Tag: God loves you

Walking in faith


If you have ever been in a church service which preaches from God’s Word, then you have heard this phrase. But was it ever explained to you?

It isn’t some fanciful way of living or some magic way of doing things, but one of submitting yourself to the Spirit of God and Jesus in your everyday life. Being thankful for all that you have, whether it is good or bad, because God is bigger than all of our problems. He Who created everything, takes care of you and me and all who are on this world…not because He has to but because He loves us. On those days when you feel that nearly everything that you do is going wrong, He is still there to give you strength and help you get through it.

madewholeinHeavenDuring the days and nights of those who have to spend time in treatment for cancer or an accident, He is there. In the hospital or the ambulance or on the road going from one place to another, He is with you.

If you don’t know Jesus the Christ, then your life is in turmoil even if it doesn’t seem so right now. Why? Because you are living in the camp of Satan and the world itself. You are doing those things, good or bad, which please you and you alone without a thought to who may or may not be watching. God sees all that you are doing and if you are not His, it breaks His heart but He won’t force you to come to Him. Love and devotion cannot be forced and cannot be given without love in return.

Faithful living and living thankfully toward God for His grace and mercy is something which can’t be done without Jesus in your heart. You can fake being a believer by acting good in front of others and attending church, you can even practice it well enough to be a Pastor of a church and be perceived as righteous…but God knows your heart.

When you die, which all of us will one day, you will stand before God and you will do it with the righteousness of Christ’s blood to cover your sins or in your own righteousness without Him. In the first your life will be an honor to God and you will be welcomed into His Presence, if you stand under your own cloak of self-righteousness then there is no grace and no amount of goodness which will save you. You are without Jesus and His Grace and your every thought and word and deed will be laid bare, without forgiveness. You will be cast away from the Presence of God into the hell which was prepared, not for mankind but for Satan and his demonic forces.

Think about this before you decide to live your life on your own terms and not with Jesus in your life. Without Him we have nothing to boast of but with Him we have everything!.

The wages of a life without Jesus


The wages of sin
Romans 6 

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What do you consider a sin? Working on the Sabbath? Cursing, taking the Lord’s name in vain? Gambling? Adultery? Gossip? Which of these would you consider a sin? How about telling an untruth (lying)?

In God’s eyes and in His way of looking at sin, all of these are sins and it doesn’t mean that we, even as Christians, have to do more than one. One sin, whether it is telling someone a lie, regardless of it being a little one or a big one, makes you guilty of breaking them ALL! So, how can we be justified in the sight of God?

Only through the belief in Jesus and in His atoning sacrifice on the cross. If you deny that or if you just believe it because the preacher says so but you really don’t believe it in your heart, then your belief is null!

If I told you that a rope could save you from falling to your death, would you believe it? Most of you would, but only IF you could see and feel the rope! The catch is that the rope will only save your life IF you reach out and take it in your hands and hold on to it so you don’t fall.

Jesus will save you from falling into Hell itself, IF you will believe in His atonement and in the work that He accomplished on the cross when you accept Him as your Savior. There is nothing that you can do to “help” Him save you, there is no amount of “good things” which you can do to enhance your salvation. He paid the price for ALL OF US with His blood, His death and His resurrection, there is nothing that you or I can add to it at all.

Choosing to know about Jesus and all of the miracles and Grace which God grants to you and me through Him, will not bring you salvation. Knowing about a chest full of gold on your property doesn’t make you rich, until you claim it!! It is the same with your salvation. If you have felt the knock on your heart and your life,heard that small voice which has tried to get you to accept Jesus BUT you have chosen to ignore it or you have determined that you will do it later??  Why would you do that?

Are you absolutely SURE that you have a tomorrow or next week to accept Jesus as your Savior? Do you know that you will live until tomorrow without a doubt or next weekend, such as next Sunday to determine that you will accept Him then? If you have this knowledge, I want to know who told you? Where did you get it from?

We are not given a guarantee of tomorrow or next week or next year! It is true that God said it was appointed to us “threescore and ten or if by reason of strength, fourscore years”, but this is not a guarantee! Moses wrote this Psalm, which is Psalm 90, and God blessed him with more strength and years to live to about 120, but our days are not written in stone.

God loves us and He will give you eternal life once you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, so from that point you could say that you have tomorrow or next year, but that doesn’t mean that eternity will be in this body and on Earth. Our eternity is in Heaven with Him, your life and mine may only last for a few more days or weeks or maybe until next year if God wills it so. We can’t boast of planning for anything too far out in our lives and I won’t make that mistake.

Seek to follow Jesus and believe in Him and the grace which we are given because of our belief in Him, and do it daily. Waking, give thanks. Eating and working, give God thanks. Coming home safely, give God thanks. Lying down to sleep, give God thanks. Why? Because it was by His Grace alone that you were able to do those things!! His Grace gives you the ability and the strength to do all of those things and without Him and His Grace, you and I are nothing!

Don’t disregard His call on your life or put it off until you have the time to devote to Him, because you don’t know when your life will end here and you will stand in front of God to answer for your words and deeds in this world. If you have given your heart to Him and believe in Jesus and His work on the cross and His resurrection for your salvation, then your sins are covered by His blood and you don’t need to fear the judgement! Standing there without Jesus as your advocate will be a terrifying ordeal, so don’t choose that path.

Daily living


Why are we so perplexed with the idea of living with Jesus, when we are supposed to be Christians if we believe in Him? Do you believe or not? Children can believe with no trouble at all, so why do we, as adults, have so much trouble?

Mostly, it seems to be our own brains. They become so full of information from college or work and news and emails or the Internet, until we have developed a type of information overload disorder. We have so much information from our life and from other areas of our lives rattling around in out heads until it keeps us distracted from keeping our focus on Jesus. Then, just as Peter did when he was walking on the water to Jesus, we get our attention diverted and we lose our spiritual focus.

Like looking for a deer or an elk in the forest when the leaves are still in full leaf, there is so much foliage breaking up the picture until we miss the deer or the herd of elk in the background. The same principle keeps us from concentrating on Jesus, keeping our focus on Him…we have bills to pay, then a friend has an accident in their car or our child needs us at school, there are deadlines at work and we only go to church once or twice a week.

How does a relationship work if you only see or listen to the other person’s voice once or twice a week? It isn’t much of a relationship at all! A husband and wife or any significant other wouldn’t consider themselves a couple if they only saw each other once or twice in a weeks time! So how can you have a relationship with your Savior and Creator if you only open a Bible or go to church once or twice a week? YOU CAN’T!!!

Even in the Garden, the Lord visited with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. I know it doesn’t say that it happened every day, but why not? This was before their disobedience, before the “eating from the tree that I told you not to eat from” incident, so don’t you think that God had to teach them something about their jobs? He had told Adam to care for the garden and the animals, so how would he know how to do all of this without God’s teaching him? By mind-meld? I don’t think so.

God loves all of His Creation, including the animals, the trees, the ocean and the fish and birds as well as us, humans. He had to teach Adam how to take care of all of this, so the walks in the cool of the day were teaching sessions most likely. That relationship, which we are supposed to be a part of, doesn’t work very well unless you get to know each other. God already knows you, so the only one in this relationship who needs to learn about the Other is each of us! You can’t learn about God or Jesus and the Holy Spirit by ignoring His Word or the teaching in a Bible teaching church.

Having a Bible in the house or on a table doesn’t count any more than having a medical textbook in the house makes you a doctor! We don’t learn by osmosis and you can’t sit in a church with other people and be a Christian, you have to seek Him and answer when He calls you to Himself! You can’t be forced into a relationship and God doesn’t do that. He will call you and you will know that it is His call but unlike some teachings out there which say that it is an “irresistible” call and that you can’t resist it, you actually can and many do.

The problem with that resistance is that eventually you may not hear it at all and your heart will not respond from that point on. Just as in a human relationship, if you keep pushing the other person away long enough, eventually they won’t come back. When you read the Scripture which reads “and God gave them over to their lusts”, that is what has happened. Please don’t make that mistake with your eternity.

Truth in the Word


How much truth do you see in God’s Word? In the gospel? If it isn’t true and there is no Truth in it, then why believe?

The Trinity has existed as three in One…as God for a very long time, long before we or anything else in Creation existed. How can we so arrogantly believe that God sent His Son to die and then abandoned Him there? The Holy Spirit was there, God was there and Jesus was on the cross, so He wasn’t abandoned at the cross exactly…He just felt that He was. His humanity felt that way!

The same way that His human heart and His brain told Him to be afraid and anxious before the scourging and the crucifixion. It was His humanity which made Him feel alone, scared and helpless on the cross, but He wasn’t. Our truth is relative today because as psychologists put it, “your truth is not my truth”. This is a very clever lie from Satan. God loves each of us far more than we could ever know or comprehend, until we are in His Presence of course.

You have the freedom to believe in Him and His Word or not, because it is necessary. Love doesn’t come to anyone unless it is free to be given in return as well as received from the other person. Yes, we are free to refuse His love for us if we choose and to live our lives in complete self-righteousness, thinking that we are good enough without Jesus. That we deserve to be allowed into Heaven on our own merits.

The problem with that kind of thinking is that it is totally WRONG!! Until you give your heart to Jesus and allow Him to come in and fix the problems which you caused and to show you what real love actually is, you will always feel empty and without hope. This is what God wanted to save us from in the first place…ourselves. Because ever since the Fall, we have all been born with a seed of sin in our hearts. Toddlers will lie to you without even knowing what they are doing, so that proves that sin is there.

God loves us anyway!! He created all of us and He knows the desires and needs of our heart even when we weren’t born yet. From the moment you were conceived until your death, God knows what you will do, when you will do it and why. He doesn’t force the decisions on you, but He knows what those decisions are or will be, and until you give your life to Him, He will watch you and be with you regardless until you figure out that you really need Him.

Seek Him out before it gets too far or before your life gets out of control! He is there and always has been, so make sure that you know Him before your life is over and your chance to know Him as Savior is gone for good.

So much anger


angerIn today’s world, on the news, in your home town even, it seems that there is a lot of anger. You see the effects of it every day on the news and in your neighborhood. You see it and hear it sometimes in your own home. But…everyone seems to brush it under the rug and ignore it until, one day something blows up. Frustration with our government or with your family builds and builds until one day it is in the news on television. A couple kills each other over supposed infidelity, whether true or not the end result is that two people are dead. Someone straps a bomb to themselves because they were taught to hate other people who worship differently and they go to a marketplace and blow themselves up and kill as many people, men, women and children, as they can. What did that accomplish?

It is hard to understand these things because we don’t know what happened to cause them. Sometimes, it is a senseless thing which is happening, at other times it seems that there is a reason for it. Outside the culture or the neighborhood or even the family, the reporters and the rest of the public just don’t understand what caused this? Why did it happen the way it did? Is anyone responsible?

We don’t understand the reason even if one is given via email or post on social media, so how can we help? Can we help? Is there anything that someone could do or say to help in these situations?

The truthful answer is: we don’t know. I can’t understand the mindset of a person or a group of people whose intent is to do these things. Is there a way to help?

The only answer that I can come up with, comes from God’s Word: Love your neighbor as yourself. So, why aren’t people being taught this instead of hate? Because the world and those in it don’t like to hear the truth from an indisputable source. The world and its religions, besides Christian religions, doesn’t want to hear this and they can’t come back with a saying or a truth from their religions which is better!

The advice and love and mercy which comes from God’s Word can be disbelieved and thrown in the trash but you can’t find better wisdom and knowledge because it came from Him. God is the ultimate Creator and King of all and His wisdom is beyond our understanding. His wisdom is above us as we are above an ant or a snail, yet each of those is wise in their own way. The ant does his gathering for when things are tough, the snail does what God designed him to do because he is a snail.

We are created in His image to be like Him and in order to be like Him we should learn about Him and walk with Him daily. Not weekly or once every month or just a couple of times in the year, but every day that you wake up thank Him for that day and be thankful for the opportunities that you may have during that day. Living daily with Him and through Him is not something which is easy, you have to purpose and decide to follow Him daily. Christians all over the world, those who are saved by their belief in Him Who saved them, neglect to do this even though they belong to Him. Why?

Because, after their salvation they feel that they have all that they need from God until something happens and then they call on Him to give them help and healing. It is something which you see in the Old Testament from one chapter to the next, following God while they are without enemies or without drought. Then, they forget the One Who saved them from their enemies or from a drought and go back to living as they wish to until some other calamity comes upon them.

I am not saying that living with God daily, reading His Word and praying to give Him praise for His grace and mercy will give you a life without problems, it will not! We are not perfect, we will all fail in our faith at some point, but God is gracious and will forgive us if we will confess it and turn back to Him again. Life, even the life of a Christian, is not easy but as a follower of Christ, Satan will attempt to cause you to fall in the sight of all so that your witness to them is taken away. Sometimes, your witness will be stained not by Satan but by your past. If you are called to be a minister in an area where people have known you for most of your life, like Jesus when He came to Nazareth, many won’t hear the Word of God that you preach but will be listening to you as you were when you were younger.

Do not fail to deliver the Word in your calling, regardless of their view of you or their opinion, because that is what God called you to do. If they accept it and repent then God brought it about, if not then they weren’t listening with their spiritual ears to begin with.

Is listening so hard?


Sometimes it seems that we just can’t listen to each other’s problems or to our preacher’s sermons. Listening to each other is the best way to get along with each other, yet there are so many problems between couples and countries all over the world. Most of those problems could be solved if we could put our pride and our attitudes on a shelf and sit down like adults and talk and listen to each other!

This would solve many if not most of the world’s problems, but it seems that when pride gets in the way and our attitudes become broiled in the juices of envy and hatred, then our ears and the ability to listen to each other becomes cut off or stopped up. Believe me, Satan has his hand and his followers all in the middle of these conflicts, whether it is between a man and woman trying to make their marriage work or between political parties in a country!

Our ears, spiritually and physically, become muddled to the point that we don’t hear what we should and we hear only part of what we shouldn’t. Which causes more misunderstandings and problems and it just gets worse from there, like a wet snowball rolling downhill. Pretty soon the problem or the snowball is so big that it can’t be fixed or stopped by just one person!

Jesus listened with His ears and with His heart and that is something which the church in general seems to have lost the ability to do, especially in the times that we live in today! The problem that we have is that we can’t understand the problem today because we aren’t really listening with our spiritual ears, our heart. We listen with our ears but we try to use psychobabble to “take care of the problem”, or make people feel good about themselves, or try to work around the issue.

In truth…all we are doing is putting a band-aid over a large cut or rather we are bandaging it but we aren’t helping in the healing of it. This kind of “help” is not helping at all, it only makes the problems worse! Like putting used tires on a car every six months, they wear out sooner and will still go flat easier than new ones, even if they are cheaper it is not helping.

Making people feel better about themselves is good, but spiritually it is suicide and murder. If you smooth over people’s sins and make them feel okay about them without telling them about salvation through Jesus, you are not a preacher…you are acting as a psychiatrist and that won’t do anyone good for eternity! PREACH FROM THE BIBLE! Tell the salvation and healing story of Jesus and His atonement for all of us from the gospels!

People need that today more than they know! John 3:16 is so powerful that it is a sermon in itself! Please, the Church needs to wake up and be the Body of Christ that this world needs NOW! This world will soon be in more of a situation than anyone alive has ever seen or experienced and the only rescue is through Jesus!

False teachers


Jesus said that there would be false teachers that would come claiming to be Him, especially during this time that we live in. It is happening now. They aren’t getting much coverage yet, but they will. I caution you, beware of people, teachers who claim to be the incarnation of Christ or the “new” Christ. If you hear this from someone, especially someone who is acting as a teacher or preacher, RUN!

The angels told Jesus’ disciples that He will come back in the manner in which you have seen Him go. Jesus said that He would come back one day to set up His Kingdom on this Earth, and all will see Him and know that it is Him when it happens. There won’t be a question about it. Read God’s Word and learn from Him, not some person who wants to take your money and live like a “god” because you think that what he says is true.

False teachers are all over the world, not just in America, but it seems that more of them are coming out of the closet to be seen in the news and by people these days. The thing is, it is only going to get worse as the time draws nearer to the time of Tribulation spoken of in Revelation. More and more will show up, claiming all kinds of miracles and some may even perform some which will deceive many people! These are not the Christ, our Messiah, Jesus the Son of God!

His appearance will be seen by everyone without the aid of television or the Internet and it will be evident to all when He comes. Games and virtual reality will not show Him, but everyone will know that He has come! Some will cry because they weren’t ready for His return and some will be angry because of His return. Life will change everywhere in a moment, in the “twinkling of an eye” those who belong to Him will be taken up to be with Him, and those who have already died will be given their bodies as they are raised immortal!

This is not some fantasy, it is predicted by the Son of God and it will come to pass. If you don’t know Him, I suggest that you seek Him out and find out about Him and what it means to be a believer! When the Tribulation begins, it will be harder to become a Christian because of the persecution and because of the hatred toward Christians. Many planes and cars will crash on that day, so there will be many deaths on that day that are blamed on Christians and their God!

Don’t fall into that trap! Seek Him out while He can be found, today!

Living with….


We all have different things which we have to live with on a daily basis. Whether it is arthritis or Parkinson’s or cancer, at some point all of us have to go through life with pain or a condition which makes daily life harder or more difficult. So, what do you do to get through life on a day by day basis?

Some people take pills, some use other drugs such as alcohol or opiates, some use harder drugs than these. Some of us just suffer through with the pain and discomfort or with OTC medication. These coping mechanisms, legal or not, are ways to handle the discomfort and pain on your own. Sometimes they work pretty well, sometimes they cause more problems than they help.

Trusting in God and His Word will help with all of these problems and more. It is true that God will not always take the problem or condition away by healing it, but He can supply you with the strength to get through it a day at a time…if you will listen to Him and follow Him. Don’t try to do things on your own all of the time! We are taught to be independent, but when it comes to your life, God wants to share it with you through all of your good and bad days!

He doesn’t just want to hear from you when things go completely off script and throw you under the bus! When you wake in the morning, thank Him for it. When you get to the kitchen and get a cup of coffee, thank Him for your ability to do so even if you are in pain getting there. Live  life, everyday, with Him by your side and even if the pain is still there, God is with you too.

We have the privilege of having an awesome and mighty God and Creator Who can bless us in mighty ways. Sometimes by giving us the strength to get through a tough time and sometimes by healing us of the problem. It is up to God to decide which. Sometimes, His timing seems off to us, but in His time He will answer your prayer one way or another. Because, He is a good and loving God, Father, Savior and Creator and He says in His Word that “I will never leave you or forsake you“.

What will you do?


If someone asks you for the reason that you have joy in your life when you should be sorrowful, what will you say? What would you tell them? Would you say that “I take a happy pill every day!”, even if that is truly a lie? What answer would you give them? Would it line up with your beliefs and your faith? Do you have faith in God, the One that can give you peace and joy during times of pain and even heartache?

These are questions that many churches and pastors seem to be missing or even not teaching it at all, because they are trying not to offend people in order to get them to come to church. Since when did Jesus not offend people? He called the Pharisees hypocrites and sons of their father the Devil. Some of His teachings offended people to the point that many people turned away from Him. We are supposed to tell people about salvation and do likewise in our ministry, not coddle them with soothing tones in a sermon which will do nothing but send more people to hell!

We, as Christians or followers of Jesus, are not supposed to be politically correct. That is the job of those in office! We are supposed to show people the Savior Who saved us from our own stupidity and selfishness, not water the message down until you can’t tell it from a self-help book! God’s Word is the only self-help book that you need, because it takes self out of the equation when you put Jesus into your life and your heart and live daily with Him!

Being saved is not being perfect, because we can only strive toward that goal…we won’t attain it until we are in Heaven with Him. Even then, we will not be perfect, just more like Him because we will have our glorified bodies and will live for eternity! Praise the Lord!

Tell someone about the God that you serve, the One Who created everything and inspired the writers of the Scriptures to pen His Wisdom and not their own.

Walls and obstacles


Many times in your life, whether you are a Christian or not, you will come up against walls. Some of them are built by pain, some of them are built by envy or jealousy, some of them are built by a disease which causes you pain in a very deep emotional way. We all have to scale these walls and barriers at some point, some of them are hard to climb because they are so big, but they can be torn down.

Oh, we can’t do this by ourselves though, regardless of what counselors and some doctors may tell you. Walls, whether built by emotions, disease, death, jealousy, racism, or hatred, can only be broken down by God’s work in your heart and in your life. Day by day, walking with Him and seeking His wisdom and strength by which we can take the walls down brick by brick is the only way.

BreakingDownWallsIt is not a quick process and it isn’t easy either, especially when you have been able to take care of yourself in other situations in your life. What makes this so difficult or any different? It’s because of what the walls and barriers are made from. The ones which are so difficult are made from emotions like fear, anger, resentment, racism, hate, envy and greed. There are others, but you get the point. These walls keep out those who care about you, whether it is God or friends and family!

Each of us feels the effect of these barriers in some way or another, sometimes the effect on us is that which causes a disease or pain. Emotions can do this and the ones which hurt the most usually do the most damage. It may take a little time before you feel the effects of it, but until it is resolved in some way, it will only get worse over time. In particular, anger and hatred which are unresolved or unforgiven will give you ulcers and possibly high blood pressure and they will make other conditions worse. Do the research yourself if you don’t believe me, but I am not pulling your leg.

Barriers and walls made from emotional bricks can cause more hurt and pain than many people realize. It doesn’t have to be anger or hatred which cause these walls, it can be envy, or any of a number of other emotions which I named earlier. All of them get in the way of relationships, especially your relationship with God. Seek His help in resolving these walls, breaking them down to the point where you can still have a relationship with Him daily. He can do it but He wants to do it with you!

I had these problems for a very long time, and at times they still pop up and blur my “spiritual vision” in a way. I usually sit down and talk with God about it as soon as I realize what is happening, and it soon resolves itself or God helps me to resolve it. Give it a try, ask God to help you because He is bigger than any problem or wall that may be in your life and He can help you bring it down.