Tag: Salvation

Is it possible to commit an unpardonable sin?


The point of no return is the same as an unpardonable sin, when you die there is no return and if you have refused the grace of God all of your life there is no pardon available! You don’t get a second chance after death because you have had many opportunities in this life. What can you do? What will you do with your eternity now?

For many people, that decision has already been made and there is no changing it. For others there is still hope. If you still breathe and walk this earth you can change and seek out your Creator, today. Tomorrow is still ahead and yesterday is already gone, consider this before you go to sleep tonight. Like the farmer in the story who said, “I have enough. I will build more barns and take life easy. Eat, drink and be merry and take life as it comes. And God said, you fool, tonight your soul is required of thee.” Granted, this is a paraphrase of the scripture (Luke 12:19,20), but you get the idea.

Your life and mine are not guaranteed. We don’t have a certificate which says “you will have 58.5 years before you die” when we are born. Even in the Bible it says that man has appointed three score and ten or seventy years, anything beyond this is due to God’s grace alone. Yet, even that isn’t guaranteed. Consider that you live X number of years, after this there is eternity in one place or another. Which one will you live in during that time?

Consider this the next time you are in a close call on the highway. Why do I emphasize this today, now? It is truly because our lives are just a puff of smoke compared to eternity and whether you believe it or not, that is where you will spend most of your actual life. Seventy years is not a long time compared to even one million years, it is just a dot on a very long line. Even one million years is only a dot on a line that never ends! That is why I am speaking this way today because your eternal life will be either in the presence of God in Heaven or it will be with the demons and Satan and everyone else who refused God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is your choice. God doesn’t require it of you nor does He force you to serve Him, ever! You cannot force anyone to truly love you and if it is forced, it isn’t love at all. It is done out of fear and that kind of devotion is NOT what God seeks!! God is not Allah and Allah is not God! Radical thinking, huh? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not Allah, it is Yahweh Elohim! Seek Him out and learn of the One True God because beside Him there is no other!

Amen

Life….


Where do we find life? Here on Earth we can see it in all of its forms and shapes. It is all around us, everywhere. We can’t escape life except when we take it.

Do people here respect and revere life today? No! The evidence shows on the television and on all news media outlets that there is no respect for life anymore. Why has this happened and who allowed it to happen? The answer to both questions falls to our love of convenience and our disdain for rules. We have allowed our country to be overrun with people who have grown up with instant communications, drive-thru windows, microwave meals and popcorn, even drive-thru marriages in Las Vegas. Why would anyone care about life when things are so easy and simple and quick? What do you care that someone just shot a child because his dad was from a rival gang? It isn’t your kid, so stay out of it!

Our hearts have become numb and hard to the point of being heartless and uncaring in this world. What happened? Fifty years ago prayer was taken out of schools along with the Bible and gradually we have moved any mention of God away from children, unless their parents brought them up in church. Yet, today almost any mention of Jesus’ name is called offensive. Prayer isn’t even allowed at sporting events for the most part. Is it any wonder that our country is about to go the way of Rome? We have pushed God away so many times that, if He was human He would never come around here again!

Jesus was and is human but He is also the Son of God and He has not forsaken us nor has He forgotten us. He is the Author of Life, the Creator and the King of Kings! One day, likely very soon, He will come back and everyone will bow to Him and call Him Lord! Life comes from Him, eternally and yet we throw it away as well as our own chance at eternity because of unbelief or rather we choose not to believe because “we are not ready yet”. Today is the day of salvation, not tomorrow because it isn’t here yet and yesterday is already gone! He seeks out those who will have Him, He waits patiently for those who are seeking Him, so what will you do?

Do you believe?


I do! It is evident in my preaching and in the content here, so yes I do believe in Jesus as my Savior and I know that He can be your’s too! If you will believe in Him. Will you?

Remember, today is the only day that we have. Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery, neither one of which we can do anything in, but today is the day of salvation and life and love. Use today as if it was your last day, seek the Savior’s love and find it today while today is still here.

Why are you leaving?


So many people are leaving religion and their belief in God today, why? I know they are dissatisfied in the religion or with most of the supposed rules that it has. Some are saying that they can get their satisfaction spiritually by going to yoga classes or martial arts class. Some just don’t seek any affiliation with any religion regardless of whether it is Christian, Muslim or Jewish or any other religion.

It is true that many people have found that during college their views of the world and their place in it changes and they adapt to those changes, but I would like to ask a question about all of this.

Are you willing to risk eternity on this decision? While it is true that if you don’t believe that there is an afterlife leading to an eternity then there is no reason to worry, but do you really was to risk it? Why am I asking this? Because I have to for one, I am a pastor and a Bible teacher so I am required to make you aware of your choices and what they could lead to.

Even if you don’t believe in God or His existence, He still loves you, and He has provided a way for you to escape the punishment in hell that comes with rejecting Him and the grace that is offered through His Son, Jesus. I know, hell is not real according to some people but if there is a Heaven then there is a hell where Satan and his demons will be punished. If you reject Jesus and His atonement for your life and your sins then you will be there with Satan and his demons and everyone else who believes that they are good enough to get into Heaven on their own.

Our righteousness is as dirty rags in the eyes of God because He is Holy and perfect and our imperfections just don’t measure up, no matter how “good” we think we are.

There are so many today who think that everyone is against them, even the church, and that is not true. Many things are happening today because God is orchestrating it, even if He isn’t directly behind the murder and mayhem that is happening He is in control. Satan and his powers and demons are the ones behind all of the evil in this world, whether you want to believe it or not. It is true that those who ridicule the existence of God or don’t believe in Him at all won’t believe in Satan’s existence either, but not believing doesn’t make anything or anyone go away.

Jesus loves you and gave His life for your healing and for your salvation, there is no love greater than that!

Understanding is necessary!


This is something which is missing in our society today. Why do I say this? Because there is so much intolerance in our country, especially for Christian viewpoints! That is why I said that there needs to be more understanding in the media and in our culture too. Yes, there are intolerant Christians, but just like those who kill people with guns, they don’t represent the Church or the majority of Christians in this country!

We, as a people and a nation, need to stop this persistent categorizing people who you don’t understand by the actions of a few! It’s like deciding that all dogs are bad just because one breed, like the Pit Bull terrier, has a few who aren’t raised correctly. Many times in our society people are judged by the actions of a few people and it is applied to a large group, such as those with dark skin color or those who work in a particular profession. We are told not to judge people by our parents and by God, yet we do it all the time. I heard many times in school “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but today it seems that we as a nation have forgotten those words too. What happened?

Understanding is defined as: the ability to understand something; comprehension; sympathetically aware of other people’s feelings; tolerant and forgiving; having insight or good judgment.

It seems that our society and the much of the world in general has forgotten the meanings of this word, whether sympathetically and forgiving or just simple understanding. Have we gone so far away from our teachings about God and His laws that this word is unknown or disregarded by everyone in society today? It seems that way because every story on the news should have something to do with this, but most stories are about intolerance and hatred toward those who don’t believe the way you do or who look different from you (racism).

I have addressed racism before but I am going to bring this up again: We have different cultures, beliefs, and religions but we ALL belong to the HUMAN RACE! Skin color may be different and the shape of our eyes may be a bit different in some parts of the world, but Biblically speaking we are descended from Adam and Eve who both were likely dark-skinned and not Caucasian. Yes, we all differ in our cultures and our preference for people who look like us or those who are similar in beliefs. These beliefs and cultural differences can be seen from one part of a city or state to another, but if you are a Christian your beliefs a similar enough that there shouldn’t be a division. Specifically one that may cause you to be so different that you can’t stand each other!

The apostle John said that “If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”  1 John 4:20

Seek God in His Word. Learn of Him and His provision of grace and love toward all of us. Pray that He will come into your heart and change you to be a new creature in Christ. This is what is necessary for salvation. If there are any questions or prayer requests please leave them in the comments. Thank you and I pray that all who read this will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The significance of th cross


Not much more to say, other than “Amen!”thecross

Is your life yours?


This is what we think of our lives mostly…that we own it, that it belongs to us and we can do whatever we want with it. If you are not a Christian and you don’t believe in God nor have you given your life to Jesus and asked Him into your heart, then maybe you do own your life. Unless your parents do or your wife or your boss at work does. They do have a certain amount of “ownership” of your time and your life, up to a point. Our life, as we live it, is ours to do with as we please…until we realize that we need Jesus in our life and in our heart. Then we are His.

Why do I say it this way? Because He purchased us with His blood, His death and His resurrection! He paid all of our debts in regards to sin and we are His creation because He knew us before we were ever born into this world! Our purpose in this life, our REAL purpose is to serve Him in whatever way we can. Whether it is as a missionary or a teacher or a preacher or an evangelist. Our work for His Kingdom is to tell others about the gospel, the Good News of His gift of salvation! You cannot earn this gift nor buy it with any amount of work that you claim to do for Him, particularly if the work is done without Him in your life and heart.

Everything that is done prior to repentance from your sinful life and asking Him to cleanse you and make you a new creature if Him has the same value as garbage. In other words…it is worth NOTHING in relation to eternity! Life in eternity is only granted by belief in, and living your days with, Jesus. Remember the story about the thief on the cross? He didn’t have a chance to be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit nor did he have a chance to witness to many people, he only asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Jesus said to him, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” Because of his belief in Who Jesus was and is, his faith and belief in Jesus saved him from an eternity of punishment. He recognized the Messiah when very few did at that point.

Truly, because of God’s grace toward us, we belong to Him whether we have accepted His grace and mercy through Jesus or not. The unpardonable sin is that we go through life, having heard sermons or read the Bible and know the way of salvation and yet refuse it, sometimes you or someone you know has felt the pull or the voice of the Holy Spirit and just walked away. That is the unpardonable sin which will not be forgiven, especially if you die without ever repenting and turning to Jesus! Think about this, seek Him in His Word, listen for the Spirit speaking to your heart, pray about it and ask Jesus to come into your life and change you. Then live your life as a testimony to Him and about Him until you are called to Heaven by death or by the Angels. Just don’t wait like Satan wants you to, because his lie is that you have plenty of time yet your time may be up tonight or tomorrow!

Changing times…


The world and everything in it is changing. The problems which we have to deal with, the good and the bad things which happen every day rarely give any of us a break in our lives. How can we handle so much change from day-to-day? With prayer and seeking God it is possible but there are many people in the world who either refuse to do that or they just don’t believe in God in the first place. Have you ever noticed the stars or the pictures taken by the Hubble telescope? Our universe is not an accident! The stars and their galaxies were placed by God in their orbits and in their places so that we could wonder at His power and majesty.

This world that we live on was put here specifically for our benefit with just the right amount of oxygen and nitrogen to sustain life. This didn’t happen by accident either. The placement of the outer planets and the comets were planned and placed for God’s majesty and for our wonderment. Why? Because we cannot explain these things away with mathematics and calculus. Philosophy and mankind’s intellect can’t explain these collections of stars and gases nor can it explain our own chemical make-up. No amount of education can explain the chemical signals which produce emotions like love or hate or rage and we never will!

They are out of our grasp but one day we will know as we are known by Him. How do I know that? Because it is in His Word! God said so and the world and everything except us was formed by His Word. He specifically came to the garden and formed man from the ground, with His Hands not by His Word, that is why we are fearfully and wonderfully made!!

One of the most worrisome beliefs that I hear about and read about today is that there are many (only 2 to 5% of the population) who either don’t believe in God, are not associated with any religion or who just choose not to associate with an organized religion. That is fine and you are entitled to your opinion, but don’t expect me or any other believer to stop believing in Jesus and the Bible just because you don’t! As I have stated many times before, disbelief or not believing in something or Someone doesn’t get rid of them!

Yes, our culture has changed drastically in many ways over the past fifty or sixty years, but God is still real and so is Satan. Two opposing sides trying to either save mankind or drag as many into hell as possible, the choice is ours. We are not automatically damned to hell, unless that is our choice, and we don’t get a free pass into heaven either. Many do believe that if a child dies before they are old enough to make a rational and conscious choice then they do get to make that choice in the presence of God. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know because it isn’t revealed in the Bible.

Change is coming soon, though I am not sure of the severity or magnitude of that change but it is coming.

Grief, life and eternity!


GloryshiningthroughSooner or later we all have to go through one of the first two and everyone will be in an eternity of their own making one day. So, which one will you choose?

Life begins at conception but our life truly begins after we are each born into the world. Our parents have to take care of us for a few years of course, until we get smarter than them at puberty and then they are relegated to our description of “old people”. After each of us graduates from either high school or college, we forget about our parents for a while until we become parents. Then, all of the advice and the “old sayings” come back to us and ring true, so true in fact that we wonder how did our parents get so smart?

Amazing how life works like that isn’t it? Later as all of us age, regardless of whether we want to or not, we notice aches and pains that weren’t there a few years ago. Then, some of the other advice that we heard from “old people” comes to mind when we think about our joints and how it aches to sit for a long time and then get up feeling stiff. We find out we just can’t do stuff like we did when we were younger. That’s why grandma couldn’t run and play with us when we were kids. We thought we would be able to go on hunting trips and travel when we got older and then we find out why our parents didn’t go far from home.

When our parents or our in-laws get older than us and death comes calling on someone close to you, each of us finds out what grief feels like. So, how do we handle it? For some people who may not know Jesus as Lord, this time can be a really hard time. Many people assume that everyone goes to heaven and that is not Biblical. If your loved one has accepted Jesus as their Savior, then that is where they will be, but if they never did or if you’re not sure then you should pray that the rest of your family will give their life and their heart to Jesus.

I am not saying this to make people scared about a loved one that they aren’t sure of, but to open your eyes to the reality that everyone does NOT go to Heaven! Yes, you do stand before God but there are two outcomes which are always present there. One, when Jesus stands with you and says “This one belongs to me, their sins are covered by my blood”, the other is when you are alone and you are asked “What did you do with the light that you were given?”. You are shown all of the times that you heard a sermon or a teaching in Sunday school or at a crusade or on TV and you rejected the call of the Holy Spirit. Maybe you thought that you had plenty of time or maybe you would get around to it next week or next year.

At this point, your eternity is ahead of you. Regardless of the place you will spend it, if you are standing in the presence of God then your eternity has begun. The outcome of the two questions from the paragraph above will determine where your eternity will be. The main thing that you have to consider is that it is your choice and the choices that you have made in this life which determines your eternity. Nothing that you do in this life will have any lasting effect on where you spend eternity, unless you have chosen to give your life and heart to Jesus! 

It won’t matter how good you were or how moral you were considered. It won’t matter how much money you gave to the poor or to any ministry or how much you gave of your time. Until your heart belongs to Jesus and you are living for Him in this life, nothing that is done here makes one bit of difference, especially concerning your eternity. Consider where you are in life and whether you have given your life to serving God and His Kingdom or not, then make it a point to seek Him out and learn of His goodness and His love for you. Because, until you can look at someone else and love them as Jesus did, particularly someone you don’t know, then you don’t have His Love in your life. As Paul said, “I Corinthians 13:3 “And though I bestowed all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned , and have not charity (love), it propheteth me nothing.”

When?


There are many times that this is asked of us and of God Himself. When will we see your deliverance of the church? When will you return, Lord? When will the church wake up and take salvation to the places that truly NEED it?

This question cannot be answered today. But, we as Christians need to get off of the pews and into the streets and take God’s gospel to those who may not have heard it. Yes, there are some places in the South and all over America that still haven’t heard the gospel preached in a way that people truly need to hear it right now. God loves all of you, but the sinful lives that we lead and the sins that all of us commit are not included in that love. He wants us all to come to salvation, but God doesn’t force anything on you or me. It is our response to His call, His Spirit which gets His attention and His Spirit should get our attention too.

When will we learn to be disciples and be the feet and hands of Jesus? When will we be the church that Christ wants us to be…intended for us to be? I don’t know, but the time is winding down. There is very little left to happen before the angels will sound the Trumpet of God. More people have to hear about salvation, more people need to be ministered to physically and spiritually. If the church doesn’t do this by being the REAL church that Christ intended for us to be, then who will?

Life today is hard enough, particularly in places that are devoid of churches or where there are many miles between them. Yes, there are places in the world where Jesus hasn’t been preached yet, and those are the places that need to be touched with the gospel. Working at it for a few years, telling people in your community or your county is good but will they take the message with them? When will those in Mexico hear about Jesus’ love for them? When will those in Jamaica or Honduras or Bolivia or Columbia hear about a loving, caring, powerful God Who wants to save them? These are questions which need answers and I can’t give those answers to you.

The church needs to sit down and have a Holy conference of all of its members, regardless of denomination, and determine to get out there with the message of love that we are supposed to be telling others about! We were not saved from hell to sit in the pew and say “amen” in a timid little voice! God needs people to blow the shofar and tell others about the God Who loves them so much that He sent His Son to die for them, in their place, so that by grace we can come to Him and know Him!