Life sucks but…

I used to hear people talking about partying in hell with Satan but that is not how Jesus described it. He told a story of a rich man who didn’t care for anyone but himself. A man named Lazarus was a poor man begging at the gate to the man’s home but he never received anything. One day, the rich man died and was buried. Lazarus died and was taken by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. While there, the rich man called out to Abraham to ask for a drop of water to cool his tongue. No parties, no joy, no meeting with friends in hell, just punishment and pain. Abraham told him that there was a chasm between them that was there to keep anyone from crossing from the place of torment to paradise or from paradise to them.

God didn’t make hell to punish people. It was created to punish Satan and those who rebelled against God by not accepting Jesus as their Savior. That is the key to staying out of hell…believing in Jesus as your Savior. No amount of money or works will do it. Life doesn’t suck bad enough to waste your time following things that will lead you astray. But many people think that it does. Some even take their lives over trivial things that, in the long run, don’t matter all that much. I know there are veterans and drug addicts who take their lives because of the “demons” that they are living with but Jesus can fix those problems too if you will let Him.

God loves all of mankind not just one nation or a few people. Jesus died for all of us but there are so many who just refuse to believe this. It is spelled out in the Gospel but so many people won’t read it or they look at God’s Word like it is just some book written long ago and it isn’t relevant for our time. God knows each of us better than we know ourselves and when you think that the Creator of the entire universe even considers individuals on our little speck of dust, that is amazing!

We have trouble believing this but if you have given your heart to Jesus, it is easy to live this way because the Holy Spirit lives inside you. He will give you the strength and the ability to live your life this way and to forgive those who have hurt you in the past. Seek to know Jesus as your Savior because hell is the punishment that never ends and it wasn’t made for you.

Creation or Creator?

The Creator is bigger than your problems and small enough to fit in your heart. He has stretched out the heavens with His hands and according to the James Webb telescope, the universe is approximately 93 billion light-years across. WOW! That is BIG! God is bigger!

When God calls each of us to be His children, the Holy Spirit creates a new creation in us so that we will become more like Jesus. Your salvation is a process and it begins with your repentance and acceptance of Jesus into your heart. Then you have to study the Bible and learn more about this Savior Who wants to live in your heart and change your life. Some of us actually read the Bible and learn more about Him, some of us just go to church for a little while and learn as little as possible.

If you are in a relationship, marriage or covenant, don’t you want to know your partner or your Savior as well as you can? The best way to learn about Jesus is to read the Bible and study it. Going to church for an hour or less every week is not enough to learn about Him. Your salvation doesn’t depend on your attending church but your faith will grow along with your knowledge of Him that you gain.

When you feel His call in your life, don’t turn away from Him.

Are you feeling dead these days?

Before you come to know Jesus as your Savior, you are dead toward God. You are not seeking His favor nor His love or forgiveness…but you usually have a hollow feeling that tells you that Someone is missing. Something is missing but you don’t know what.

You are dead without Jesus in your life. The apostle Paul wrote this to the Ephesian church to let them know that they were dead toward God but they became alive in Christ when they accepted Jesus as their Savior. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus, His Son, to pay the price for all of our sins and give us the gift of eternity with Him if we will only accept Him as our Savior.

When you feel the Holy Spirit’s touch on your heart and you resist it and walk away you are risking a death that will take you before God without Jesus as your Savior. Eternity is and will be a very long existence for you without Jesus because you will not be in Heaven with Him. God created hell to punish the angels who rebelled with Satan against God, it was not made for us but it will be your destination if you turn away from Him when you feel His call in your life. Don’t walk away from Jesus when you know you need Him.

No king and no Savior

In America there hasn’t been a king for over two centuries, in fact, since we have been a country there hasn’t been a king, just a President elected by the people. But spiritually, America has been a bit on the fence when it comes to choosing a Savior. We are free to worship as we choose, so if we don’t want to go to a church or other religious place…we can choose not to.

But, God sent Jesus to the Earth so that we can be forgiven for our sinful actions if we will choose to believe in Him for our salvation. This belief must come with a deep commitment to follow Him and His teachings and to learn more about Him and the way God wants us to live. To do this we must study God’s Word daily and pray about what we read so the Holy Spirit can teach us more about our new way of life. The learning curve isn’t hard, but placing our faith in Him can be at first. We have been sinners without the Holy Spirit, usually for much longer than we have been saved. At first our old way of thinking will still be very much in control of our thoughts and that can only be changed by the Spirit and by reading and studying God’s Word.

One day in the future the church will be taken up and the world will be without pastors or churches for the most part. I beg you to seek out a church today and learn more about this Savior and the Life that He offers to everyone if we will seek Him and give our hearts to Him, turning away from our old life and living in the new way of following Him.

Be blessed…

Christians are blessed by God IF they follow His teachings but if you follow “someone or something” else then you will be cursed. Sounds harsh doesn’t it? God’s curse can come in many forms, such as a sickness or even the loss of a job. God doesn’t seek ways to curse you but when you are working against Him by living your life for someone or something else then His curse will fall on you in some way.

Many people in the world don’t think they are turning away from God. Many don’t believe in Him in the first place because they live in a culture that chooses a different “Savior” to worship. The problem with this is that there aren’t other deity’s. Satan has been hard at work over the centuries to cause others to worship him or some of the fallen angels that were kicked out of Heaven millennia ago.

God loves humanity regardless of where you live or the culture that you live in and He calls many people to be His children. Sometimes those who are called choose not to answer their calling, but if you are predestined to be His then it may take a while but you will give your life to Him. God knows who will answer and who will not so it doesn’t surprise Him when you choose to be your own helper rather than seek His help.

We are coming to the end of the “Church age” soon so you need to seek Jesus and give your life to Him because when the church is taken up, the seven years of Tribulation will begin and it will be even harder to give your life to Jesus at that point. Don’t wait, if you want to stay out of hell, give your life and your heart to Jesus today because tomorrow may be too late.

What do you think of Jesus?

Isaiah 53; Psalm 22; John 3:16

How much do you think about what Jesus, as God’s Son, went through just to atone for our sins? Have you ever considered the wonderful blessing that we have because of His sacrifice?

The scriptures that I read for this sermon are well known to some but some people only know a few lines of them. In Psalm 22 the opening line is what Jesus said when He felt His father turn away from Him while He was on the cross. Isaiah 53 is a description of God’s Suffering Servant, pointing to Jesus’ coming as the Savior but many Jewish people don’t read it that way. They see it as a description of the suffering of Israel.

Then there is the familiar scripture that all Christians know, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son; that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”. All of these scriptures express God’s love and compassion toward each of us but do we really appreciate His love for us?

God loves each of us so completely and individually until He knows the number of hairs on your head and the color of your eyes and even your personality. He has known these characteristics of each of us from before Eden was created. God knew each of those He would call in the future, all of us, intimately. Every detail of yourself even before Moses was born.

Every spot on your skin, every freckle and every detail of your life before He called you and since then is known by God. Nothing happens by “accident”, He has a plan and a purpose for every part of your life. A word here or an action that you take may make the difference in someone coming to know Jesus.

Every action can make a difference, which is why we must be careful in our Christian life. You have no idea how many people watch or listen to what you say or write on Facebook or in the grocery store. When people know you are a Christian, your life is scrutinized very closely. Just as the Pharisees watched everything that Jesus did during His ministry. Even more today because of our phones and all of the social media that many of us are a part of every day.

We have a responsibility to be on guard about everything that we do. I know that is a hard thing to ask of everyone because it is not easy to guard your thoughts and your words every day, all day. The best way that I can think about it is to imagine your grandchild being near you. What would you say or do in front of them? Imagine Jesus being in your home. How would you act or talk around Him? As Christians, He is in our hearts and in our home and our cars every day so we can’t sneak a thought or a word by Him. He knows your thoughts and your intentions, so be thankful for your blessings all day, every day and make sure to start your day by thanking Him for giving you another day to live for Him.

God loves…

In the Bible there are many times where it tells what God doesn’t like. He isn’t impressed when we try to do things on our own or in our own strength. He doesn’t like it when we are angry with each other. He doesn’t like it when we worship something or someone other than Him, because He is God and the only God there is. But…what does God love?

He loves us, mankind, and He loves His Creation meaning the Earth and the universe and everything in it. He also loves the angels even though a third of them rebelled against Him eons ago and were cast out of Heaven because of it. If you are wondering how much He loves us, read the book of John in the New Testament. Watch “The Chosen” series and you can see what Jesus said and how He chose His disciples. I have been watching it since the first season and it is really good.

God’s love is more than we can imagine. It encompasses every part of Creation. Every atom, every blade of grass, every leaf, every strand of hair…His love infuses all of it. That is why even the slightest bit of disobedience on our part hurts God deeply. Creation sings praises to Him in ways that we can’t imagine but one day we will see it in Heaven and feel it too. I pray that you will seek to know Jesus as your Savior soon because the day is coming when He will appear and call His church to be with Him “in His Father’s house”.

Have faith!

Abraham had faith in God’s promises so he went to a place that he’d never been before. He even had faith enough to believe God would give him a child in his old age and God did that. So, why do people disregard what God’s Word says about sin and salvation today? Is it because they don’t love God or they just can’t handle the truth? Since the men who wrote the Bible did so by the prompting of the Holy Spirit the Bible is God’s Word not man’s. Yet many in the world hate it and won’t believe it as His Word or as the Truth. People will believe all kinds of stories about “aliens” or evolution but when the Creator, God, puts things in writing that have come true and will come true shortly, many will just ignore Him and anyone who believes His Word.

Why is the Bible disbelieved so vehemently in many parts of the world? Because it does tell us the Truth whether we like it or not. If you look at the historical records of many other people besides the Hebrews, you will notice that their history always has happy endings and good things in it. The Bible tells exactly what the Jewish people did, good or bad, in every situation. Yet it is reversed as their history and taken as completely factual. Yet, many churches don’t believe that it is completely factual in every sentence. Since God inspired the writers to write down His Word and their history shouldn’t we believe His Word as factual and truthful too?

God cannot lie so His Word is absolutely the Truth. But we don’t like to be told that there is a Truth besides our own which is why many people are so against the Bible. Jesus is the only Savior and the Way to be saved from our sins and the consequences of those sins. God’s Word says that “the wages of sin is death (eternal separation from God)”. Jesus is the only way to be free from the punishment brought on by sin. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is the only way and I pray that you will…soon.

Why are you so glum?

I was a pastor for nine years and I’ve been told that since I post here daily, I’m still a pastor but that’s beside the point. The faces I saw and those I see on TV at church services look like they just ate a sour apple. I understand that many people don’t want to smile all the time but as Christians, we have the best news that could ever be told! Jesus made it possible for us to be taken to Heaven!

If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, your eternity is sealed and sure! Being sad about the day’s news is not going to change anything. Consider this: He could come back at any moment! Your problems will all be solved when you are taken to your eternal home! No more glasses to wear, no bills to pay, no doctor to visit, and no more pills to take so you can remember to take your pills!

God loves us and He is coming back to take the church, His Bride, to heaven! From that point on into time with no end, you and I will be alive! It is a hard concept to get your mind around but with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!

The joy of being His should give you a smile to show to everyone. But many people want to look at the world around them and see the things that aren’t the way we want them to be. God sees the bigger picture that we can’t see and He knows which way everything will turn out…His way. Don’t discount His design in your life and in the world around you because His way is always the right way.

Life and our Creator

In the Bible, our Creator is the embodiment of Life itself. Not only because He created it but because He sustains it as well. God and Jesus both, along with the Holy Spirit, sustain all of Creation. The life which is on Earth or anywhere else in the universe is also sustained by them and by their power over life. Every life on Earth, human, animals, insect and even bacteria, is sustained by God’s power. Satan is the oposite of life and is a liar if he claims otherwise.

No matter how much Satan tells you that he can bring your wife or son or daughter back to you…don’t believe it because it is a total LIE! He can’t give life and he can’t resurrect a life that is already gone. Only our Creator can do that and bringing someone back from the grave hasn’t been done since Jesus’ time. But that time may come again soon.

Our Creator has done many miraculous things and will continue to do many more. Your life in Christ is one because you are a new creature in Christ. When you gave up your old life and began to live a new life through the power of Jesus’ name and claimed Him as your Savior, then you became a new person. As you walk in His Word and pray daily for His strength to keep you on the pathway following Him, you will become more like Him and less like your old self.

That is what is meant by becoming sanctified in Christ. Because the more that you learn from the Bible and from prayer and by resisting the temptation to return to your old life, then you will begin to reflect the life and likeness of Jesus. Of course, we can never become fully like Him in this life but others will notice a difference in our life that is reflecting His attitudes and His teachings more than what the world will accept. That is why the world doesn’t like Christians, because they look at us and see what they should be like. Knowing that if they were more like Jesus they wouldn’t be living in sin the way they are.

He gives us the power to be more like Him because if He didn’t, we couldn’t live our life reflecting His ways and not our own. We can’t be real Christians without Him or without His Spirit changing us from the sinner that we once were into the person that Jesus knows we can be. I ask that any of you who haven’t given your life to Jesus, please consider seeking Him out and doing so before your life ends. There are no second lives to live and no second chances after this one is through.

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