Tag: Jesus

In what shape are you in?


I am not talking about your body shape, I am speaking of the shape of your relationship with Jesus? Are you good friends? Do you speak to each other on a daily basis or do you only call when you need something?

God loves you as no one on earth can and His love is unconditional. He doesn’t require you to do anything to earn His love. He does ask that you ask Jesus into your heart and your life, but He will never force you into a relationship with Him. God doesn’t do that, regardless of what other religions say with regard to your acceptance of their version of “God”.

When you become part of God’s family, you are a part of it but yours is a unique part. Unique in the way that you are because there is no one on earth with your abilities and God knows what you can do, even if you don’t, yet!

The Bible is a collection of stories, true, but it is also God voice speaking to us and telling us how much He loves us. He speaks to us through the poetry and the history of the Jewish people but He also speaks through the letters and the prophecies, the wisdom contained in the book of Proverbs. Many people don’t realize that God spoke and is still speaking through the words contained in this book. But it is so much more than a book. God’s love is expressed all through it from Genesis to Revelation. It is expressed angrily as a jealous God would but it is also expressed lovingly as a father would to a child that he loves.

The anger that is expressed is the kind that a parent would have toward a child that is doing something which might hurt them or cause them to be killed. It is not a hateful anger nor is it an anger which is comparable to our anger, it is a type which I cannot fully describe to anyone unless they have a child which they love. When that child runs out into the street or touches something which might endanger their life, don’t you feel a little angry and anxious because you may have lost your child?

That is the type of anger that most closely mirrors what God expresses and yet He loves us with an unbounded love, one which we cannot fully comprehend. When you are looking for something and yet you don’t know exactly what that something is, you will find your answer in the Bible and nowhere else! You may try to find it in another religion or a job or by using drugs or alcohol, but when you wake the next morning feeling hollow and still wanting something to fill that space, God is the only One who can.

“I have lost my way” is what I have heard some say about not going to church or that they have been gone too long. God knows where you are! He never left you, you just looked away from Him, that is all! Just like the grass looking greener on the other side of the fence and the cows stretch to get at it not knowing that the grass is the same.

God loves us with a love that none of us can understand or comprehend in our human way because He is our Creator. He is as far above us as we are above a bacteria so our feelings and His feelings are totally different and yet He cares for us as no one else can, like a father caring for billions of His children.

Giving your life and your heart to Him and becoming one of His children in a real sense is the best decision that you can make with your life. I do not want anyone to think that being a Christian is easy because it is not. The old self is still there, as are the temptations of your previous life. The world and all of its temptations as well as Satan and his demons will bring up things and people that will cause you to stumble and fall from your life as a child of God. At which point you have to decide to ask God to forgive you and turn back to Him, following His lead just as a sheep follows its shepherd.

In saying this I don’t mean that we are considered sheep, but in some ways we are. We are like children and sheep, we don’t know what is best for us so we have to be shown or taught what to do. Many people don’t like this idea, they are very independent and like the two year old that everyone has heard say “I can do it myself”; but even the two year old gets into trouble before long and comes running to mommy or daddy.

Our Father is the ultimate daddy because of Who He is. He won’t give you everything when you ask for it, but He will provide for you a life and the ability to serve and glorify Him here and in the life to come. Even if you don’t subscribe to the “afterlife” idea, it will be because God refers to it many times in His Word.

Are there any “nots” in your life?


Have you ever wondered whether you are good enough for God? Have you asked Him if you are good enough to get into Heaven? The answers to these questions are simple: yes, you are good enough for God and no, you are not good enough to get into Heaven!

Well, why not? Why am I not worthy to get into Heaven? It is because of our human nature and the fact that we are sinners from the time that we know right from wrong.

Can we change? Yes, but not on our own. Only by accepting Jesus into our lives and allowing Him to change us from our heart outward can there be any lasting change. This kind of change makes a difference not only in our lives but through our lives we are able to touch others because of it.

The change in us will be evident to others and they will want what we have because it gives us hope and peace. A peace that those in the world cannot understand.

Your life can be so much more than it is with Christ in it and yet, many people don’t want Him in their lives. To me, that doesn’t make sense but that is how life with Jesus is. If you have Him you can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want Him. If you don’t know Him, you can’t understand why anyone would want to.

Celebrating Easter


The idea that a rabbit has anything to do with Jesus’ resurrection came from a pagan ritual. The truth and the reason that we celebrate Easter is the resurrection of Jesus after His crucifixion! It has nothing to do with the spring of the year or eggs or rabbits but it has everything to do with your salvation!

Jesus died to ransom you from the penalty of your sins, regardless of what those sins are! It doesn’t matter if it is a lie that you told your Mom or your boss or your wife/husband, even that is a sin. It may be considered a small sin but in God’s eyes and in His universe this is no different from murder. Sins are just that, sins, regardless of the severity or consequences in our world! To a holy God, our God, sins are all the same regardless of the effect they have in this world.

This is a hard message to hear and to learn but it must be said because there is an eternity at stake and it is yours and mine! Think about what God might feel. He created all of us as His children, to learn about Him, to decide on our own to love Him because of what He does for us on a daily basis. Then, when we decide not to love Him and sin against Him, He feels it like a knife every time. Not just from one of us at a time but from everyone on earth!

We won’t be perfect even after we accept Christ as our Savior but we will have His righteousness to cover those sins that we do commit! We will still sin but we will know it, the Holy Spirit will let us know and we will want to follow Jesus’ footsteps toward the Father. If you haven’t allowed Him to change your heart and your life, please consider this…the fires of hell never go out and after your life on earth is over you will live forever regardless of where you are.

The eternal life that you live will have much more meaning and purpose if you serve Him now so you can serve Him then. If you choose not to allow Him into your life while you have this time on earth, (since we don’t know when our time ends we may not have another chance), your eternity will be very different from what it could have been!

Satan doesn’t care about you or your life other than getting you to choose not to follow Christ, as long as he can accomplish that he feels that he has hurt God more each time one of us chooses our own way instead of God’s way!

Our Lord’s model prayer


 

Our Father, which art in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,

On earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us

Our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the Glory,

Forever.

Amen.

“Our Father”, we acknowledge that God is the Creator and Sustainer of all of us, as well as all of Creation itself. He is the Father of Jesus, our Savior and redeemer. He alone deserves our praise, not some god that man has fashioned from his imagination or from some part of creation itself.

“Which art in Heaven”, with these few words we are telling God that we know where He lives and we realize that He is above all, our thoughts, our ways and our sins. But, we are also acknowledging that we are, in spirit at least, there in our thoughts and in our longings.

 “Hallowed be thy name”; we know that God is holy and we humble ourselves before Him. Because of Who He is, we can do no less. We can’t comprehend God anymore than a bacterium can comprehend us!

“Thy Kingdom come”; here we are telling God that we want His Kingdom to come and we are acknowledging that it is and will be His Kingdom that we want to be a part of it with Him!

“Thy will be done”; we know that God’s will is sovereign and over all. His will is over all of Creation and nothing happens outside of His will. Jesus said that not even a sparrow falls from the sky without the Father noticing it. Because He is in touch with His Creation to that extent, how do you think He feels when we push Him away?

 “On earth as it is in Heaven”; we acknowledge that one day God’s will for us will be done on earth as in Heaven because He said so. The prophecies in God’s Word say that this will happen, therefore it will! There is no debate nor argument for or against this; God said it so it is done!

 “Give us this day our daily bread”; He will sustain us with His power and with our life’s work so that we can live for Him daily. If we choose not to live for Him, we are not forced but if He has a plan for our lives, circumstances will work toward getting us in line with His will eventually. Jonah found this out and we will too if we try to change things!

“Forgive us our debts”; we are to ask for His forgiveness for our sins humbly and willingly because we are guilty of being sinners.

 “As we forgive our debtors”; this is the hard part to digest because it simply means that we are forgiven in the same way that we forgive others. Once you have asked Jesus into your heart and life, you are forgiven but you are to forgive others too. If you can’t forgive others, how can you show that you have been changed into the likeness of Christ?

 “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”; God doesn’t lead us into temptation, Satan does that by enticing us with things which he knows that we will pay attention to. If we are being led by God on a daily basis we will not be led into temptation, but we will be given the strength to resist it!

In delivering us from evil, God will deliver us from the evil influence of Satan and his demons by His strength as long as we are relying on Him and not our own.

 “For Thine is the Kingdom”; we know that the Kingdom to come is the Lord’s and if we belong to Him, we will share in it. How could you not want to share in an eternal Kingdom with God?

“The power and the Glory, Forever”; God has always been, period. He is omnipotent or all-powerful. He is the Creator of everything from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy and everything in between! All of these things that He created show His wonderful majesty and awesome power! Our God, His Son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three in One and between them and their influence in our universe everything works, PERIOD!

This is just a small part of what Jesus said while He was here, but what a mighty impact it has had. Many people pray that prayer as their prayer but it is supposed to be a model for us to pray, not a memorized prayer! We don’t have to pray exactly the way this prayer is laid out, but as long as we acknowledge Who is in control and give Him our petitions and problems and have the faith that He will work things together in our lives for our good and for His Glory, we only need to lean on Him in prayerful dependence with faith like a child.

He loves us more than we can comprehend. The only thing that is required from us is to love Him, we don’t have to but don’t you want to! God gives us all that we ever need or that we could want, not out of necessity but out of love for us. He doesn’t supply all the money that we want but He does supply our needs, because He knows each of us far better than we do.

 Give your heart and your life to Him and all things will work together for your life in His will and for the good pleasure of Him who sustains you.

New creation, same old body


How can I be a new creation after Christ has entered my life? Is it possible that I let Him in by mistake? The answers to these questions are: you can’t and you didn’t!

We can’t be a new creation on our own, but by the power of the Holy Spirit who came into your heart when you truly accepted Jesus, you are. It is not something which will be heralded by angels or by some miraculous healing, but it is a transformation of your spirit. You become aligned with one of the Trinity and by His power you are a new creation!

The second question from above is not possible because unless God calls you spiritually and you respond by giving your heart and life to Jesus, you can’t and you won’t be His. You may go to church and be a deacon or a Gideon, you might even become a missionary overseas but you will be doing these things under your own power and not by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That being said, I do not mean that you aren’t a good person, but you can be a “fan” of Jesus and not a follower. By that I mean the same as someone who is a fan of a particular sport. You are a true fan but you don’t play professionally. You know about the sport or the person Jesus, you have heard and read many parts of the Bible, but until you let Him into your life and your heart and truly become a follower like His disciples were, you are just a fan and nothing more.

It is wonderful to be a fan of Jesus, but until you can say truthfully that you love Him and know Him from His word, that is all that you are. You are not a new creation because you don’t have Him in your heart! This is a hard truth that many in the church today have a problem with and many who have been in church and who have left also have a problem with it. Being a member of a church and attendance every time there is a function at the church doesn’t do anything for you spiritually anymore than being in a garage makes you a car!

Until you can ask Jesus into your life and your heart and live that way daily, not just on Sunday, you haven’t changed! Until God calls you to be that new creation and you answer that call by asking Jesus into your heart, you aren’t a new creation!

Oh, but when you do answer His call on your life, everything changes! Your life takes on a new meaning, your relationship with everyone becomes more meaningful, your whole character changes because you are not the same anymore! Your heart and your mind will begin to reflect the attitude and the person of Christ and everyone will know it, even if you don’t say anything about your decision.

God wants all of humanity to come to Him. Whether we choose to do so is our individual choice. It is not forced because love cannot be forced. He won’t make you love Him because that is not love. Choose Life from the Sustainer and the Creator of all life because when you do, you will be a new creation! All of the old habits won’t have the same hold on you, your friends will either like the “new you” or they won’t. Give Jesus a chance in your life and your heart because He is the longing that we have been searching for and didn’t know that He was it!

What we should be doing


praying-hands-258x300In our time alone with God, when we are not alone but with the Creator of everything, we should be praying. Our lives are merely His to work out His will on this earth, regardless of how we feel about Him or even if we acknowledge Him at all. If by some chance, you know Him but don’t pray much, He is waiting patiently.

All of the gifts and blessings of this life come from God. Satan has a hand in all of the bad things which happen to people, but only so far as God allows him to go.  God is in control and always has been, so there is no reason to worry about your life or what you will eat because God feeds the birds and He cares enough for you to do the same in your situation.

There is so much more that God can and will do for you and all that you have to do is ask Him into your heart and life. When you have done that, I am not saying that your life will be rosy from that point on, but He will give you the assurance that His love brings and the strength to carry you through.

The Apocalypse of 2012?


In reference to the end of the Aztec calendar, maybe but not likely the end of the world as we know it. At least not yet! Nobody knows when the world will come to its end but the alignment of planets with the center of the galaxy won’t bring it about.

The end of the world as foretold in the Bible is also in our future and it is foretold in the Koran as well but trying to cause it to happen will not work. Praying that it will end tomorrow or the day after that won’t work either. It will be when it will be and nothing that we or anyone in the world does will cause it to begin sooner.

God can and does see the end from the beginning so only He knows when the end will come. The book of Revelation tells about many things which will happen at that time but the timing of the 70th week of Daniel is up to God and no one else.

The world and many people around the world are expecting something to happen this year. Something may happen, but we don’t know what or when because only God knows that. If there is a person who comes on television or the Internet and says that the world will end on such and such day, don’t believe them.

The future of our world is in God’s hands but Satan is in control on earth, at least as far as God will allow him to be. We have more to fear from those who hate Israel and Christians than we do from the doom-sayers that are pointing to global warming and the other possible scenarios that some say “may happen” this year.

A revival in this country and in the world itself should be our priority right now. Make sure that your heart belongs to Jesus because in the end, whenever it comes, eternity will depend on that one decision alone! Search the Bible, ask God to show you His wisdom and open your mind and heart to the Truth that is in the scriptures. He will never abandon you or forsake you but you have to be willing to ask Him to come into your life. He will not force you to do anything, it is your decision alone so make the one that will benefit you rather than condemn you.

God doesn’t want anyone to perish apart from Him but if you choose to go through life without making the choice to accept Jesus as your Savior, you will. It doesn’t matter if you were raised in a Christian, church-attending family because association doesn’t mean anything unless your heart has been changed and filled with the Love of Christ. Many people who have filled pews in churches will be in hell because of that one decision that they failed to make because they thought they were religious enough the get into Heaven.

That is the biggest lie ever to come from Satan…the one that says “all I have to do is join the church and I will have my “fire-insurance”!” Religion doesn’t save your soul, regardless of which religion it is. The worst disaster in history won’t hold a candle to the time of Tribulation that is coming. No amount of religion will save anyone from that time, only by accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior will you be able to stand in that day! I don’t know when that time will come, no one does, but it is not far off. Your personal meeting with God could be tomorrow since we are not guaranteed any number of days or years, so don’t put it off any longer. I pray that everyone who reads this will pray and read the Bible in order to at least have an idea what they need to do.

New Year, old problems


The dishes need washing, the grass will soon need cutting, I’ve gained a few pounds so I need to go on a diet (tomorrow), etc.

These are the problems that we deal with year after year and they never seem to go away! Well, it just proves that you are alive, that’s all! So what else is different about you that most others haven’t experienced? Is there anything?

It is likely that there is very little that anyone has experienced something that most of us have not, at least not yet. How can we deal with the problems that we have now and the ones that we will experience in the future?

The one ingredient that we all need is a relationship with Jesus. Once we have that we can deal with our problems, if not under our own strength then with His guidance and His strength. I know that some will ask me “Why can’t I just do it on my own?”; to answer that I would like to ask you if that has worked in the past?

Living our life on our own strength and our wisdom works for a while and we may be able to get by like this for as long as we are here. But, what about the minute after you die? I know there are many who say they are atheists, or Buddhists or Muslim or Mormons, or any of a number of other religions which don’t follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but what will you say when you are standing in His presence?

Regardless of whether you believe in Him or not you will stand before Him at some point in eternity. That will be the point where you will acknowledge Him as Lord but He will say “Depart from me, I never knew you”. There will be many in that day who think that their salvation is secure who will find that they are mistaken.

Examine your heart and the Bible so that you can come to Him now before it is too late because once you have crossed over into eternity, there is no second chance. You cannot be prayed out of hell, and yet you weren’t intended to be there anyway. It was made for Satan and his demons not for us, but if you have rejected the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament that is where you will be.

This is not a pleasant message to write to you but it must be said. Our time grows shorter with each passing day, each of us only have today and are not guaranteed tomorrow. Seek the Lord while He can be found and don’t put it off because if your tomorrow doesn’t come and you stand before God, what will you say in your defense? There is nothing that can be said which will do you any good. Your own works and your life will condemn you if you haven’t accepted Jesus as your savior.

Please, do so now before it is too late. I read about a man once who was giving a eulogy at a funeral telling the people there the same thing that I have told here. When he sat down, he fell over dead in the pew. His time had come. What will you do with Jesus and your life?

Politically correct or in denial?


Many in our society today cling to the “politically correct” way of relating to one another, especially during the holidays. Which is fine but it is not what we have traditionally done in the past. The politically correct way or PC for short has only been around for a few years and in limited circles, particularly politics and not in the general publics view.

Being PC about everything is wrong because it is not following the wisdom found in God‘s Word. Today, this would put any reference to Christmas, the Nativity, God, or Jesus out of bounds and that is the way many would like it to be. Why is that? The majority of people in the world believe in God or Allah so why does the minority get the most votes because they don’t want to hear about Him, especially in reference to the Christian view of Jesus or God or the Bible.

Almost any other view is fine except for Christianity. Is it because of fear or anger or hatred toward Christians? I believe so but it is also due to the Bible being viewed as God’s Word and therefore it is correct in its wisdom and in its laws. The behavior and humility set forth in it are at odds with many world-views.

Many are in denial about the facts that have been proven true throughout the Bible and they want to disprove, in any way that they can , what the Bible says. Especially when it shows that they are wrong about their lifestyle choices or about who they worship.

We were created by God to have free will to choose to follow Him or not. But, we also resent being told that the choice that we may make is wrong if it doesn’t follow Him and the wisdom found in His Word. The choice that you make is an eternal one, our souls do not die or come back in another life, we are accountable to God for the choice that we make and you will give an account of that choice when your time comes. Unfortunately, many will realize too late that their choice was incorrect and at that point it will be too late.

God doesn’t condemn you to hell, your choice about Who you will serve does. If you choose to do what makes you feel good and neglect or disregard what you have heard in church or on the radio or even by television ministries, that is your choice. The majesty of God’s creation is all around us and the miracles of birth and rejuvenation in the springtime are there for all to see because He set them in motion a long time ago. God loves us so much that He put on humanity in the form of a baby and came to ransom our sinful ways so that we can ask forgiveness and believe that He did just that. Once you accept the gift of His grace and love for you, your life will be changed and nothing will ever be the same.

Come to the Christ and ask Him into your life. You won’t be disappointed because He knows who you are, He is just waiting to show you who you can be!

Christmas means…..


 

Scripture: Luke 2: 8-20

In our culture today what does this time of year mean? To some it means that their business may end the year with a little money in the bank. To others it means that they hope they will get what they want for Christmas from Santa. What about in countries which are less fortunate than we are?

What about the children in Korea with their eyes so big and bright, what does this time of year mean to them? In North Korea, they may be looking for food and hoping they will have a meal tonight. In South Korea, where there are some churches and a fairly robust economy, they may be celebrating Jesus’ birth just like we do.

I wonder also about those who live in Africa. In places like Zimbabwe where the annual income may be fifty dollars, where people live in huts and never see shopping malls or a Christmas tree, what do they think of this time of year that is celebrated in most countries?

How about the Muslim countries, where Christmas is not celebrated at all?

I am sure it means different things to different people depending on their culture and their beliefs.

Do we forget about Jesus at this time of year? I have heard of people who set an extra place at the table for Him because it is His birthday that we celebrate. It isn’t our birthday but it is the Lord’s birthday and this is a time to remember Him and why He came.

(READ Luke 2:8-14)

The announcement that went out to the earth about God’s Son being born went to the shepherds, not the temple, not the high priest. Why do you think God went to the outcasts of society to announce the birth of His Son? I think it is because they would receive the news with humble hearts and with willing spirits. They were chosen by God and told the news by a multitude of angels, they had to feel honored even if society said they didn’t deserve honor.

Shepherds were considered unclean and not allowed to participate in any worship service, even though they took care of the animals which were used as sacrifices.

What about today? How do we receive the news of Jesus and His sacrifice for us? Do we humbly bow and thank Him and ask Him to come into our lives and be near to us every day? I am sure that is what He wants of us but not just on holidays or at certain times of the year, or when things are going bad. Jesus wants us to be near to Him as He is with us every day and in all things, great and small in our lives.

Doesn’t He deserve our respect and praise? For all the things that God has done for us through Jesus and through His work on the cross the least that we owe Him is our life in service to Him. Is there any higher calling than to be called a “child of God”? I don’t think so and I don’t believe any of you think that either.

So, what are we to do when we realize who we are in relation to Him? Do we become missionaries? Yes, in a manner of speaking we are supposed to be just that, because Jesus told us to be the light of the world and to take the gospel to all people. We can do that every day while we are working, or at a restaurant or a ball game. We do it by our life and our witness to others and when His Spirit is working through you they will see it and recognize it.

Getting back to the shepherds and what they saw and did; they saw the glory of the Lord shining from those angels who were proclaiming that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem. In the darkness of the Judean hills the light must have been breathtaking, like spot-lights shining all around them. Today with the technology that we have lights in the sky wouldn’t be a big deal, but these were angels and they were SINGING and there were no lights at that time except for a fire or a candle so the glory coming from them would’ve been much brighter than they were used to.

Can you imagine how those shepherds felt? “What is this from God? Why is He telling us this?” They might have been thinking those things but they listened to the message and obeyed. They went to Bethlehem and found the Christ child and worshiped Him.

This is all that we are called to do in our lives but we are to do more than just worship. We are called to be ministers and teachers about our faith and why we have the faith that we have. We are to be the voice of Jesus and his hands and feet in a world that is rejecting Him now and in the future, until we are taken to be with Him.