the Relationship which can’t fail. We are born searching for something or Someone but for years we search and look for things and people to fill that void, that empty place which always feels as if it needs…to be filled. It is a scientific principle which states quite accurately that “nature abhors a vacuum”. At some point, something will fill that space whether it is good or bad, God or Satan, it doesn’t matter which, but it will be filled.

If we try to fill it with a career or a family, that can work for a while but it isn’t permanent. If we try to fill it with drugs or alcohol, our life and our relationships are doomed to fail because those things are designed to destroy whatever they come in contact with! But…if we will seek out our Savior, Jesus the Christ, and repent of the attempts which we have tried before, and ask Him to come in and clean our heart up, then our life will be placed on the right path.

Following Him, learning about Him by reading and studying the Bible, praying about your family and your problems, all of these will begin to fix your pathway and your life in such a way that your foundation will become complete and solid. When this happens, your relationship with your spouse and your family will begin to level out and become less bumpy and more smooth. This is the foundation which should guide our lives today but we tend to follow along with the rest of the crowd at school or church, if we go at all.

If everyone at school or at church is just going along to get along for the sake of being thought of as a “pillar of the community”, that is the wrong reason. Trying to earn a place in the eyes of people and “fair weather friends”, no matter how you earn it, doesn’t help you in the long run. Why? Because it isn’t built on God’s foundation which is Jesus.

You can decide to ignore this advice if you wish or just don’t read this at all, it doesn’t hurt my feelings one way or the other. But…what if I am right. When your life is going to hell on a slippery slope, which of your friends could possibly pull you out of it? A rich kid that you went to school with? No, they are likely off enjoying life just as they think they should. What about your dear friend from work? Not likely, they come home feeling even more tired than they did last year.

The only One Who can get your life back on the right path and give you strength enough to make it through all of your trouble is Jesus. No other religion or “holy man” or prophet can do that because all of them are dead! He is alive at the Father’s right hand and He is able to help you in your time of need. Seek Him out and make sure that He is your foundation and your Solid Rock, your Savior. Because without Him, we can do nothing.

Get your relationship with God and His Son, Jesus, right and the rest of your life will be so much better than it has ever been before.

Are you angry with God?


Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1:13–14)

angerMany of us get angry when God doesn’t answer a prayer the way that we want Him to, but consider that He doesn’t have to answer your prayer the way that you want! God is Who He is and it is His prerogative and His desire to do great and mighty things with you and for you, but He doesn’t answer to you! We should not be angry with our Creator at all because it is His grace and mercy which keeps us and the rest of the universe in balance and alive.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2–3)

Life is full of disappointments but most of the time, those things which didn’t go our way are not God’s denial of something for you. Usually it is because of OUR attitude or our prayer life or lack of one. It seems that many so-called “preachers” teach that God can be bargained with or forced to give you what YOU want in life. Seriously? You or I can’t force the Creator of the universe to DO anything! He will bless you in the way that HE sees as best for your life and your situation, NOT the way that you want it.

God is not your grandfather, nor is He like Santa either! He blesses us with life every day that we wake up and gives us the energy and ability to do our job regardless of what that job may be. If you are a pastor like I am, then He gives you the words which are needed to encourage others to come to know Jesus and to learn more about Him. Which is where all of these posts have come from. I certainly couldn’t come up with this stuff on my own!

Being angry with God does you no good at all. In fact it will quench the Holy Spirit’s actions in your life. Why would you be angry with God after all? It may be that your child has died or your doctor has given you a diagnosis which is not good. Being angry with God for any reason is like being angry with a tree because it sits in a certain place, you could cut the tree down but other than that what good does your anger do? Anger toward God is like being angry with a wall of concrete. You can’t get rid of it, you can’t push it down and beating against it won’t do anything except hurt yourself. God loves you, regardless of your anger or your hate toward Him. Seek Him out and learn about His patience and love for mankind.

God can do all things which we cannot, but don’t expect Him to give you the desires of your heart if it doesn’t bring glory and honor to Him. When your will aligns with His, then your prayers in Jesus’ name will be fulfilled!

Despair and depression


I know that many veterans and others go through this sometimes leading to suicide, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There are many support groups for us and there is always God’s Wisdom in the Psalms and Proverbs.

12804782_1044929828955942_1233315242139204553_nI went through a deep bout of depression a few years ago and it still tries to come back at times. I had many people praying for me and I read through the Psalms during this time, sometimes I re-read a Psalm or two and they spoke to my Spirit in an awesome way that I needed at the time.

Our entire planet is going through an attack of despair and other troubles brought on by Satan and his evil group of rebellious demons. Of course, we don’t see them doing all of the influences in our lives so most people don’t believe that they exist. Remember that Jesus spoke about them in the Bible so if God’s Word speaks about them, then they are real!

Like we can’t see God or Jesus in our world because they occupy a different realm or dimension than we do, so do angels and demons. There are times when we see them, but mostly in this life we don’t see their physical forms. Depression is one of the tools which Satan uses to screw up our lives and cause us to take our own lives or derail our mission on Earth. Depression causes all kinds of problems and sometimes those problems go much farther in your life than just how bad you feel.

It can cause diseases, it can also lead to drug addiction and other destructive behavior. It can also lead to the breakup of families, so this is a very powerful tool which Satan has in his arsenal. God can cure each of these problems in your life with His Presence in your heart if you will just seek Him out and ask Him to come into your heart and change your life. This is the prayer which God hears no matter what.

I pray that any of you who don’t know Jesus as your Savior will seek Him and learn about Him so that you will ask Him into your heart.

Why so much division?


Beliefs, creeds, denominations…it seems that our world is cracked into thousands of pieces when it comes to deciding about Who we believe in and serve. Why?

DivisionMostly it is because of the work of Satan. He has been at work in the world creating other “gods” for people to worship and also creating division in the church itself. Sometimes these are small cracks but over time and with a little help from willing people they get bigger until the church splits in two or crumbles into the dust.

In the first century, just after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples taught His Truth as The Way. Some called it The Truth. For many years it stayed that way until Catholicism and the Catholic church became the dominant form of worship in the crumbling Roman empire.

Until the Reformation, there were no Scriptures that a worshiper could have in his possession and read for himself or herself. Then, when the Bible was printed in English and German, many people were put to death when they were found to have one of these Bibles. The persecution of Christians by the church and by pagans, is found in the Book of Martyrs if you would like to read it. It is difficult to read, but it will show you what it took to be a true believer in Jesus, all the way up to recent history such as in the communist countries since WWII.

The fracturing of the church into so many denominations has caused many problems between believers. Some believe only parts of Scripture, some follow only a few verses in one book or another, when we are supposed to be people who believe in the entire Word of God! Not bits and pieces of it but ALL of it, the Old Testament and the New Testament should be taught in its entirety. Yet, many churches today seem to pick and choose what they will teach or believe and the parts that they will not.

This is not the way that Jesus wanted His church to be! We are not supposed to be bickering and fighting over parts and phrases, choosing which to teach and which to tell others that it is not God’s Word! If it is included in the Bible, whether it be a Jewish Bible or Orthodox Bible or a Protestant Bible, then it should be taught to everyone in the congregation, young and old!

I ask that anyone who is interested in God or Jesus and the Word in the Bible, please seek out a Bible teaching church and search out the Truth. God’s Word is true and has never been found to be wrong in any manner. Many try to bring parts of it to trial saying that it contradicts itself, but if you would seek the Truth it can be found that all of it is more true and accurate than many historical works. Praying that all of you who read this will seek Him out in the Bible and as your Savior. Amen.

Which god do you follow?


This is not the way that I refer to the God of Abraham from the Bible, but many people seem to look at God as just one more to add to the number of “gods”. He isn’t that at all! He is the Creator, our Creator and the God of All things! All created things in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth were made by Him, not some man-made god which came from someone’s imagination.

OnlyJesusThe hypocrisy needs to stop! Many people seem to be trying to merge Jesus and Islam because He is mentioned in the Koran. Some Christians are trying, very successfully, to merge new age thinking and Christian ideals as well. Some of this is even being taught from the pulpit! Why would anyone want to go to a church which teaches man’s wisdom, such as it is, and gives it equal validity with the Bible? Cults do this all of the time and get away with it, but many of their members are so ingrained in the teaching until they can’t tell the difference.

God told the Israelites that this would happen if they allowed their children to intermarry with those who lived in Canaan or the Promised Land. Which is why He told them to utterly destroy the people there and take over their lands, getting rid of all of the idols and groves and things which might draw them away from Him. It is happening in the church today in some countries, particularly in America.

Why can’t we get back to believing the Bible and teaching from it because it is the Word of God? I believe it is because we have compromised for two or three decades, maybe more, and we have become too tolerant of lifestyles and sins which our grandparents would not have allowed in the door of their church. “But, didn’t Jesus associate with sinners and others?”; yes, He did, but He didn’t agree with them or their lifestyle. He didn’t tolerate their beliefs, He told them that they were to “worship God and serve Him only”, it is true that in this particular instance Jesus was talking to Satan, but the Scripture that He quoted came from Deuteronomy 6:13.

Jesus also said that “the sick need a doctor, not those who are well“, and He was referring to those who were sinners needing Him rather than the Pharisees and the Scribes who didn’t think that they needed salvation. The point of this is that Jesus does love and care about all of humanity, but He doesn’t agree with our sinful lives nor our behavior. We are to seek Him out and come to Him for our salvation, not go to man-made religions and “gods” who are NOT God at all!

I pray that all of you who read this will see that I am not judging any sin or person, rather I write this to point you to the One Who can save your soul from the second death of being in darkness and away from God forever. Thank you for visiting.

What would get your attention?


I see many blogs which are much more related to photos or jokes or even paintings which get much more traffic than the messages which I place here. Now, don’t take this the wrong way, I am not complaining about my audience at all! It does seem that interest is more for media and other things included on a website rather than messages of the Christ, our Savior!

I kinda understand it simply because of the time in which we live. We are very close to the time of Tribulation, so there is a waning of interest in things which refer to Jesus and salvation. This is also why churches are empty on many Sundays and why few people go to church at all unless it is for a holiday or a birthday or some other special occasion.

So much that is happening now was foretold thousands of years ago, yet the prophecies were so hard to understand until few people realize that they were speaking of today. The prophets, including John who wrote the book of Revelation, didn’t know what they were seeing. Planes could’ve been the demons of dragonflies, horses with fire coming from their mouths could’ve been tanks with guns firing. Our time reflects the descriptions of the time of the end, with much of the disregard for God and His laws being what we see today on the news.

Yes, we are just as much sinners and full of ourselves as they were thousands of years ago. Nothing has really changed except technology and transportation, the sins are the same, but worse today. Many of our sins today are more akin to things which would’ve been unthinkable in Jesus’ day or before. Slave trafficking was happening at the time, but not sex slaves made out of children, as far as we know.

Pedophiles and so many other sins which seem to be tolerated today by people who are supposed to be “religious” or even Christians. Why are we not saying anything or doing anything about this today? It seems that we have become so used to seeing it or hearing about it, until we just don’t think its important anymore, as if it doesn’t matter! What if it were your child kidnapped and sent to Thailand or some other place to be a slave in the sex trade? Would it matter then?

These things are happening, not because God allows it to happen but because the world is under the control and influence of Satan and his followers. I don’t mean that there is a huge cult or Satan worship group doing all of this, but those who perpetrate evil are under his influence. God is going to bring this to an end…soon. I suggest that if you don’t know Jesus, you need to come to Him and ask for Him to come into your life and change you into the person that He knows you can be!

Without Him, your life will end with your death here and then your eternity will be very different from what you might think it will be. Seek Him while there is still time to do so.

 

Next


Weird title, huh? Mostly, to get attention but there is a good reason. Time itself is winding down according to prophecy…so what is next?

Read the Book! I am not saying this lightly because of the prophecies contained in God’s Word, the times which we are living in are there. It doesn’t say names or places exactly but the descriptions of the happenings in it sound very much like all of the troubles in the news today.

onebreathawayIt seems that many people are ignoring this today, mainly because there are many who don’t believe in God or His Word and the Truth contained within it. So much is told of this time until when you read parts of Daniel and Ezekiel and the book of Revelation, when you think about what you have read it sounds very much like the news that we hear weekly.

Yet, the churches and the news and the Pope don’t mention any of these things in their media clips talking about this time. Why? I believe that it is because of the amount of time which has transpired since the ascension of Jesus. Even though He said that He was returning, so much time has transpired until no one believes that it will happen in their lifetime.

Every day, week, months and years are going on just as it always has been, so why should anyone be expecting the end time prophecies to take place? As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes “there is nothing new under the sun“; so why should anyone worry that it will be different tomorrow or next week? God has given the whole world a grace period of almost two thousand years to learn of Him and to turn to Him in repentance and humility, yet they have not!

In those two millennia, mankind has seen fit to create for himself idols and ideas of “god” which do not fit Him as He is in the Bible. We have made Him into our own “gods”, even if we don’t have carved images of Him or our idea of what He is like. We worship those “ideas” of “god” which are not God. We have placed Him into a box which we like with things like, “my god wouldn’t send people to hell for this or that because he loves everyone” or “my god doesn’t condemn people because of their sexual orientation, he includes everyone in his church”!

Many churches and pastors today teach on these very topics and this is WRONG!! It is not Biblical at all! God hasn’t changed to allow sins and sinful people into His Presence and He will not change because God said that “I am the Lord and I change not“. Just because it is your opinion or idea that God is this way or that doesn’t make it so. God is god and His timing will bring about the end of the age whether you think it is coming or not!

Be ready in that day because when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ rise, then those who remain will be caught up with them to be with the Lord forever.

 

Miracles


MiraclesIn everyday life we see them but we may not recognize them for what they are. Some of them are little miracles that don’t seem like God had anything to do with them at the time. Some that we hear about are easy to recognize as a miracle because the healing or the shrinking of a tumor just doesn’t happen on its own. God works like this, in the background doing little things which will accomplish His Work and His purposes even when it seems that things aren’t going very well.

Our lives are like that too. Some days they are very good and some are, well not so much. Do miracles happen in your life? Occasionally you may notice something that couldn’t happen that way otherwise, but I would bet that many of our miracles happen when we don’t know about it. A guardian angel slips between you and someone intent on robbing you or maybe they redirect a car or truck from slamming into you. If you don’t think that God uses angels to do this kind of work, I imagine we will be surprised when we do get to Heaven.

We are His adopted children after all and if you have not given your heart to Jesus and asked Him to forgive you for waiting so long, then you need to get it done! Whether the world believes it or not, this age of grace which we have lived under for almost two thousand years is nearly over. A lot is going to happen in the next decade or two, maybe less, who knows? God does. He knows the day and the hour of your death as well as the time when He will send for all of His Church to be brought to Heaven.

The signs are in the heavens but many people are just saying that this is just astronomical signs and nothing more. The Bible clearly states that God intends to use the heavens to declare seasons and times and we are coming up on one of those times, the end of days or the Tribulation. Whatever you want to call it, it will be a time of war and disease and death as well as the judgement of God, all of it spelled out in prophecy.

Choose today who will be your Savior because your tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

Come as a child


The obvious reason that Jesus told His disciples not to hinder the children from coming to Him was and is that they understand His message better than any adult can. As soon as a child is old enough to know that He can’t earn salvation, they know that they have to ask Jesus into their heart and their life. It doesn’t take a lot of sermons or education for a child to just “get it”, they do.

madewholeinHeavenAnd they get it far better than we do. After we become adults, if we haven’t truly accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are so covered in education and pride and all sorts of other “filters” until we can barely see the message of the cross, let alone the real message of salvation. The world itself places those filters on us and our hearts and we allow it to happen. Most of the time we don’t even realize that it is happening, just as when we were sinners.

We didn’t know that we needed Jesus at that time and we didn’t really feel the need for Him. Until the Spirit of God touched our hearts and we noticed all of the sins we had committed and that they were separating us from God, most of us didn’t even know that we needed Him. We were comfortable with our lives and the sin that we lived in.

Don’t think that your life and your righteousness is good enough because it isn’t! If Moses couldn’t get into the Promised land because of his sin, then we are not close to being able to get into Heaven without Jesus! Regardless of which religion you follow or have been raised in, your goodness, your righteousness is as filthy rags next to the grace, mercy and forgiveness which comes from your belief in Jesus!

Have you been…crucified?


lamb-of-god-passoverI don’t mean in the physical, torturous sense. I mean spiritually crucified to your old way of life and actually living a risen life with Christ every day! It is not a life for the faint of heart and it isn’t a life for someone who only goes to church when they feel like it. It is living a life wholly given over to the Lord in humility and obedience, sacrificing your old ways and thoughts, a “sacrifice pleasing unto the Lord”.

This is exactly what Jesus meant when He said that you would have to take up your cross daily and follow Him. It isn’t a sometimes Bible study, sometimes on Sunday, occasionally on Wednesday, maybe during a revival kind of attendance. It is a life that is following Jesus no matter when or where in all of your life’s decisions and in everyday living!

If you have not given your heart and your daily living to Jesus, then you may want to check out this site and make sure of your salvation. If you are absolutely sure of your salvation, then ignore it, but if you have any doubts about what Jesus would say to you at your home, then you may want to truly seek Him and repent of your idea of salvation so you can ask for the REAL thing!

Playing or acting like a Christian doesn’t get you in the gates of Heaven. Praying and occasionally reading the Bible doesn’t do it either. Your life should be an example of discipleship such that Jesus could come into your home and not be offended at anything in your house. I know that none of us are holy or righteous, our righteousness comes from Him and Him alone. But, we should strive toward that goal of righteousness, read God’s Word and pray about it daily, seek Him in all that you do daily. It isn’t a hard life to live, but you have to live it with the purpose of striving to be more like Jesus!

If you are trying to be like the “idea” of Jesus that you have in your mind, then you are doing it wrong. Our idea of God or Jesus is not the same as the REAL Person of God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit, yet humanity will place God in a box of their ideas which fit their comfortable view of Him and all of us have done this at one point or another. This has happened for thousands of years, even before Jesus came! People were claiming that God wouldn’t do this or that, even though it may not be written down in the Bible that way you can bet that many were thinking it!

God knew their thoughts and their ideas of how He was and how He was supposed to be, at least in their minds. We have made up ideas and images of “the Man upstairs” or “a Higher Power” for centuries, it is nothing new at all. But…it is something that is about to change soon. As I have said before, I don’t have a clue about the return of Jesus or about the church being taken up but the signs are too numerous to ignore! It will not be long before the entire world sees Him or the results of His Trumpet’s sounding, but at that point many of you will say that it was just a weird sound or something.
People will be looking for all kinds of explanations for why so many people vanished and what caused all of the cars and planes to fall or wreck with no pilot or driver in them! The answer has always been in God’s Word, most people just ignored it or called it a fable or a fairy tale. What will you call it then?