Tag: God loves you

What happened?


I often wonder this very thing some days. Recently and many years in the past, I have wondered exactly what happened. Sometimes it has something to do with daily life, sometimes I wonder this in the context of reading my Bible. Why did this happen this way or why would God do this or allow this to happen?

There are times when we get up and begin our day, wondering what happened. Some days it seems that this is an all too common theme of our lives. How can we get around it or keep these moments from becoming the norm rather than the exception? Well…that is where the answer gets a little more complicated. I don’t mean that you or I have to change our lives or our addresses to move beyond those moments of being “blindsided” by…well, life itself.

God does care about these areas of your life, whether you think He does or not. He cares about all of the tiny details of your life and mine, but many times that is where we fail to let Him in. Why do we sabotage that relationship? Because we don’t think that the Creator could possibly care about how our house looks or where the car keys happen to be hiding! But…He does care!

It is hard for us to imagine God caring about every detail in our lives, no matter how small or insignificant those details may be. But the truth is that He does care, about all of the details of our lives IF we will allow Him into those areas of our lives. Many people ask Jesus to be their Savior, but when they feel that He wants in on all of the areas of their lives they close the door on some part that they want to keep for themselves.

Those personal areas are not just yours, God gave you those hobbies and abilities and He likes to see you use them…for Him. For His purposes and His Kingdom come before anything else and those purposes, His purposes, don’t have to be things which we don’t like. God can use a fisherman or a tent-maker or a poet and a musician. He can use a shepherd boy or a young man with a coat of many colors to accomplish His purposes.

All of those people, including you and me, have been used by God to do wonderful things for His Kingdom. Some of us have been used in ways that we don’t even know about until much later and some of us may not find out about something which we said or did until we meet a person in Heaven and they tell us about it. Maybe even something which I write here will influence someone to make a change in their life toward God and His purposes.

Even playing pool or basketball or any number of other sports can lead to one of you opening up about your faith or lack of faith, which opens a door for telling them your story, your witness for Jesus. Riding a motorcycle or a horse can also bring Jesus into the conversation. A “what happened?” moment can come out of many things, but the answer to that is: Jesus.

In all things, big or small, Jesus, the Son of God, the Living Word has had an influence whether you realize it or not. Every little decision or discovery that has ever happened, especially if you happen to be a Christian, He has had a part in it. The discovery of the vaccine for small pox or the discovery of the polio vaccine may have been looked at as accidents or just something which just happened. But His Spirit was likely the One that pushed them in the right direction.

What happened in your world today? The same that happened in many other people’s world. You and I woke up, got out of bed and began the day. It may have been a totally different day for me than it was for you, but mostly everyone has a similar day in many respects. Some of us have more money, some of us have less. Some of us have enough food and water, some of us don’t. My point is this: as long as we are working for Jesus and His Kingdom, it doesn’t matter what we have or don’t have!

What do you see?


When you look at the world today and the news and all of the terrible things that are happening in it…what do you see? Is it evidence of how corrupt and perverted humanity has become? Is it prophecy coming true on a daily basis or is it just our evil and corrupt world and the people in it who are doing all of these things?

Actually, it is prophecy coming true AND it is the people in the world who haven’t accepted Jesus as their Savior who are fulfilling those prophecies. The evil and corruption and violence in our world are part of those prophecies which are coming true.

Yes, they are coming true every day and it seems with more frequency. The signs from the heavens like the solar eclipse this year and the next one in seven years, both of which will be seen in America. Then another pair of eclipses which will be seen in northern Egypt and Arabia beginning seven years after the two in America and the second seven years later. Both of the pair of eclipses are total and will make an “X” in the countries where they are seen.

The signs are showing up and are increasing. Please, don’t ignore God’s Word and the signs which He is using to bring attention to His Creation and Himself. God loves each of us and has provided atonement for each of us but if we don’t accept it and live according to His Word then it is as if the provision is refused and you are on your own. Just like someone telling you that you have an inheritance that you can claim but they won’t tell you what it is or how much. If you don’t claim it for yourself, then it is given to someone who will claim it.

Salvation through Jesus blood is the same. If you don’t claim it and live according to His Word, then it does you no good at all and it is the same as not having it at all. God knows who has taken His offer of forgiveness and who hasn’t or won’t, whether you believe it or not, He will judge you….not someone on Earth. Your own decision about what to do with Jesus’ gift is the very decision which will condemn you or bring salvation to you. The choice is yours.

In truth, the very person who decides that they will wait until later to get saved, “when I have got my life on track”, is the one person that will end up dead far sooner than they ever thought. They will be standing in front of God and that question will come up: What did you do with your knowledge of Jesus? So…what will be your answer?

Anything besides, He is my Savior, will not be enough and will not get you inside the gates of Heaven. If Jesus doesn’t step forward and claim you as His own, then your eternity will be without God, without His Love being expressed in your eternal home. That is just a taste of what hell will be like. Then, there is the heat and the flame and the pain of separation which will haunt you throughout eternity. God did not send you to hell. Jesus did not condemn you to hell…you did. It was your decision…it is your decision today.

The signs are all around us today that the age is coming to an end. So, what will you do with Jesus? Is He your Savior or will you continue on your own?

Truth or Consequences


Living the life of a Christian has never been easy. From the time of Jesus’ departure, the apostles and disciples were persecuted by the local priests and by Rome and the Roman government. This has never really stopped, but the face of persecution is different today.

We sometimes hear it from friends who believe that we are judging them when we aren’t. We see the persecution from groups of radicals in other countries and in our own country of America.

Now, it seems to be coming home because if you preach or tell someone a Truth from the Bible, it is labeled as hate speech and you could be put in jail. Can anything be done to stop this? I don’t think that it will get better before Jesus comes back or at least until those who belong to Jesus are taken up to be with Him.

Yet, many Christians in other countries are being killed or put into “work camps” or into prison and much of their suffering doesn’t reach the news outlets. So, unless the Voice of the Martyrs or some other organization brings it to our attention, we don’t hear about it unless it is a bombing that kills many in a church or an open area. If it happens in a jungle or in the mountains of Nepal or North Korea, the country controls the news media, so it doesn’t get out.

Life in “developed” countries like England or Europe or America hasn’t gotten to the point of people dying for their beliefs…yet. We do hear of isolated cases of “radicalized people” killing others who don’t believe like they do, but those are few right now. How will our Christian nation react when violence against Christians gets worse? What will be done to help us? Or will our so-called “leaders” in Congress turn away and deny that it is a problem?

Christians in the past, like five or six centuries in the past, did some horrible things in the name of the Church or even in God’s name. I won’t deny that. But, making all Christians pay the price with their lives today for something which was done during the Crusades in the 12th century is ridiculous. God will punish those who have done things like killing witches who were NOT witches or killing people in the Middle East because they wouldn’t convert to Christianity. That is just as appalling as 9/11 or any of the other atrocities that are happening because of ISIS now!

Seek out the One, true God in the Bible, not one in a book of made up “holy words” by a pedophile who hated Jews and Christians. I promise, God will avenge His own and it doesn’t involve bombs or cutting their heads off!

God has provided a way for eternal life through belief in Jesus and His atoning work on the cross. Seek Him out in His Word for it is the true Word of God. Pray about what He says in it and learn from Him because in the end, all of us will bow and say that Jesus is Lord and King of all!

Consider this…


We are living in a time of wonder and amazing technology, but it is also a dangerous time with many pathogens and bombs and all sorts of natural as well as man-made problems. What can we do about this? Is it possible for us to fix most of our problems or not?

Consider this:

timeline

 

In the past, life on Earth was segregated. We didn’t have the technology to be close, regardless of where we lived. Even if it was just a few hundred miles away, that was a week or more of travel by horse or camel or carriage. In the past 130 years we began with trains then came automobiles and airplanes and motorcycles, not exactly in that order but you get my meaning.

Most of our “problems” began to be real worldwide problems when we began to have transportation which could move us faster and farther to places that we couldn’t get to in a reasonable time before. Now, I’m not saying that advancing in technology and transportation is a bad thing but it does seem that when we began moving into each other’s back yard more easily, that is when we began to have more and more problems.

Besides, God’s Word predicted that knowledge would increase and with that knowledge our technology increased, just as the timeline shows. Yes, we are nearing the “end of the age”, and it is getting nearer all the time. How soon will the “catching away of the Bride” be, I don’t know. We may see a “new messiah” appear on the stage of the world, who will begin to “fix” things in miraculous ways so as to fool even those who believe themselves to be the elect.

In the days and weeks and months that we have left, I suggest that many of you who read this should be studying the Word of God. It is our most powerful link to the Creator and He knows when and how things will turn out for all of us. Seek His Wisdom, not the so-called wisdom of man because man’s “wisdom” is foolishness to God and God’s wisdom is foolish to mankind because without faith it can’t be understood.

Look up all of the signs that have been foretold in the Bible. See if the “fig tree” hasn’t bloomed again. This is the prophecy of the nation of Israel coming back into its own country after nearly two thousand years. Also, which nation on Earth has been scattered all over the Earth and brought back into its own country which God gave to them thousands of years ago and they are still speaking the language that their forefathers spoke and wrote down? Only the Hebrews and their nation and language have survived so long and it isn’t by accident, it is by God’s grace!

That is evidence of God and His miracle-working power because no other people and their language has ever survived so long as the Hebrews and their language to be brought back into the land which was promised to their father, Abraham over four thousand years ago!

Study time!


You know, I hated to hear those words when I was in high school. Whether we were in study hour at the library or at home and I needed to study for a test, I just didn’t like that time.

Why? Usually it was because the subject that I “needed” to study was not a favorite or I was just being a teenager and didn’t want to. I didn’t have the “luxury” of getting on a video game at home like they do today. The study time that we should be concentrating on now is of God’s Word!

If you are a Christian and you do study His Word at least once or twice a week, then you need to study a bit more. Why? Because, you need to learn more about the times in which we are living. What better way to understand prophecy than to read it and see it unfold in the news almost every day!?

While it is true that we won’t see demons or armored flying insects, but many of the things which are happening are very different from their descriptions in Ezekiel or Revelation. But, we need to be able to recognize those things which are happening today as part of prophecy. Why is that? Because we are living in what is believed to be the last Jubilee year that will occur before the appearance of the Messiah.

This doesn’t give us an exact date or day, but we should treat the signs as what they are…signs! The four Blood Moons during 2014-2015, 2017 being the last Jubilee year, a full eclipse later this year in August in America and another seven years later also visible in America. There are also double full eclipses which are going to happen in the northern part of Egypt seven years apart in 2024 and 2031.

God is sending these signs to the Earth for us to notice and interpret through prophecy in His Word. If we don’t do that or if we just ignore it, then we are setting ourselves up to be deceived by what may come next. When does the Tribulation begin? I haven’t got a clue, but it looks like it may happen in the next fifteen years or so, according to the signs. Then again, God may have another plan altogether. That is up to Him and His timing.

My main concern is the fate of those reading these words. Your eternity depends upon what you do with the knowledge of Christ and whether you accept His atonement for your sins and believe in Him or not. If it is just like any other sunny day and you decide that I will do that tomorrow, then what will you do if many of your Christian friends disappear tonight or in front of your eyes?

What then? This is a blog written by a preacher, but I would classify that instance as an “oh shit!” moment! If you were at a Bible study or at a gathering somewhere and all of a sudden, there were piles of clothes and watches and shoes but most of your friends who were Christians just vanished, what would you feel? Anger, fear, regret…probably all of these and knowing that many people all over the world feel just as you do right now!

Make sure of where your heart is concerning your relationship with Jesus, BEFORE this happens! I don’t mean that you can’t become a Christian afterwards, but it will become far more dangerous, but as long as you belong to Him, your eternity is sealed. Amen.

Quiet time with God


Have you ever thought about having real, honest, quiet time alone with you and God and His Word. No distractions, no television or radio, no children or pets or spouses to interrupt your time with the Father and your Creator! Wouldn’t that be wonderful! Jesus made sure that He did this regularly during His ministry.

The Leper’s Prayer
(Leviticus 14:1-32; Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45)

12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. 14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Jesus did this not because He had to, but because when He communed with His Father, He would be told what to do and where to go next. He would also, very likely be refreshed through the Spirit and His time with His Father. Just as we can be, if we make this a part of our life every day. Prayer and reading God’s Word can be a refreshing time, especially if it is done on a daily basis and in a solitary place.

God walked with Adam in the garden, Jesus prayed and sought the Father’s guidance during His ministry so if it is important enough for Jesus to do it almost daily, it should be for us as well.

The name “Lord” appears how many times?


The word or name “Lord” appears far more in the Bible than many would believe. According to some counts, it is in the Old Testament (KJV) 7234 times. There are other interesting number counts on this page and it depends upon which translation that you use regarding how many times a specific word is mentioned, but it is an interesting page.

Why did I bring this up today? Because, many people seem to wonder about some words in the Bible and how many of them there are. Why does that make a difference? It may not, really, but for some people it may make a bit of a difference. God’s Word does say many things and it is good to know what and why it is said. The only reason that you would need to know this is because you won’t be fooled into believing something which is not in there if you have read it enough to know what is found in it and what is not!

God inspired the writers to write His Word down not because He couldn’t remember, but because we can’t always remember the exact words which He said to us about certain things and why. Which is another reason why each of us needs to read it and study it. Taking a verse or two out of context renders them useless because some of Psalms and Proverbs has no meaning unless you read the whole chapter and verse. Taking any verse on its own renders it unable to be understood in its entirety because the paragraph before and after may lead you to a different understanding of it than just the verse itself.

The shortest verse in the Bible which was written about a sad day in Jesus’ ministry, even though He had told His disciples about what was happening, is: “Jesus wept.” Unless you read the before and after verses, that small verse doesn’t mean much except that it shows how Jesus felt emotions just as deeply as the rest of us. He wept because his friend had died, not because He couldn’t save Him from death but because He had to bring him back from Paradise to live again. It was necessary to do so for the people to see that He had the power to do it even after four days. Not for bragging rights, but to show Who He was and Who He is!

Give your heart to Him, seek Him in the Word and learn more about Him and in that way, one chapter or two every day, you will get to know our Creator and Lord better than you ever have before.

Easter…did it happen?


empty_tomb11We celebrate Easter by doing some strange things like dying eggs and watching for the Easter bunny, but those things have nothing to do with Christianity. So why are they and this holiday part of our religion? Partly because the early church wanted to bring pagans into the church, so they adopted the spring festival that the pagans used to celebrate the renewal of life in the spring as the holiday to represent the resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus’ resurrection did not occur in the way that many people think, at least not according to the Easter celebration. Yes, Jesus was raised to life after three days. Yes, He walked out of the tomb with a new body, but still bearing the scars which He kept because of His sacrifice for us on the cross. Those from the scourging that He bore, were gone. None of the gospel writers tell of any of those scars being seen, which is interesting because the prophecies and some historians of the time said that He was unrecognizable from them.

God can and does heal any disease, even today, and those scars were healed because He bore them for us. God hasn’t stopped healing people and it confounds our doctors today because they can’t understand how someone who was so near death could show no sign of cancer or any other disease, without treatment. The love which God has for us is a type of love which we can’t understand with our mortal, human minds. But…God can work through our prayers and by our faith in Him and His power to work things in such a way that we can’t explain it.

That resurrection morning, when Jesus came out of the tomb, the stone was rolled away by God’s power. It may have been an angel who rolled it away, so that Mary and the disciples could see into the tomb, but it was still the power of God that worked through it all. Your sins and mine were taken away with that resurrection and the work of Jesus Who gave Himself as a Perfect Lamb and sacrifice for all of humanity’s sins. All that we need to do is to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us and when we hear it, we should respond in faith.

When you do that, your heart is changed into a new creation and you are too. You are no longer the same person who came to church or was reading the Bible and felt the touch of God on your life. You did not do anything other than believe in what you heard or read and the Holy Spirit touched your spirit, your heart, and you accepted the greatest Gift that has ever been given to us! Each of us who have accepted that Gift never have to worry about our eternal reward, because it is sealed in the Blood of Jesus!

When you know that you have given your heart to Him, then the only testimony needed is your baptism. It is a symbolic of your death to sin and then rising to walk in the newness of Life with Jesus. Is it necessary for your salvation? No, but it is a testimony to others of what has happened. Then, read God’s Word and pray about what you read so that He can teach you from it and reveal His Truth to you. While you do that, tell others about Him and what He did for you.

Because, God loves you and He did all of this for you and for me and for everyone who has given their lives to Him through faith. Seek Him out in His Word and at a Bible teaching church, learn about your Savior because He already knows you better than you know yourself.

What will you do?


Jesus_Loves_UWhat will you do on the day that Jesus comes back? What about the day that the trumpet sounds and many people in the world vanish? Will you be one of those who vanish or will you be left here wondering what happened?

What will you do? How will you feel about being left behind?

Life on Earth is going to get hard and very dangerous for anyone who decides to become a follower of Jesus. Especially after the “new” messiah shows up.

The time to decide to follow Jesus and ask Him into your life is today! There is more persecution and problems for Christians today than it has ever been, and the time is running out. Now, I don’t know when He will come for the church and I am not going to speculate, but you can see the prophecies coming true today. There are more wars, small though they may be they are still wars and many of them are because of religion and religious reasons.

Although, the wars which we hear about are not because of Christian beliefs. The conflicts which we hear about in the news are from parts of the religious spectrum which are usually against Christians entirely. They are persecuted, killed and some are put into prisons. Some are burned alive, some see their children killed because of their faith, but they don’t give up their faith.

God doesn’t cause these problems in their lives, the world just can’t handle the Truth of His Word and His offer of Grace and mercy. Therefore the world punishes our brothers and sisters all over the world, regardless of the country they live in. We may not hear about their suffering because it isn’t in the Middle East or maybe it isn’t part of someone’s agenda right now, but that doesn’t mean that their suffering is any less. Those Christians in Sub-Saharan Africa are being burned out of their homes and many of them have lost their families because of the hatred that others in their country have for “Jesus followers”.

We don’t hear about it because it isn’t sensational news, it won’t bring in the ratings, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.

Is there anything that we can do to help them? We can pray if we can’t do anything else! Pray for God to protect them or to help them to escape their circumstances. If you can give money to a reputable organization which can help, then by all means do so! The things which are happening today are the “beginnings of sorrows“. Jesus said that we should be watching for these signs and be watching for His coming and be ready for it.

When the believers are taken up one day, the world will wonder what happened? They will be searching for answers and of those that are still here, only the ones who have read God’s Word and heard it preached but chose not to believe will be the ones who have the answer. But, most of the world will not listen at that point. Many theories will be put forth on the news for the violence and the disappearances and the many deaths which happen when a pilot or a bus driver vanishes.

This time is coming. Seek Jesus and His Truth in God’s Word! Pray that you are among those who vanish because afterwards the world will blame Christians and God’s Word for all of the hate and the deaths and the broken families who are left. The hatred toward those who believe after this will be very violent. Look into the Bible for your Savior now, because tomorrow or next month or next year may be too late.

No physical marriage


In Heaven Jesus said that we are not given in marriage nor does our marriage continue as it was on Earth. So, no sex in heaven for He said we would be like the angels. What could we do with our bodies in Heaven? We will be like the angels and like Jesus, with glorified bodies which are immortal. We will reign with Him and be His representatives on Earth and in Heaven.

There have been enough abortions on Earth in the past 44 years that Heaven is full of children who were sent back to God without ever being known by their parents. We have committed a very great sin in our country and around the world because of the ruling on abortion and “women’s rights”. God is going to hold us accountable for this because it was our generation or the one prior to us which allowed this to happen.

Regarding marriage in Heaven, the Church will be married to the Groom which is Jesus at the marriage supper of the Lamb. If you are trying to bring any other definition into eternity then you will be sorely mistaken and disappointed.

We are intended to be part of the group in the marriage supper, the Church, not individuals being married to each other. Eternity will be a time when we can see and know all of the things which we have always wanted the answers to, but those answers are reserved for our life in eternity, not here on Earth. So many people are looking for answers here and now to make the “transition” into eternity more enticing. Why? Having the Grace of God give you eternity through your belief in Jesus and His atonement on the cross for you should be enough!

Just having eternity ahead of you with no pain, no limitations on your body, no problems like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. should be enough of a reward for all of us to expect and be thankful for! Seek out Jesus and His Kingdom through reading the Bible and going to a Bible teaching church. The eternal rewards of having a relationship with Jesus far outweigh anything found here in this life.