Tag: Jesus loves you

What do you value?


black-friday-software-dealsIn society, no matter where that society is, it seems to be respect and a standing in the community that is valued most. In some areas of society it is wealth and power and prestige that is valued more. There are times that all of those combine into one abiding and driving force in a society regardless of which country it may be in–and that is called greed. During the holidays, it seems that we value things far above people because of how much value we place on “stuff”.

We see it in the news and online, we see the effects of it in life around us but greed is actually a part of an overpowering emotion that humanity has been dealing with and losing the battle against ever since the Garden. That is pride. Pride of course can be a good thing when you are proud of your son or daughter for their accomplishments in school or even in life. But…it can get out of hand when pride in yourself and your status and your wealth swells up to the point of making you want more and more.

Our values and what we value should be a part of our life with Christ. Our life in general should be a reflection of our values and Jesus being a part of our life should be the standard by which our values are measured. What does He value in His ministry? Who does He value and why? When we find the answers to these questions, and they aren’t hard to find, then we will have the answer to having a life which reflects more of Him and less of our pride, less of us.

Why should our values be aligned with Jesus’ values? Because if you are a Christian then your life and the values that you have should be reflecting the same life, the same values which Jesus placed value in. If you claim to be a Christian but you live like the rest of the world and only go to church when it is necessary or maybe on holidays, weddings and funerals, then you are missing the point.

The Christian life is about believing in Jesus but also living with Him on a daily basis, gathering for prayer and worship of your Creator with other believers and becoming more like Him and less like the person that you were before. If this doesn’t describe your life with Jesus, then you may want to do a bit of soul-searching to see if you really are a Christian.

I am not writing this to put anyone down, but there are many people in America and in other places, who claim to be Christians BUT they never go to church. It is likely that they rarely read the Bible or pray and praise God, unless something is going wrong in their life or in their family. Then they seek His help and influence. God is not on call just when something goes wrong, He is supposed to be present in your life…every day!

God is not a genie. We shouldn’t treat Him as such, but there are many who seem to look at Him like this. God values your life so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross, one of the most heinous and barbaric ways that anyone could die, in order to be the sacrifice for your sins! He would’ve done this even if there was only you to save, but He paid the price for ALL of humanity. Even though many won’t give their lives to Him and become a Christian, the price has already been paid for their sins.

Learn of Him and His Love for you. Seek Him out while there is still time in this life to do so. When you have breathed your last breath or if death comes suddenly tonight or tomorrow, your chance to change is over. Don’t put it off, please.

Preaching from the Bible


Is this the actual way to do it? I mean, if you are a preacher of the gospel aren’t you supposedTaketheGospeltoAll to preach from the Bible? Today, it seems that more churches which are growing, especially the larger ones, have pep talks and “5 ways to make your marriage work” sermons. Jesus didn’t preach or teach on these topics. The gospel is the Good News of His payment of your debt owed because of your sins. He made that payment iN FULL so that we can accept His grace and offer of salvation once and never have to come to Him asking for salvation again.

We may need to confess our sins when we fail Him one day or another, but our salvation is secure in Him. He will in no way lose any that the Spirit calls to Himself and they accept that call. Preaching from the Word of God is the only way that many people get to hear God’s Word. It seems that today many rely on apps on their phone or tablet for scripture reading, and that’s fine but reading the Word and hearing it preached allows it to be imprinted on your mind and your heart even more.

Don’t neglect the gathering together of the brethren in worship. I know, there are always other things to do instead of going to church BUT if you have given your life to Jesus you are expected to worship Him at least one day during the week. Of course some people claim that they worship Him every day, which is good, but the disciples gathered together to worship and pray so I think we should too.

We should preach from God’s Word and worship together because the worship of His people and the praise which we give to Him, He inhabits it. Our prayers and needs are seen and heard by our Father and the Son when we are together because those prayers rise like the smoke from incense or sacrifices to the throne! Praise His Holy Name!!

The wrong road home


Sometimes we think that we are on the right road or path when we are really on the wrong road. So, how can you find out which road you are on? The first clue is finding out how many actual friends of yours are on it too. If you are alone or have found new friends then you are very likely on the right road. If most of your old friends are with you and you are still going to the places that you always have, then you are on the wrong road.

Many people think that the path which leads to Heaven is one which is traveled heavily, but Jesus said that the road to Heaven is a narrow one and there are few who find it. The broad road may lead upward for a while but in the end it leads to hell. The world is on that broad road which so many seem to truly enjoy walking on. Why? Because it is easy and carefree with no thorns or rocks and it isn’t very steep. Satan makes it easy to believe that you are on the right path and it is so fulfilling in this life to walk on it because of the rewards you have in this life.

When it seems too good to be true, it is. Money, fame and fortune are all available on this wide road and sometimes they come to you very easily but there is a price to be paid. Some people think that they will give up all of their freedom and fun in order to become a Christian which is not true at all. I don’t miss waking up with a hangover or wondering where I was last night or who I was with (or in some cases what happened during that time).

When your heart is changed your life will be too. Your friends will either follow you in your walk with Jesus or they won’t. If they can’t follow you then you will make new friends in Christ. Living your life for Him is far more rewarding than many people think it is. I have never seen a street paved with pure gold in Hollywood or anywhere else, so eternity is going to be far more rewarding than anything could be here.

While it is true that your life on Earth has to end before your eternity begins, for me that is not such a big deal. I mean, there isn’t much here besides my family that I would rather stay here for anyway. One day, they will be with me in Heaven too, so my time will be short without them. It sounds as if I am ready to go and I am really, but I am going to wait until God decides on the day and time.

The title of this piece almost sounds like “the long road home” and for some it may be. Some days it feels that way to me as well, but if you look at how short our life really is compared to eternity then it is easily put up with. I mean, our life at best can last say one hundred years. When you compare that to ten thousand or one million years, it is just a small speck like the period at the end of a sentence.

Granted, time won’t be measured in hours or days or years in Heaven. Really, time won’t be measuredroad2eternity at all, so you won’t even know how long you have been there. And…it won’t matter. No more death, disease, pain, or suffering of any kind. No more sunrise or set. Days and years won’t have a measure to stand anymore. The pathway which is wide and easy leads to eternity too but it is a different one than that in Heaven. It is the punishment for denying God and denial of His Grace and His Son’s sacrifice for your sins. Consider this before your life ends because the time to make that decision is today because you don’t have tomorrow…yet.

Is it well with you?


Many times, in church and even on social media sites, I get requests for prayer either in person or by a message. Prayer is a necessary part of a Christian’s life, just like breathing or drinking water, yet many people don’t seem to think that God listens to them so they ask their pastor to pray for them. I don’t mind, but if you are a child of God you have the same privilege and right to step into His Presence at anytime.

1533781_811048015579131_2056361741_nSometimes, people just don’t exercise their right as a Christian until it gets to be so bad they just hit their knees in agony. God can and will answer your prayers, particularly when you pray about a family member’s illness or an accident. I don’t mean to say that He won’t answer a prayer about your children or your keys or other “small” thing, but God looks for ways to bless you in areas where He is the real solution for the problem!

So do you seek out God when things are going good or do you wait until He is the last resort? Don’t you think that when things aren’t going very well, you should seek out the One Who can do something about the situation? The Creator that made all of our universe and every molecule in your body can fix any problem in your life, regardless of the cause! If you will give Him the chance to do so.

When life throws a curve ball at you, swing at it because you might hit it. God can give you the strength and the ability to make it through any real problem in your life, regardless of whether it is one involving your spiritual condition or a medical problem. God is bigger than ALL of your problems or any of the problems in our world today or at any time in the future.

Each of us has a choice to make. To ask Jesus into our lives and repent of our sinful ways or to keep doing what we feel is right, what makes us feel good. To keep being selfish and prideful in what we can do and to do it without anyone telling us that it is wrong. In reality, the Bible doesn’t tell you anything like that. There are no rules about what to do or not, but when you truly realize that you need Jesus and you come to Him in repentance…then you will change. You won’t do it on your own but you will change by the influence of the Holy Spirit after you ask Him to live in your heart!

When that happens, and you begin to change into a new creation, a new person. Then you won’t crave those things which you did before. You won’t go to the places that you went to before. The rules have changed because you aren’t the same anymore. Not because of rules from the Bible, but because your heart, your soul, your inner person has changed and is changing. While you learn more about Jesus and read His Word and pray about this new life, you are changing and becoming the person that God has always known you were since before you were born.

When this change occurs then it will be well with you no matter how life turns out, good or bad. Why? Because you are an adopted child of God! The Creator and King of the universe! How could you possibly feel down or depressed or unloved when God loves you more deeply than anyone on Earth could ever understand? Yes, there will be days which you may be depressed, but with prayer and reading God’s Word it won’t last for long. Seek Him and His Kingdom and all of the things which God has prepared for you will be yours.

All religions are not the same


In some circles it seems that religions are all thrown into the same pile, regardless of belief or the God or gods being worshiped. Many don’t seem to notice or care that some of those religions are or were created by man, out of man’s mind and not inspired by God Himself! Satan and his forces have been doing this since the beginning, and they are so good at it until the religions that were created by men who were acting under the influence or guidance of demons are accepted world-wide.

Yet, Christianity and Judaism are ridiculed and marginalized because we worship God the Creator of all!

The Bible tells of a time that people will look to their own wisdom instead of His. They will seek out teachers who tell them what they want to hear and make them feel good about themselves. Sound like any “teacher” that you may have seen on TV or heard about? God loves humanity, all of us, not just Christians and Jews. But the salvation and forgiveness of sins comes from belief in Jesus and His death and resurrection and your repentance from those sins.

We are living in troubling times where men do atrocious crimes. Murder, pedophilia, child molestation and slavery for sex…the list could go on and on. The point of this is that we live in a time just like Jesus described to His disciples where the world and the people in it are very much like those in the days of Noah. They didn’t call on God nor believe in Him and didn’t care about anyone except themselves. Sounds very familiar doesn’t it?

God’s love for us is what is keeping your life and mine on a path toward our futures. What that future is exactly, nobody knows for sure except for God. Each decision which you and I make is not controlled by God but is guided by Him. After your salvation you are happy and joyful at having your salvation. Then many people seem to get into a rhythm of going to church and going home then work and then repeat.

The problem with this is that we are supposed to be progressing just like a child or baby. The apostle Paul said it best when he chastised the church at Corinth about still being babes when they should be learning the meat of God’s Word! It is a fact that you can’t progress in your Christian life and walk with Christ if you don’t pray and learn His Wisdom from the Bible.

Being a Christian is a process just like any journey it begins with a step. The first step is accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you have to take the next step and learn about Him from His Word. Study it daily and seek His Wisdom from it with prayer and sometimes fasting. The more that you learn about Him, you will realise that there is more to know about Him. You will never graduate from learning about Him until you are in Heaven. Then you will know and be known fully and completely.OnlyJesus

What do you really believe?


It is becoming clear that many people in churches today, regardless of denomination, have no idea what being a committed Christian is. Some think it means going to church when we feel like it. Some seem to think that, just like the rest of the world, if they are good and read the Bible occasionally then God will let them into Heaven. There seems to be quite a few that think that they don’t really have to do anything except to believe that Jesus is the Christ and that will get them into Heaven.

Preachers have told us this for decades, that if you believe in Jesus you will be saved. The apostle, John, says mostly the same thing in his gospel. So, why does it seem that we should desire more of Him than we do? Jesus said that “apart from Me you can do nothing“, truly that phrase has nothing to do with belief. It has to do with our commitment to a daily life with Him.

Reading the Bible, prayer for all of the things that are good and needed in our world, seeking His will for your life in His Word, meditating on His Word after you read it and considering what it means to your life, these are processes which we need to do in our daily walk with Him. This sounds like far too much to do in a day, but it doesn’t need to be. Reading a chapter or two every day and then praying for the meaning of it to be revealed to you doesn’t take long. Thinking about what God reveals to you during the day is your meditation on Him and His Word, but it shouldn’t interfere with your daily life.

Being a dedicated child of God is not as easy as just saying that you believe in Him. It is a daily, sometimes hourly walk with Him through your day, every day. He walked with Adam in the Garden, so why can’t we walk with Him every day? He doesn’t get in the way, and He certainly won’t be a hindrance to anything that we do, unless you intend to do or be in agreement with sinful actions on a daily basis.

Being a Christian is not as easy as it is portrayed because even though becoming one is easy, the process is a daily walk with Him. As Jesus said, “take up your cross and follow Me”, sometimes that means that we have to put something else that we have been holding onto down. For many people today, that is not an easy thing to do. We are addicted to our computers, our tablets, our phones, our games and almost every other distraction imaginable. But, we only come to Jesus when it is necessary or when we have to.

Seeking Him and learning about Him and about our relationship with Him is something which we don’t consider important. We will worry about that tomorrow or next year or when the next revival service is at church. But…what if you don’t live that long? What if you were to die in an hour or two from now? You would be standing at the judgement of your life in front of God without any help at all.

God knows your life and He knows if you will come to Him and when. He is your Creator and He will not turn you away IF you will come to Him with a repentant heart and ask Him to save you from yourself. Ask Him to help you to become the person that you can be in Christ and He will do it IF you are sincere and truthful about your need for Him.

If this is just “lip service”, He won’t even hear you. But, this has to be done in this life. Waiting to take care of this on your death-bed won’t cut it because you may not have that chance. A car wreck, a heart attack or any number of other ways that you can die without any notice, might prevent you from making that last-minute decision. So, what will you decide?

Are you going to keep doing what you have always done, hoping that God will just let you pass? Will you just turn away, like the rich young ruler did because you are having too much fun and you don’t feel that you need Jesus in your life? Maybe you think that being a devoted Christian just doesn’t fit your lifestyle right now. But, if you were to meet Jesus at your judgement and He says that “I never knew you”, how will you feel? Eternity is a long, long time to be outside in outer darkness, away from the Love of God.

Think about it, pray about it if you are serious about your Eternal destiny and then pray some more. Seek Him while there is time, in this life, because when this life is over…your time to be His is up and your eternity begins wherever you are.

Short days and short times


It has been almost two millennia since the time of Jesus and His disciples and His prophecy concerning the end of the age , yet people don’t seem to be concerned. Even with many of the signs already shown and seen in years past, as well as the signs which are in front of us every day. When I say that the days are short I am not speaking of days like in the winter when the Sun seems to go down not long after it comes up. I am speaking prophetically of the time in which we are living.

It is true that many don’t believe that we live in these particular times, but in fact we do. There are many signs in the heavens which God has used recently which point toward this time, as our generation is called the “terminal generation”. Yet, most of the people in the world today don’t want to acknowledge the truth of what is going on around them. Even if they recognize that these signs are true and occurring almost on a daily basis!

I don’t bring this up to attempt to scare people into church or make you fearful enough to seek out the truth in the Bible, although you should be doing this anyway. What I am saying about this period of time is that we don’t know how long we have. It could be a couple of months or a few years yet, but just as the virgins in the parable, we need to be ready when the Bridegroom comes. Not sitting around twiddling our thumbs but watching for Him in Scripture and in our everyday lives.

Praying every day, seeking His wisdom concerning these times and those around us who are in need of His love and compassion. Telling those who are in need of salvation about Jesus is the mission which we have in these times. If they don’t want to receive Jesus, then tell someone else and move on. It is imperative that we keep telling as many as will listen because very soon, they will be on their own in a world which will not tell them of Jesus and will kill anyone who does profess faith in Him!

God loves humanity, but His patience is drawing to a close. The Spirit will strive with man for a while longer and yes there will be a few who accept Jesus during the Tribulation, but they will be in the minority when they do. I pray that most of you who read this will accept Him before this time has come. If you have not, then I will be praying for you from the balcony of Heaven. I hope that God might allow me to come to Earth during this time and help guide those who have given their lives to Jesus, because they will need the help.

I am not special. I am a sinner just as you were or maybe still are, but I am forgiven and that makes the difference. Please, if you are seeking your Savior, read the Bible and pray about giving your life to Him, asking Him to come in and change your life from the inside out.

Today, tomorrow, forever


Today is the present day that you are living in, moment by moment, so enjoy all of its beauty and goodness that God gives you to enjoy. Tomorrow isn’t here yet and by the time it is, it isn’t tomorrow anymore, so don’t count on it. Live today as if Jesus was coming back tonight! Forever is a time that we will spend after this life is over, whether we spend it with Jesus and other Christians or not is your choice!

God has always intended for us to be with Him forever, but humanity has rebelled every step of the way. Even when we only had one rule to follow, we still thought we knew better than God. After that, it was all downhill. God has always had a plan in place to bring us back to Himself and the reason is simple: He knew that we couldn’t do it on our own, so He gave of Himself in order to pay the price for our disobedience.

He didn’t have to do it that way, but He did! Tomorrow never really comes because when it gets here it is today, so make the most of today, every day. Seek out the One Who holds tomorrow in His hands so that your eternal home will be with Him and all of the joyous people who will be thanking Him for His love and mercy! Why do I say that we will be doing this? Because without His love and mercy, we wouldn’t be worthy and forgiven in order to be in Heaven!

Just a thought…


Maybe more than one…I saw this on another site or maybe in an email and considered that it was worthy of placing here:Listen and silent

So much of the life and the times in which we live is part of the prophesied times told of in the Bible. The books of Revelation, Daniel and Ezekiel all have some points which give us some insight into the times in which we live right now. So what is the point of the words “listen” and “silent”? Simply this: you must be silent in order to listen and you need to listen in order to understand. In order to understand the wisdom of God, you need to learn to listen to Him and what better way to do that than to read His Word so you will know His voice when He speaks? If you don’t know someone’s voice, you can’t pick them out in a crowd of people, and that is what we have to do in order to hear God.

There is so much going on around us today until it is extremely hard to pick out relevant information, let alone the actual Truth of God. It just gets drowned out in the background until you can’t hear it well enough to know what is being said. Daily living with God’s Word, not just once or twice a week, is what is truly necessary for all of us who wish to know Him and be known by Him.

Seek His guidance in all of life’s problems and triumphs, the good and the bad times, and everything in between. Why? Because that is how the relationship between us and God was supposed to work in the beginning! Walking, talking and learning from Him was the normal and the only way for Adam and Eve to learn the things needed to be caretakers of the Garden. It is very sad that we fell from His grace so soon, but it didn’t surprise God. He knew that it was coming and what brought it about as well as who was responsible, just as the rebellion in the ranks of the angels didn’t surprise Him.

Silent and quiet times are few and far between, but we need to try to have those with God. Because, Jesus made sure in His ministry to do just that and He did it often, not just when He needed some advice or inspiration. We should do the same. Seek Him out so that you can learn from the Creator, He really is the best teacher.

 

 

 

 

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.