Tag: Salvation

Differences…


There are so many divisions in our world today. Between people and countries and religions, and even those can be broken down into many categories which I really don’t want to address here. We divide our churches and our schools by popularity and wealth and we divide the towns and cities that we live in along those same lines as well. Then there are the racial and cultural divisions and a host of other problems which follow those lines. What is the reason for all of the divisive feelings and issues which crops up along all of these lines? Who or what started it?

The answer can be found in Genesis. Satan came along and divided the first couple from their idea of Who God is and what their portion should be in the world. Once that was done, it broke the relationship between Creator and creation and from that point on there has been a dividing line in every area of life on Earth. Why?

The reason for the divisions between religions and people and all of the other areas in life is specifically to keep us from unity. Unity of mind and purpose as well as between cultures, but especially keeping us from being united in our fellowship of believers and in worship of God. Think about all of the denominations which were created simply because one group in a church didn’t agree on the way to worship or how.

Divisions between cultures and individuals caused many problems for Jesus and His disciples as well as the problems which we see today. The message that He was teaching was not popular and today, He would be put out of the church because of the hard teaching which He said in His day. What happens when these things happen to your family, whether it is your family or the church family that you belong to?

The dividing lines are sometimes easy to see and sometimes they are invisible, until you see it happening in your life and in your church. Why do we allow these divisions to happen when we are supposed to be united in Christ? The reason? Because we are human and we don’t consider the One that we serve or should serve! Our lives are taken up in minutes and seconds every day and we let little things creep in and steal what little time that we have to give to each other and to God.

Today, I went to see a movie about an American hero, Chris Kyle, and I just finished reading his memoir too. He was an incredible human being, but most of all, he was genuine and totally committed to everything that he did. As his wife said in part of the book, “when he loved you, he jumped in with both feet”. That is how we are supposed to love each other and Jesus as well!

Think about it this way: God cares about us all and He jumped in with both arms and His feet when He went to the cross to redeem us! He didn’t consider it below Him to bring us into a true relationship with Him, that is just what Jesus did..He was all in when He loved us and showed it by going to the cross for us so that we could be redeemed by His blood.

There isn’t supposed to be any half-way Christians because being half-way doesn’t count. You either are or you’re not…you are either all in with both feet or you turn away and say “Let someone else do it, not me.”

Christians are not supposed to be trying to walk a thin line between being a sinner or a Christian and truthfully it can’t be done! It is simple…you either are or you’re not. Yes, I am repeating myself, but the point is important and it is so simple even a child can understand it. Consider your soul and your eternal home while you have time. Chris didn’t know that his time was up that day, and we don’t know when our time will be up either.

The love of God


These words from the song “The Love of God” truly touched me today, I hope that they will do the same for you as well.

The love of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell,
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled, and pardoned from his sin.
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure,
The saints’ and angels’ song…

Reading this today and sharing it with all who read here is the most wonderful feeling that I have had in a long time. It truly is hard to describe the joy that I have in my heart, with the hope that you will seek out the One who went so far to redeem us to Himself!

I pray that all of you who read this will seek Him out, learn about His love for you and give Him a chance to change your life forever. I will enjoy getting to know all of you in Heaven and in eternity. I don’t know how soon that will come, but I pray that we will meet each other soon. Until then, look up for your redemption draws nearer and nearer than He has been for a long, long time from our perspective at least.

The only way for us to truly get to know Him is to ask Him to come into our lives. When that happens, if we mean to truly follow Him, then our lives in many ways will never be the same. No matter what our circumstances may be prior to coming to know Jesus, our lives will be immeasurably changed afterward. Changed to being a totally new yet complete person in Christ, in character and in our everyday lives!

Live your life like a sermon


I got this in a very special email today. I hope that it touches your day like it did mine.

 

Some things to think about before it is too late. Real life stories that teach you many things in life. Excellent reading; These are based on true incidences both wonderful and inspirational.

1. Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, “Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile.”

2. Today,I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking,and do something no one else is doing.”

3. Today, after a 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug. When I tensed up, she realized I didn’t recognize her. She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, “On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center.”

4. Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying. And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.

5. Today at 7 AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went into work. At 3 PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat tire. When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too. A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride,we chatted, and then he offered me a job. I start tomorrow.

6. Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother’s hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, “I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often.”

7. Today,I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed. About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.

8. Today,in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, “Why?” She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.” I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?”Because that’ s where I keep all my stuff,” she said.

9. Today,when I witnessed a 27-year-old breast cancer patient laughing hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter’s antics, I suddenly realized that I need to stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.

10. Today,a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me.He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said, “I hope you feel better soon.”

11. Today, I was feeling down because the results of a biopsy came back malignant. When I got home, I opened an e-mail that said, “Thinking of you today. If you need me, I’m a phone call away ” It was from a high school friend I hadn’t seen in 10 years.

12. Today,I was travelling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn’t eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy. Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating. The first thing the man said was, “We can share it.”

The best sermons are lived, not preached!
Andy Reese, Retired,USA

The End Game, what is it?


There are always end games in movies, in computer games of all kinds, in business deals and in life itself. So, what is the end game from God’s prophetic point of view that is told in the book of Revelation? It is very simple actually, to bring about the end of Satan’s reign on Earth and to restore Earth to its pre-fall condition.

Humanity fell when Adam didn’t obey God, not just one couple, but also the entirety of creation itself. Before the fall, there was no corruption of the Earth, no weeds or thorns or creeping vines which were of no use except to cover everything. All of this came to be afterward. Death and decay began after the perfection of creation was broken by disobedience.

God knew that it was coming and when. He also knew who would be responsible for the fall, not just Adam but Lucifer too. It was he in the form of a snake which tempted Eve and then Adam decided to go along with his wife instead of following the command of God. Then the Seed of the woman was foretold and we waited for about four thousand years for Him to come into the world.

When that happened, it was still a few years before His ministry came to its conclusion but when it did the endgame began. Bruised by the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, Satan has been attacking humanity for the past two thousand years. Bringing war, disease, famine, infanticide in the form of sacrifices to demon gods and abortion, the list of tragedies and heartache goes on and on, all because he knows that his time is coming to a close.

Regardless of his pride and his boasting, Satan has already been defeated but he hasn’t stopped trying to get as many people away from God as possible. If he can keep you or me from asking for Jesus to come into our lives, then he will find a way to do it. He is not above killing your family or taking your job or your home either. Any way that he can get to you, to keep you in the place of blaming God instead of asking for His help, then he and the fallen angels that followed him will do it.

Humanity has always had a special place in God’s eyes and if Satan can hurt God by hurting us or causing us to miss the calling that God has for us, then he will do it. The thing to remember is that he is already defeated! The battle is won because Jesus was triumphant over sin and death on the cross! All that we need to do is to believe in Him and His grace that has been given to us.

God did have a Son and He came to bring salvation to us by His death and resurrection at Calvary. He was foretold at least four hundred years before His birth and all of the prophecies about Him were fulfilled by Him when He came! We are important in God’s Kingdom, each of us, and there is something which each of us can do that God knows only we can do. Pray that you can and will find that point in your life, find that place which will bring you to know Jesus.

Because when you do, nothing else matters except doing something, anything for Him and His Kingdom, no matter what it might be, no matter how insignificant you may think that it is, because for Him it will be significant and you can make a difference. Why would anyone do this? Because, Jesus died for you to be able to do it, that’s why! He paid the price so that you can be the person that God knows you can be with His Spirit guiding and helping you to be that person.

So many choices….


There are truly a number of choices for us to choose from relating to religion and our belief systems, whether they point to God, the Creator and the Godhead which is focused on in the Bible or not. In today’s society, it seems that almost any belief which focuses on something or someone outside of the God of Judaism or Christianity, is perfectly acceptable. Why? Because, there is no compulsion or consequence to your actions when there is no absolute Truth to compare to or live by. Most of the other religions of the world have differing ways of reward and punishment regardless of the entity that they follow, but even then most of them don’t have a credible group of witnesses to back them up, as the Scriptures do from the historical record.

Then, there are those who choose to not believe in any supreme being at all. Choosing therefore to be their own “supreme being”, their own law unto themselves. This could be considered a form of idolatry, but if you don’t believe in God or Allah, then believing in yourself is considered just fine in today’s society. I am not bashing those who use belief in yourself as a way to get people to feel better about themselves, but when you are the one who supposedly controls your own destiny then you have a problem. Not with me or my own beliefs, but you will one day find that it was really God all along and that He does exist whether you like it or not.

Just as light and heat, gravity, stars and planets exist so does God and Satan, not believing in them doesn’t change that. Just as a comedian once said something like this “you can confess all the way down that gravity doesn’t exist, it won’t change the outcome.” This may not be a direct quote as I can’t remember the exact words, but the gist of it is the same.

Life on Earth is tough and it is not going to get any easier whether you believe in God or Allah or have no belief system at all. The troubles of this life are easier to bear when you have a belief in God, because you can have hope that one day He will make all things new just as He says in the Bible. Your life on a daily basis can be easier to bear with the stresses that we all have because of your faith in God. If you think that your life is fine without Him, that is your choice and He doesn’t begrudge you for it.

We are not forced into belief, it is our choice to come to faith in God when we are convicted that our life is in need of Jesus. If you never feel that conviction from Him, then all that I can say is “I’m sorry”.

Some have said that Christians are blind and they follow blindly, but consider that faith is having a hope in something which is not seen yet it has been promised by One Who cannot break His promises. James said it best by this:

Dead Faith (James 2:14–17)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

When you have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ, that is an action because you have faith in Him. Therefore, you will do things in your life which reflect that faith so that others might see it. It doesn’t bring you glory but it does glorify God because it was Him Who called you to faith and you answered. Please, open your heart and mind to the possibility that God’s Word is True. Look at it as the Israelites did while they were captive in Egypt, they were told that one would come who would bring them out of bondage. They didn’t know who or when, but they had faith that God would keep His promise and He always does.

 

Living life for the hereafter


It seems that many people don’t really believe that there is a hereafter to live for, but according to the Bible there is. God’s Word is the Truth, therefore it can’t be wrong so that means that there is a life after this one. We are supposed to be living this life as a rehearsal of sorts for the next life. How we live this life will affect the next one in terms of where (location) and the comfort of our living through eternity as well. Living your life as if there is no tomorrow is a good thing, of sorts, because you aren’t expecting tomorrow to come. Some might say this is bad because then you just do whatever you wish and don’t worry about the consequences.

Yet, there are consequences in the next life. You will not be coming back here as something or someone else, but you will be yourself in the next life. Your eternal life will be a reflection, in a way, of how you have lived in this life. If you have given your heart to Jesus, no matter what age you may have done so, then you will be with Him in Paradise as He told the thief on the cross.

If you did not and you lived even the best life possible for a man or woman to do without Jesus, you are still convicted of a sinful life. A life without the forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus, which will still send you to hell. I know, this is one of those topics which you don’t hear mentioned much on radio ministries or television either, but it should be! Why? Because, our God is an Awesome God, but He is Holy and therefore can’t abide sin, no matter how small that sin may be. I have to tell you of the consequences of rejecting Jesus as your Savior because it is my responsibility to do so.

Just as not telling you about a poisonous snake in your path might get you killed, not telling you about the consequences of a life without Christ will also result in your eternal death, as the Bible calls it “the second death”. The problem is that you won’t die in the same sense as you do here, the death will be the separation from God and everything that is or could be good in eternity.

Your life is eternal, the life we live here and now is not. Consider that your life today, no matter how long it may be, actually would be no more than the size of the period at the end of this sentence when compared to eternity.

After that period (.), will be a very long, long, long time to live and serve God in His Kingdom on the New Earth. We have no idea what we will do or where we may go in all of that time, but it will be glorious, of that I am sure! Don’t you want to be part of that rather than being in fire and heat and darkness with the demons and Satan himself? I would and I will. Won’t you consider joining me? Seek out God in His Word, pray to Him about what you read and when you feel His call, answer it. You won’t be disappointed…ever!

What can we do?


There are wars and murders, attacks from terrorists, human trafficking, threats from all sides it seems and this is just from one day’s news broadcast! How can people be so hate-filled and mean in this day and the time that we are living in? What in the world has happened to humanity in the past fifty or one hundred years to cause us to be this way?

I am not sure anyone has an answer to those questions, at least or even at best they don’t have an answer that really makes sense. Some would say it is because of the Muslim threat, but they seem to be attacking their own people as well. Some might say it is because of poverty and hunger, but the danger is in the streets of developed countries as well. Does any of the problems have to do with race relations? It seems that it does in some places, but mostly it seems that people are angry and upset, frustrated about something. What that might be I have no idea.

I do know that we are in a period of time which was spoken about during Jesus’ time. Where He told His disciples that all of this would be happening and that it would get worse before it gets better. This is an answer which many people in the world today reject because they don’t want to hear it. They have heard at some point in their lives that the time that He was speaking of is the time of the tribulation and the time of the Anti-Christ. Fewer and fewer people believe in the real Jesus Christ today and even fewer think that we are going to come to a point of being in a seven-year period that Jesus said “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24:22

There are too many people who choose not to believe this or maybe they want to believe some other religion or doctrine. This is fine for them because that is their choice. But…what if all of us who are Christians are right about the Bible and everything contained in it? If we are wrong, no harm to anyone but ourselves I suppose, but if you died tonight or tomorrow and realized that you were standing in the Presence of God, what then?

Unfortunately, it would be too late at that point. You can’t get forgiveness after you are dead, your life is over at that point and your choices were made in this life that you will live with through eternity. Yeah, there are many who don’t believe in eternity either or even in Heaven or hell. You have been given this life as a dress rehearsal in a way, one in which you have a choice to make. One which will impact the rest of your life here and those that you may have an influence over. It will also have an impact on where you spend eternity, but that choice can only be made while you are here.

Since none of us know how many days we have until our death, the day of salvation is today…now preferably. Life is short, especially compared to eternity, so don’t waste your time trying new things and getting all that you can get now! When you are gone, someone else gets all of it anyway. The real choice that matters is your belief in Jesus and asking Him to change you into the man or woman who He knows you can be. That’s it.

Pray about it, read God’s Word if you have a copy, get a copy if you don’t. Seek Him while you still can, because your life is ticking away day by day and once your life here is gone, you don’t get a do-over.

The REAL instigator


The person responsible for the fall of mankind isn’t man at all nor is it a woman, it is a fallen angel named Lucifer. He used our own feelings against us in the garden and he is still doing it today. We feel lonely, he is a friend for a price. We are hurt, then he will soothe your feelings with words of comfort..for a price. When you are angry, he will make you feel powerful but he will abandon you when you have to pay for something that you did. There is one particular emotion which he knows how to use and manipulate like a master violin player and that is our pride!

That part of us is usually hidden from most of the world, but sometimes our ego lets it loose. That part of us is easily tweaked as well, our ego, but it goes right along with pride so both of them travel together. Satan has been using this against us for a very long time and he and his demons are expert at getting inside our minds and finding our weaknesses and then using them against us. We shouldn’t be surprised at this at all, because humanity does these same manipulations with each other all of the time.

Sports figures, media, actors and actresses, the list is endless and yet we all tend to be just as manipulative of each other and we begin learning it at a very early age. As children, we learn to manipulate our parents and grandparents into getting us things that we want and we carry that ability into our adult lives. It is part of our “fallen nature” and that is what needs fixing, although many people don’t want to do what is needed in order to get it done.

Jesus is waiting to come into your life and into your heart and He is the only fix, the only cure for our life’s problems. True, becoming a Christian will not provide you with wealth enough to pay everything immediately and I have never claimed that it would, but being a Christian and living by the principles outlined in the Bible will give you an outlook toward being debt free.

The debt toward your sinful life is paid by the blood of Jesus and the life that you live after you accept Him will reflect that if you will read the Bible, pray about your day before starting it, tell others how knowing Jesus has impacted your life. These are the fruits of a life that has been changed by Jesus, it is not work that is required of you nor will it give you more status in the Kingdom of God. These grateful actions are what you do when you feel that Jesus has done something for you that you cannot EVER repay!

Even with our pride and arrogance and ego, God loved us long before we ever heard His call on our life and then answered that call. The thing that many people can’t understand is that we don’t…we can’t be worthy of a place in Heaven without Jesus! If you have ever felt the pull on your heart and soul at a church service or revival and then refused to accept Jesus right then, its okay. But, don’t keep putting Him off by pushing Him away and ignoring Him. God has something which He needs you to do, that is why He is calling you. Because only you can do whatever it is, but you won’t find out until you accept it by accepting Jesus!

Emotions get in our way and sometimes ruin relationships and families, pride and ego, anger, frustration, fear, jealousy are all part of our fallen nature, our “dark side” if you  will. But we can overcome that dark side of us by asking Jesus to come into our lives and give us the power and change us into the people who He knows we can be. When that happens, the world doesn’t look the same or feel the same ever again because it is temporary and will be remade like it once was one day.

Give your heart to Jesus and live for Him every day so that your life will be magnificent and wonderful just as He knows that you can be. Don’t let Satan spoil your life and make it into a mockery of what God knows is there!

What is your passion?


A friend asked me once, “What would  you do if you could make more money?”. My answer was, “Pay off all of my bills.” The problem today is that I am disabled and can’t work at a regular job, so I write on this blog. It doesn’t pay me anything, at least in this life, but I am hoping that some of you get a lift from it or from the words that God gives me to write.

Your passion is usually something which you are, well passionate about! For some people it is their job or making money, for others it may be conservation or community projects, still other people may just be passionate about their immediate family and their well-being. Then there are the sports fanatics and others who are passionate about their teams or whatever. Today, many people seem to be involved in online gaming and for some this is a bit too much.

The point that I was making in the paragraph above is that we sometimes put more of ourselves into something which has no future at all. It doesn’t provide us with any tangible reward other than the enjoyment of our passion, but outside of that, what do you get from it? In truth, many people don’t really care about getting something from it, they just enjoy it period.

Writing does that for me. Sometimes, the words that I am given are inspirational and sometimes they are uplifting or even critical. The reason behind my writing is something which we can’t experience yet and that is eternity. We all have it ahead of us in one form or another. Some think that they will be buried in the ground for an eternity and that is it, others think that when you die, that’s the end of everything like turning off a light.

I write here to tell you that you and I have an eternity ahead of us because that is how God created us. We have a part of us which will live on, our soul or spirit, and depending on our choices in this life will determine where and how our eternity will be spent. Your life, compared to even a portion of eternity like one million years, is pitifully short like a puff of smoke in the wind. It is gone in an instant, like the snapping of fingers.

That is the amount of time that we have here to make a small difference in our lives and in the lives of others. How we accomplish this depends upon Who we choose to follow, God or our own desires. Following our own desires is what we do to begin with and for a while we feel okay with it. But, when you feel something from the Spirit of God usually like an empty feeling like something is missing. Then, you want to fix it as if something just isn’t right.

We try doing this by experimentation with all sorts of “feel good” things. The problem is that they don’t work, at least not in the long-term. They are temporary just like our life. The only real fix is seeking out the Creator, Jesus, Who will fill that empty spot with Himself and then your life will be totally changed. Your passion won’t be the same any more, the hunger that you felt for other things will change.

Following and learning from Jesus is a journey and it is one which doesn’t end, until we are in His presence. When we are there, we will know as we are known. At that point, it won’t matter because our eternal life will be in front of us and all of those friends that we know now who are Christians, we can have fellowship with them for eternity. Although, I am sure our experience will be far above what we can experience here on Earth.

Determine your destiny, seek out God’s wisdom in His Word, seek Him out by prayer and learning of Him because until you find Him and His purpose for your life, you will feel as if something is missing that you can’t put your finger on. That something is Jesus, the missing piece to all of our puzzles.

What is wrong with this world?


Exodus 33:19,20:
“And He said, I will make all of my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 And He said, Thou cannot see My face: for no man shall see my face and live.”

God is Holy, Righteous and Steadfast. He doesn’t change neither does He sleep, and yet people in this world think that He doesn’t see what is going on around us. He does and He knows who is responsible for it, Satan. Because Satan hates us with an utmost hatred that cannot be fathomed by man. We are here enjoying whatever we have in life, not because of the graciousness of Satan, but by the grace and the love flowing from Almighty God!

If God’s presence were not here, with each of us, everyday, then Satan would unleash his hatred upon the Earth and the inhabitants of the Earth. Jesus said that “if those days were not shortened, no one would survive”. This is the first part of the Tribulation times which are coming to us soon, Satan will be loosed and all of the Earth, not just humanity, will groan under his hatred. No one will be saved from it except for those who are God’s children. I am not speaking of the Jewish people, I am speaking of the Christians who may still be here at this time.

God loves all of us, even those who don’t know Him, but He will not tolerate the sinful lives that people live today. Living together, lying, stealing, murderers, those who practice homosexuality, idolaters, and those who exploit and use children for sex and other crimes. It is the sin that God hates, not the sinner.

Repent and ask Him to cleanse you and bring you into the family of God. Believe in Jesus and be saved because the time is coming when it will be hard and almost impossible to distinguish between the Anti-Christ and the real One, because of the spirit of deception which will be released into the world. Yes, Satan is powerful BUT he is a created being like you or I am, God is in control!

The world which we see every day is being attacked, spiritually, by Satan and his demons. They cause disease and death all around us and incite hatred among religious people and different religions. All of the conflicts which are going on in the world have his hatred of us as the cause, in one way or another. The reason for this is that Satan hates everything that God loves. The people here on Earth but specifically the nation of Israel and the Christian church.

This is why he masqueraded as an angel of light to bring false religions to this world, from Mormonism to Islam. God loves each of us, but when we follow a god of this world, which is a demon or Satan himself, then we are on the wrong side. Unless you repent of this and accept Jesus as your Savior, then you will suffer the same fate as Satan.