Tag: Jesus

Are you a follower, a leader, or a Christian?


In many ways we are called to be all three, especially if we claim to be Christians. Today, we are supposed to be a people who follow Jesus and His example, not the “politically correct” way but His Way of Life! If you are a follower of Him, will you be one when the persecution comes to America, and it will come sooner than you think! Will you stay true to your faith in Jesus and your claim to Him when someone is threatening your life or your family’s security?

We need to be that strong in our faith, we are supposed to be that strong so that we can stand in our faith and for our communities and our churches. We are also called to be examples and leaders of our churches and our families faith. If we aren’t doing that then what is the next generation going to learn? Who are they going to learn it from?

God gave that responsibility to parents. To raise their children in the knowledge and reverence of Him, not to be afraid of Him as if God were going to strike you with a bolt of lightning for doing something wrong. God allows us to make mistakes, but we aren’t supposed to live in those mistakes. We are supposed to learn from them, repent of the sinful ways that we had and move into a life of service to Him and not to ourselves.

Christians are supposed to be fundamentally bound to the Bible, God’s Word. It really isn’t supposed to be an option because if you choose to not believe one part of it, you are invalidating all of it! We have to be consistent in our faith in God and in the Word of God because if we aren’t going to believe all of God’s Word, then why be a Christian at all?

The belief in the Word of God comes with the faith that you have in Him and His Son. If that isn’t there, then you need to check with the Bible and see if you really do believe in what you say that you believe. This is exactly why there are so many people who don’t want to believe in God and who don’t go to church. They see all of these “so-called Christians” that go to church and then don’t live their lives by what they are claiming to believe on a daily basis.

This is exactly why so many people choose not to come to churches. They see many of those who claim Christ on Sunday, but who walk a different way during the week. The walk of a Christian is not an optional thing. It is just like walking on a thin line which we are called to do, you are either on it or not. Yes, we fall from our walk and step off of the line, but we should try to get back on it as soon as possible. Don’t decide that once you fall off that you can’t get back up! You don’t learn to ride a bike or a horse that way and your walk with Jesus is no different!

When you choose to be a Christian, regardless of how long ago it was, you are in a committed relationship. One which is dependent upon you to keep it going. Jesus has already done everything that He needed to do, it is up to you to seek Him out daily in His Word. Pray for your day to be the one that He would want. Keep your mind focused upon Him during the day, as often as you can, because the more you keep Him on your mind then the less chances Satan will have to cause problems in your day.

Make sure that, if you are a Christian, you are walking with Jesus and not dragging Him up when someone asks you about Him and then pushing Him away so that you can do what you want to do. Prayer is good, if it is done for the right reason and God hears those prayers when your heart is in them too. If you are just saying something like “God bless you”, then it is just an automatic thing and really doesn’t mean much. Consider what you are thinking because God knows what you are thinking too. Nothing is hidden from Him no matter where you might be.

Racism…why?


In our world today there are so many different ism’s until it is hard to tell which is which. But why is there one called racism? There is only one race on Earth and it has been that way since God began everything in Eden. Adam was not one race and Eve another, they were both human. Their skin may have been dark, not brown or black but not white or yellowish either. We are all part of the human race.

For many years, centuries even, we have separated ourselves from each other because of our different cultures and skin tongenetic-variationes but honestly those are really the only actual differences between us, no matter where we live on Earth. Yes, we do have different cultures, that can be seen easily in our customs and the religions, the way we talk and dress, but it doesn’t make us different in race. We are all of the same race, human beings or Homo sapiens and there are no others. If there were you would easily be able to see the differences.

I know that cultural differences are varied in every country and region on this planet, but that is the only thing besides skin color that separates us. It is something that we must contend with and it is a difference which we have had since the beginning. The problem with our separateness began with the Tower of Babel where everyone’s language got mixed up and they were forced to separate and move away from each other, at least that is my opinion about it.

We live in a world which is broken and bruised in many ways because of the original sin in the Garden, but also because of our own nature. We want things a certain way in our lives, we like our coffee a certain way and our eggs cooked a certain way and when someone comes along with a different way of doing things we fuss and fight against it until we decide that maybe their way is better. If not, then we have a problem between their way and our way. This causes a split in communities and churches sometimes and in times past, it caused us to distance ourselves from each other along cultural lines which soon become “racial lines” because we considered the differences to be so great.

When in reality, the differences are not that great if you get to know someone better. Sooner or later those differences become not so different really. The difference in culture, between the way people dress or act or even the music that they listen to or the way that they talk, those are the separating lines between us. We are all of the same race, just different branches of the tree that’s all. The branch at the top is no better than the roots because they are all a part of the whole.

Of course, this explanation is one which will be very hard for most to accept. “My branch is better than yours because I am not so close to the ground”; “My trunk is better because I get my nourishment before you do”; these are silly arguments from a human standpoint but you get the point. Is there a way for us to fix these differences in culture and skin tone? Not with our human understanding alone. Force and wars, whether fought with guns or bombs or swords, have never solved any of these problems and in many countries they have made the problem worse.

The only cure or fix for this is Jesus. When He comes to rule the world for one thousand years, things will be different. Yes, there will still be separation between most nations, tribes, and cultures and all of the diversity that has come to Earth since Creation but we can take our grievances to Him directly and He can judge fairly between the parties which are having problems.

Until the new heaven and earth appear though, there will be disagreements and arguments. Maybe no wars or bombings or killings, but that won’t stop us from having disagreements between people.

Seek His counsel and His Wisdom in your life, every day, so that you have the best advice available in all of your daily activities, whatever they may be.

An addendum to this post:

Christ did not come to Earth for only one so-called “race” of people, He came to save ALL of us, to bring the possibility of salvation to all skin colors and nationalities and the cultures from which they come. God created us as one race, humanity, and He wants to have fellowship with all of us, no matter where you may live or what color your skin is.

Think of our skin colors like this: there is a snow leopard which is mostly white, there is a leopard which has black spots and a tawny color and there is a black leopard in South America which is black, but you can still see the spots well enough to know that he is still a leopard. The colors don’t change the fact that it is a leopard any more than our skin color doesn’t change the fact that we are all homo sapiens! One race, different cultures and skin colors, blessed and loved by God to be His people if we will accept Him as our Savior.

 

Wolves in disguise


Many children’s tales tell of wolves in sheep’s skins and Jesus warned us in His teachings that many would come in the latter days seeking to draw people from the church or from faith by pretending to be something that they are not. Yes, it is happening today! Like it or not, we can’t ignore it and we can’t just brush it away because they are here and causing problems in the church and in society in general. Even if I knew their names, I wouldn’t tell you but the way that the “news” programs only report good “news” that looks and sounds good. They are doing exactly what the Bible says, yelling “peace and safety, all is well”, when the world around us is far from that these days.

Are people able to recognize these disguises? I don’t think so. Mainly because we have elected many of them into offices of importance in our country in the last seven years. We listen to their ideas of how the population should be receiving the wonderful news of “affordable health care”, yet very few of us can afford it or the insurance that we are required by law to get. America is not the wonderful land of opportunity that many of us grew up in anymore, it seems to be fuelled more by greed and power than doing what is right and being an example to others.

What happened?

Well, many won’t believe what I am about to say but we brought it on ourselves. Yes, many of you will believe that part but how we did it is not so easy. It was gradual at first and many of the changes started over fifty years ago, but the changes which sped up our country’s headlong fall came about after 9/11. The leaders of our government decided to use a phrase from the Bible to symbolize our resolve and our determination to rebuild. The problem with this was that the phrase and the verse that they used was a prophetic verse which predicted the type of fall that we would experience afterward, but many of them didn’t take the verse in context. They only used the portion which suited them, like many preachers do today.

Today, the “rapture” of the church is preached all over this land by many, yet one of the verses that is used is never used in context. It is only used partially, so that the effect is changed from that which was intended. 2 Thessalonians 2:2,3: “the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition:”

Your life and mine mean much more to God and His Kingdom than we will ever know until we see Him face to face. God has provided the forgiveness and the path to salvation for each of us, all that we have to do is believe in Jesus and His sacrifice and we are forgiven. For many people this is too simple and too easy, yet that is exactly what God has done for each of us…because He loves us.

Yes, the church will be “taken up in the twinkling of an eye”, but not before the man of sin is revealed and the falling away from the church happens first. Hold fast to your faith, watch and be ready therefore because the days are coming when family will be divided over religious differences and greed. Even if you have to keep a secret place for your Bible, do it. Read it, study it, pray over the words that you read and ask God for the strength to remain steadfast in your faith. He is coming back and the whole world will know it when it happens, not just a few.

 

Love, what is it really?


This being a day that many of us associate with relationships and the feelings associated with them and yet many people don’t know what love really is.

Love is not sex or lust, those are associated with erotic love (lust), but that is not the emotion which would bring about a lasting relationship. One which would grow deeper with time regardless of the health of the one that you love or the amount of money that you have.

There is a movie in the theatres today that is making the erotic lust of someone into a “relationship”. It will be like burning a candle with a blow-torch, it is fun for a while but if it doesn’t grow into something far deeper and even more intimate, then it will burn out like that candle.

Many people chase after feelings like those from a sexual relationship or even the feeling that comes with getting high from drugs or adrenaline or even alcohol. These things are temporary and don’t last at all, but the love that doesn’t ask for anything in return, like the love that comes from God, that is mature love. The kind of deep love that lasts through sickness, heartache, poverty and wealth. It doesn’t matter what happens in your life, that kind of love is what we all search for and yet it is the kind that is so hard to find.

It is the kind of love that only God can bring into your life, whether it is through Jesus or by God bringing you and your “soul-mate” together. He is the only One, the only match-maker Who can answer the prayer of someone who is looking for that special someone who will be there for life, regardless of what life may bring. He is the only Person who can show you the very one who will be faithful and true to you just as He is. That is the relationship that we all are looking for, whether it is an intimate relationship with your spouse or with Jesus.

A relationship that is strong and enduring, whether it is between friends or your spouse or children, is what we crave and hunger for in our lives. Yet, even that relationship can’t take the place of the Relationship between you and Jesus. That One is more deep and connected than any that you can have if you will seek Him out when you feel that call on your life. If you haven’t felt that call yet, then I pray that you will seek Him out by going to church and open your heart to Him. Ask Him into your life and read the Bible, pray that God will give you the wisdom to understand its words and the Truth contained in it and He will.

The Love of Christ is the deepest and most enduring Love that is more than you can imagine or comprehend, yet it is available to you any time. Regardless of how your day is going, good or bad, Jesus is there to comfort and to strengthen you. He is there to heal when you feel broken by depression or injury or sickness, just call to Him. Coming to Him is easy if you believe that He will answer you. He doesn’t turn down anyone who genuinely seeks Him with an open heart asking Him to come and heal their lives.

God’s love for us, all of us, has been present since the first day of Creation. He saw down through the ages who would be needing and seeking Him. He knows you and your life, your problems and your pain and He has the answers for those too. No, I can tell you that your disease or other health problems  won’t immediately go away, but He will be with you and help you through them. In some cases, He may heal you immediately so praise the Lord for it when it comes.

Time for our world is growing short, so I urge you to seek God and His grace for your life. Believe it and in Jesus’ sacrifice for you and ask Him to come into your life so that God can give you eternal life with Him. If you choose not to believe in Jesus or in anything that you may read here, eternity will come for you but it will not be pleasant.

Time is short


In many ways the news and the other media outlets want us to think that we have all of the time in the world. Everything is going to keep on getting better and life will go on just as it always has.

WRONG!!! WAKE UP!!!

Folks, this country and our world at large is headed for a big wake up call and it won’t be something which we will recover from in a few days or weeks. This will be a long time getting fixed. Sounds scary doesn’t it?

Guess what? It is going to happen! All of these shows which keep us watching so-called “reality”, are complete and total jobs to keep us blind to what is happening behind our backs and in front of us. We don’t notice it because we are too busy tweeting or whatever online or we are texting constantly and talking to our “friends”. When what we should be doing is paying attention to what is really happening in the world, not just the tidbits that we get on the “news” programs.

Nearly all of the events which are supposed to happen prior to the trying times foretold in the Bible have come about already. The birth pains which Jesus spoke about are already occurring in natural disasters and heat waves and sudden snow storms and all of the others that are going on around us. The wars and skirmishes that are happening everywhere over disputes about whose religion is the right one or which sect is going to be the best!

All of this was foretold over two thousand years ago, yet many people have ignored the signs or just never even read about it or heard it preached. The problem is that when the climax comes and the really bad stuff begins, then what will the world do? Celebrate? Be glad that there are no more Christians in the world to bother us about how wrong we have been doing things?

When that day comes, and it will come, anyone who has heard about it or maybe seen a movie about it will know that what they thought was wrong. Realization and the reality will truly set in and then the Wrath of God will truly be released on the Earth. The last seventy-two months will be far worse than the first seventy-two months were.

How soon do I think this will happen? I don’t know. I just feel in my spirit that we don’t have a decade or more to ponder and think about it. I could be wrong, but what if I am not? If there is a treaty signed between Israel and all of her neighbours in the next few years then that is the beginning of the first part of the last seven years of this age.

God doesn’t want anyone to die in sin, He wants all who will to come to repentance and believe in Jesus. When you do that your life will just be starting. It doesn’t matter how old in years you may be, your eternity begins when you accept Jesus as your Savior. Then, when you die you will just step away from this life and begin the next one in Heaven. No judgement or penalty for you because Jesus paid your way into God’s Presence. If you don’t accept Jesus then you will be judged by how many times you heard the message and walked away, as well as all of the sinful words and deeds that you did.

Do I have a time-table for when these things will happen? No, God is the only One Who knows the day and the hour of when Tribulation begins. He also knows when your day of Judgement will be. It could be tomorrow or next week or next year, but unless you have asked Jesus into your heart then the judgement will find you guilty of turning away from God’s call on your life. Then you will stand before Satan and he will determine your place in hell. The choice is yours, choose Life in Jesus.

What is going on today?


Many people are asking that question today and every day, so what would you tell them? Would you tell them that global warming was destroying our world? What about radical groups of religious zealots for Islam and Buddhism that are attacking and killing people because they don’t follow their brand of religion? Economies of governments and the budgets of nations are in dire need of help, but from where? The people in those countries don’t have enough money to put food on their table let alone enough money to pay taxes and higher fees for insurance! This world and the people in it need hope and a Savior but from where will he come?

He will come from Heaven and from Scripture into your lives and your hearts if you will choose to allow Him to do so. He is not going to bring pounds of gold to give to you nor is He going to make your problems vanish over night, but He will give you a hope for tomorrow and the strength to get through whatever it may be that is in your path today and tomorrow.

God loves each of us far more than we can know or even understand, yet we don’t seem to want to allow Him into our daily lives, why? Are we so blinded by our own ego and pride that we can’t see that we need Him in our lives? It is possible to let Him into our daily lives without His Presence interrupting our activities. Actually our activities should be in line with His plans for us, but that isn’t possible for many people.

The love that God has for us is far above anything that we can understand, but the closest that we can come to it is the love that most parents have for their children. That is how God views us, as His children. Regardless of our color or our background, He cares about us. No matter where you live or what you may be doing in your life, He is there watching and if you allow Him into your life He will guide your steps and your actions so that others will see Him through you and maybe they will seek Him out too.

In our world every day there is heartache and trouble, from drugs and shootings to violence in the home and religious zealots making statements about which religion we should be following. Some of those zealots may be Christians, but the majority that we hear on the news are from those who don’t believe in any god or those who follow Islam. Most news agencies won’t report anyone who is doing Christian work, unless it gets a headline somehow and usually in a negative way.

Satan is in control of most, if not all, of this negative press so it really shouldn’t be much of a surprise. If you have read some of the prophecies in the Word of God, you know that this is supposed to happen. God knows that it is happening and He is in control. He allows some things that Satan does but thankfully He isn’t allowing Satan free rein on Earth just yet.

Jesus is the only answer to our world’s problems and giving your heart to Him is the only way to come to the Father in Heaven. Seek Him out while you have today. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, only the day that we have and we must use it to the best of our ability. Serve Jesus and allow Him to work through you for the better and greater good of those that you come in contact with. He will grant you peace and security in the Life that you will have after this one.

Worry and fear, what should we do?


Jesus said for us not to worry although in today’s world it is hard not to. We hear of all the wars and killings, in our local cities and overseas. We read the news or hear it on the nightly news and wonder what is going on in this world and why. We are worried that our children and grandchildren will have a worse time of it than we had instead of hoping for their lives to be better like our parents did. What has happened to our world and why is all of this terrible stuff happening every day and every night?

It was foretold that this time would be this way, yet few people are paying attention because there are so few who believe the Book that contains those prophecies. Even fewer it seems, believe in the God Who gave the words to the writers of that Book or in His Son, Who came so that we would have eternal life and have a way for all of our sins to be forgiven. Why?

The reason for the unbelief that is so rampant these days is simply that very few families teach their children about God and the founding of our country as a Christian nation. The schools don’t teach it because someone might be offended and take the school to court. America was at one time, following God and seeking His counsel in politics and in everyday life. What happened?

Some would say that we became enlightened to the new “truth”. If the Truth didn’t come from or originate in and from God’s Word, IT ISN’T TRUE! It has been massaged and mangled and changed to the point of being a lie, period! Fifty years ago, when my parents got divorced, the company that my father worked for wrote him a letter and asked him why? Now, most companies could care less what their employees do in their personal lives until they get caught.

Even the sanctity of life is questioned in our lives now. People care more about some terrorist’s feelings than they do about an unborn child and his or her right to live. If you happen to be a Muslim, people are more afraid of insulting you than they are about anyone or anything in the world, why? Because of the wrath of Allah? No, Allah was the name of a moon-god, not the Creator of the universe. The place in Mecca which is so revered houses a meteorite inside, go figure.

How do I get to Heaven?


This is a question which many people seem to want the answer to, and today it seems that most think that they can get there on their own. Which is strange because I only know of One way and that is through the grace given to us through Jesus Christ by God Himself. The Bible clearly states that there is no other way except through Him, yet many religions on Earth tell many people a much different story.

Many of them say that there is no Heaven, or that you can do many good deeds for people in your lifetime and you will be granted a place there, so say that you will come back here until you get everything just right and then you will be allowed in. All of them are wrong.

You can, of course, believe what you wish to believe about life after death in this world but when that day comes then the Truth will be known. What will you be able to say when you stand before God and Jesus on that day? If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you will bow before Him and thank Him for your salvation. If you have rejected Him during your life here, then you will be shown the things that you have done in your life, things which you would’ve been granted forgiveness for, then you will be shown the times that you had heard a message or felt a call from Him and you ignored it.

It is your actions, your decision in this life which will determine whether you go to Heaven or not, the choice is yours to make and it must be made while you yet live. It is not God’s choice to send you to hell if you choose not to accept Jesus as your Savior, it is yours. God doesn’t want people to be sent there, but if they reject the grace offered through the atonement that was bought with Jesus’ death, then He has no choice. Nothing that we are capable of doing during our life, if we are without Jesus, is good enough to get us into Heaven.

Only through accepting Jesus as your Savior and asking Him to come into your life and change you, to make you what He knows that you can be, is it even possible for you to be forgiven and get into Heaven. You can yell and scream about all of the evolutionary theories and atheistic nonsense that you want, but rejection of the grace offered by God is the only unforgivable sin. It is your choice, which will you choose?

Satan’s hatred


For those of you who claim to be atheists, you can stop reading now. If you don’t believe in God then you shouldn’t have to worry about Satan, right?

The rest of you, believers and non-believers, listen to this: Satan HATES YOU! With the utmost, vilest hatred that is known but it is likely that we could never understand the depths of his hatred. Why are we as humans, mankind, hated so by the Accuser of the Saints, Lucifer, the Devil himself? First and foremost is because God loves us, and anyone that God loves, Satan hates since he has chosen to be as much an opposer and opposite of God in all things as he possibly can be.

He cannot create in the same way that God can by speaking something into existence out of nothing, he can incite death and destruction through us by influencing our minds and our thoughts. He has become truly expert at this as well as causing us to dismiss his existence as a tale told to scare children and nothing more. All of the religions of the world were created in the minds of men by him and the fallen angels that came to Earth with him long ago.

The diseases and wars and all of the things which are happening to people, young and old, are part of his doing. As long as he and the demons who serve him are able, they will be thorns in the side of church members and pastors until Jesus comes again. They will cause dissension and other cracks to appear in churches and between the members of those churches in order to weaken the message of Jesus that may be taught there.

This has been going on for centuries and Satan has become very adept at all forms of deceit which mankind will listen to. He will appeal to your vanity and pride through success that he brings your way in order to lure you in his direction and away from serving God. It won’t be as dramatic as the contract signed in blood like some movies have portrayed, but you will be following him or his legion if you are not following God.

Why am I bringing this up on my site? To show that Satan is real and that it is he and his demons who are influencing our world leaders and many of our people today. You can choose to believe that he is doing this or not, I am not trying to prove it to anyone. I am just bringing it up because it is happening, in the background and unless you are a Christian who is following Jesus every day then you are vulnerable to their influence.

Even Christians, if they are not following Jesus and reading God’s Word daily and praying, can be influenced by Satan and his demons. Make sure of your faith, strengthen your faith through God’s Word and pray about what you are reading. Make sure that your life is in God’s hands because life is short and Satan’s time is growing shorter.

Love is the message


How could love be the message of the Bible? With all of the killings and the wars that are fought in its pages, how could the Bible be considered a book based upon love? We will see that very soon.

Love is the message which shines through every book in the Bible. Yet, some people can’t or won’t see it because of the words in the message. God loves each one of us and the people around us, regardless of their race or religion. Of course in the Old Testament, He told the Israelites to purge the Promised land of their enemies, why? Because God knew that if they were left in the land, soon they would become a stumbling block to Israel as a whole. The people would inter-marry with them and begin to worship their gods and their ways and pretty soon, Israel would be just like them. They would no longer be God’s chosen people because they had mixed with the “world” around them to the point that you couldn’t tell them apart.

The love that God has for everyone is the kind that we don’t understand, agape love or unconditional love. It is hard for us to understand it because for us, there has always been a give and take approach to affection and love. But, that is not how God’s love works.

The Church that began with the disciples after Jesus went to Heaven started out with the love of God in their hearts and toward all of the believers. Not only that, but that love is turned outward toward the world itself because we are to take it to the furthest reaches of the world so that others who haven’t heard of Jesus can come to know Him. That is the expression of God’s love. We do not seek riches or power for ourselves, just the continuation of Jesus’ work and His Grace to all who will receive it.

Your witness to them, no matter who they are or where they live, can be expressed through your life or your words or even something that you do for them. It doesn’t have to be done because of your love for them, but because Jesus loved them first and we should too. Many people seem to look at this as loving others like we love each other, but the love that we must spread abroad to others is from God and not ourselves.

Could I love someone who has killed my children or my wife? No, not with my own strength or my love but through Jesus and the love that He has given to me in my heart, yes I can love them through Him. I can also forgive them for what they have done to me or my family through Him as well. It does sound as if I am crazy and to some people I may be, talking of forgiving someone for killing my family. Only through Jesus could I do this, not on my own.

Can anyone feel or express God’s love if they don’t know Him? Feel it, yes, express it..not a chance. God can love and does love everyone. He does not condone the sinful life that they lead apart from Him, but if they repent and turn to Him when they feel His Spirit touch their heart then He will forgive them and take them into His family. It really is just that simple.

Jesus died to atone for ALL of humanity’s sins. The only thing that is left for each of us to do is to believe in Jesus and that sacrifice which happened on the cross for us. Humble yourself to ask Him to come into your heart and change you into the person that you can be, then your life will be forever changed and you will be a new person. The thief on the cross believed in Jesus enough to ask Him to remember him and was saved, that was all that was necessary. Belief, heartfelt and true as a child.