We Deserved Hell

Romans 3:10-11 "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God".

The scripture tells us all have sinned, therefore we all deserved Hell but With God's intervention to help us change, we have all have been offered a chance at heaven. Without God our natural nature will always choose to do that which goes against God's word, His will and His way. But it is God's will that we be transformed and repent that we might have everlasting life with Him. God provides a way to remove the sentence of death that hangs over us, without excusing or condoning our old sinful ways and unrighteousness. He sent his son to accept for us the penalty of sin. If we willingly turn from a wrong way of life, God is more than willing to substitute the shed blood of our Savior for the sentence of death we brought on ourselves through our sins.

Christ solemnly warned a crowd" Unless you repent you will all likewise perish", but really, what is repentance? We rarely hear the word repent anymore, and few understand what it means. Repent refers to a change of heart, a shift in ones thinking, a transformation of purpose with emphasis on modifying one's conduct. Though Christ came to take away our sins,we still have our part to do. He didn't come to save us in our sins or while we continue in sin. If one is pardon from a crime he is expected to cease from his criminal acts, not to continue in a criminal enterprise. Like wise Jesus death saved us from sin and we should turn away from sinful acts, deeds and thoughts.

True repentance requires both a belief and a doing. One has to by faith believe that Christ has died for their sins, and through the water baptism truly believe they have put to death the old man and his ways, and  has risen a new creation in Christ and with Christ. But having faith in Jesus is not just simply believing he is our Savior, it is  also believing his message, his promises, and His instructions and  governing ourselves accordingly. Christ once asked" why do you call me Lord, and not do the things which I say"? When we truly repent we stop doing what is wrong and start living in harmony with God's ways and laws. We stop our willful and deliberate sinning. Repentance should  include a sense of shame and sorrow, for genuine repentance our lives must change. True repentance is a gift from God, He leads us to that point if we respond positively to His working with us to open our minds, and he gives us understanding of His Word and ourselves, thus showing us the things within we must change. We deserved Hell, but Christ died that we might enter Heaven.

My Sin For His Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".

Jesus Christ death; the message is unbelievable, a message of redemption, that is a substitution for sin. This is one of the great verses proclaiming the unbelievable love of God. It is impossible for man to grasp the fact that God made Christ to be sin for us, yet that is exactly what the scripture says. He who knew no sin made to be sin, for the sole that sinneth shall surely die, so for man to live He had to die.

Did He die in vain? Why was this act necessary? Because man needs more than just righteousness to stand perfect before God. To stand righteous before God is not enough, for man has already sinned. Man already stands guilty of breaking God's law, and the judgment and condemnation of death has already taken effect upon man. So the condemnation and judgment of sin had to be taken care of. God did this by laying all the sins of man upon Christ, all the guilt and condemnation of sin, God placed it all on Christ and let Him bear it all Himself. God's purpose for this was that we through Christ death, might be made righteousness of God in Christ. When a person really believes in Jesus Christ, God takes that man's faith and He counts it as righteousness. The man is not righteous, but God considers the man's faith in Christ as righteousness. God does this because he loves man so much, that he sent His only Son to die that we might have a right to life. Jesus secured righteousness for man. He came into the world to die for man. He came and arose from death and thus conquered death for man, thus His resurrected life could stand for the resurrected life of the believer. But did Christ die in vain in your life?Have you accepted this truth?

The truth is this God loves His Son Jesus Christ so much, that He honors any man who honors His son by believing in Him and believing Him. When we sincerely trust Christ, God takes that faith and counts it as righteousness, thus He judges us , and treats us, as though we are innocent. We are not innocent, us and God both knows this, but God counts us as innocent because of our faith in Jesus Christ. To God we have died with Christ and rose a new creation. He took our sin that we might have His righteousness.

An Ever Present Help

Hebrews 3:1 "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus:"

When you have a problem have you ever considered Jesus? Did you know he is a way out of no way, and a problem solver; When troubled or burdened, look to Jesus for He is an ever present help. When anxious, look to Jesus, He is a peace, which surpasses all understanding; In all you do look to Jesus the Christ our ever present help. Let Him be the head of your life, let Him govern your life.

Jesus is kind, and sympathetic, He wept for Lazarus, wept over Jerusalem, and He feels for all who are burden. He asked that we cast all our cares upon Him, for He cares for us. He is compassionate, He healed the leper, He looked upon the multitude with concern just before feeding them. He had mercy on the blind man who cried out to Him, and Jesus suffered and bled and died on the cross to save those without strength, sinners, and the enemies of God. He is our perfect example to follow. He is our teacher as He has set forth the perfect plan for salvation and life. Teaching us the way, the truth and the life desired of us from the Father. He is our Savior a perfect sacrifice for an imperfect people, for He provides flawless redemption. He is our High Priest, our advocate as He stands in the gap as our  bridge over the troubled waters of sin leading us back to God, and observing and providing our every need.

So no matter what situation you find yourself in be it lost in darkness in danger of eternal damnation, or just struggling to go through the day, look to Christ Jesus Gods gift to all mankind, and our ever present help

Living the Night Life

Ephesians 5:11 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them".

Directions on how to live in this world are very needful. We constantly come in contact with the ungodly it is unavoidable. But we are taught to avoid such communion and fellowship with them if it means becoming partakers of their evil deeds. Here we have three truths mentioned here, evil works are unfruitful; they are works of darkness; and they deserve reproof. We must have no fellowship with them, neither at anytime or in any manner.

What is forbidden? "fellowship with the works of darkness ". Now this fellowship can manifest its self in many ways. It can be by personally committing sins or by joining with others doing wrong. It can come by teaching one to do wrong in word or by action. By constraining, commanding, or even tempting one to do wrong; by threat, request, persuasion, etc. We can provoke someone, or neglect to rebuke ones wrong doing at the start, leading them to think we are in agreement with their actions.. By conniving at sin, tolerating, concealing or making it welcome in our life. By our commending defending and excusing the wrong already done, and fighting those who would expose, denounce and punish it. We must be careful not to tolerate even the smallest amount of wrong doing in our lives. We must be above any kind of reproach, " don't let your good be evil spoken of ". A little leaven corrupts the whole loaf. We must reprove the ways of darkness and those who would walk in that darkness. We must declare its wrong, and our hatred of it. With conviction, As the holy spirit reproves the world of sin, we must aim at proving the world guilty by our holy life and bold witness. We  must reprove sin , convict hearts to convert souls to win the lost to Christ.

A man lost in darkness will follow any one out of the darkness, who not only has a light but will turn it on. If you get comfortable in the darkness, you may never turn on the light to lead others out of the darkness. It is our duty to be clear of another man's sin; as a imitator of God and his child, and as one who has come out of the darkness into the marvelous light of the Lord. If our fellowship is with God, we must quit the ways of darkness altogether. Stop living the night life........... 

Relentless Persuit

Genesis 39:10 "And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he harkened not unto her, to lie with her, or to be with her".

Rather we know it or not there is an enemy out to destroy us. From the time we are born, before we know anything or anybody,before we have made a friend or foe, there is one who is set out to destroy our lives. He is persistent, relentless and will use anything and anybody to accomplish his mission. Nothing is off limits to him, and he plays by no rules. His tools are mans own weakness and faults, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. The same tools he used in the garden, he tools by which he tried to tempt Jesus with, are the same tools he uses to temp man in an effort to destroy his character, his witness and his testimony.

Here in our story today we see first hand the wickedness of the enemy. Joseph was a slave given great authority over all his master had, except for his wife. Now the enemy in an effort to destroy the character of Joseph and to get him to turn from God, tries to tempt him with the one thing which has been kept from him. The enemy will always try and get us to focus on what we don't have in an effort to turn us against God. But the word says," contentment with God is great gain". The scripture says she "spake to Joseph day by day"; the enemy is not going to take a day off, he will speak to you personally,he truly believes you will give in before he gives up. But Joseph "harkened not unto her, to lie with her or to be with her"; see we cannot listen to the enemy, when we give him our ear ,then he will began seeking our hearts. We must resist the devil by turning to God and he will flee. But if you notice the enemy might flee but he won't give up, as our story tells. It says that when all were out of the house, she grabbed hold of him to make him lie with her, and he ran off and left his cloak.

When you are all alone the enemy will grab hold of you by telling you, " nobody will know you can get away with it" . But remember God sees all, and you are a walking recommendation to the grace and mercy of God. So what ever the enemy grabs hold of to get you to lie with him, leave that with him and flee. The bible says if the right hand offends you ,cut it off, it is better to go to heaven with one hand than to hell with two.

I Come Too Far

Philippians 3:14 "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus".

 

 Paul counted everything he had learned up until he met Christ as dung. He said he considered these things a loss for the sake of Christ. If Paul lost anything it was the years spent trying to gain God's favor and approval through Zealous works. When Paul expressed his desire to know Christ, he meant more than learning theological facts about Him. Paul desired to know Christ in a personal way, to have an on going relationship with him through which he could experience Jesus working in his life. The word Paul chose for know, expresses the idea of understanding and perceiving an object in an intelligent manner.The word implies personal acquaintance, experience, and familiarity. Paul did not just want to know about Christ, he wanted to experience Him in the fullest way possible. Christians, this is the mark we as believer should also be striving to reach.

But  along with this kind of knowledge comes suffering. Those who oppose God are not going to make the road easy for those who wish to advance their knowledge of Christ and thus advance the Kingdom. In fact the closer we get to Christ, the greater a threat we become, and so the persecutions increase. It's all about having the right expectations. Jesus made it clear, if the world hated Him, they are going to hate those who identify with him.

We may never reach sinless perfection in this life while wrapped in this flesh, but we can constantly keep moving forward,becoming more and more like Christ every day. In all humility, Paul admits that he had not yet attained it, or does it leave the expression that he even expected to on this side of heaven. But he was not going to be denied his forward momentum of reaching and obtaining his heavenly reward. Forward progress, forward momentum, this is what Christ expects from all who follow Him. Paul was not trying to run faster or longer than other Christians( he was not in competition with other believers), but to be the best he could for a God, who gave him the best he had. Paul didn't say what the prize would be,but he said he would receive it in heaven in presence of his Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. So let each of us strive to "know" Christ, not know of him, but "know" him as our personal Savior, and truly experience Him in the fullness of His glory that we might walk worthy of the name to which we claim, on this long journey home.

Every Soul Matters

Luke 15:4 " What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it"?


God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die that we all might be saved, but the truth is, if it was only one lost soul in the world Jesus still would have died to save that one. Every soul matters to God, He shed just as much blood to save the least as He did to save the greatest. Jesus after He had fed the 5000, instructed the disciples to go gather up the fragments that none be lost. Gods' will is that none be lost and we must be willing to leave the ninety nine to seek after the one lost.

This is a long journey we are on, and some will fall by the wayside along the way. But they are the lost sheep of the Lord. They have gone astray; he is lost to God, lost to the flock, lost to himself, and he not only don't know where he is, but he is lost to who he is, and wanders endlessly exposed to the danger and attacks of the enemy. But his soul too matters to Jesus, for Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. We the servants of God must go out into the hedges and the highways and compel the lost, the backslider, and the wandering sheep to come back into the fold. So many times we are so focused on the ninety nine that we lose sight of the one. We tend to preach messages and teach lessons which will  please and appease the ninety nine, but they don't reach out to that one which is lost, and it is possible they are lost within the congregation.

We must be careful not to loose sight as to what is important in the eyesight of God. God is not moved or impressed with dollar amounts, the size of the congregation or the beauty of the building, no God is interested in the saving of lost souls, and every soul is important to God. So be willing to put aside the ninety nine to reach the one that might be wondering lost in a dark world....  

They Did Cry Out

Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake and the rocks rent;

The night they crucified the Lord was one of the most horrific events in human history. The God we claimed to love so much hung on an old rugged cross by the very people he came to save. What a display of love, for even as he was dying a death of such agony, His love for us was so deep He said "forgive them Father for they know not what they do". And the rocks did cry out.

Jesus said the rocks would cry out for us if we held our peace. Here is the Savior of the world, the Son of God Himself, and yet we refused to acknowledge His person. And while we mocked and ridiculed Him, the rocks cried out because of Him. The temple veil was rent and the earth did quake. Shaking with such force the dead was awakened and their graves were opened. The rocks were rent, like the tearing of the hard hearts of those who would not profess Him. The earth so shaken it caused the centurion to confess "surely this was the Son of God."

Let us remember all that Jesus went through on the cross. The suffering, the rejection,the denial, the mocking ,and the beating at the hands of those who professed to love Him. He endured it all just for you and I. He stood in and accepted for us, our judgment and punishment, so that we could have a right to the tree of life. Let us now shout out to a dying world that Jesus is The Christ the Son of the living God, that all can hear and be saved.

Jesus! What a Wonder You Are

1John 5:11" And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."

John declared that our faith in Christ is the victory that overcomes the sinful influences of the world. And then, as if to test his readers' comprehension of that statement, he asked, Who overcomes the world?  John immediately answered his own question: only the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God.

No other agent or formula defeats the sinful influences we face. Only Jesus faced them, and only He overcame them all. It is only when we acknowledge our own helplessness and place our confidence in the sufficiency of Christ's victory, that we have victory over sin. We may try other means, such as will power, accountability, support groups, human thought, or philosophy, rituals, or routines, disgust for the sin, or shame and guilt. We may even find that some of those things offer limited success in helping us curb certain behaviors or keep them in check temporarily. But it is only through faith in Christ, and a total surrender to Him, that we can be tuned in to his will. It is the only way our mind can comprehend His thoughts, and our actions become joyful acts of worship.

If we are believing in and relying on anything but Christ's victory to overcome sin ,our efforts are doomed. It is good for us to examine ourselves periodically to be sure that our faith is not misplaced. What a relief it is to know that the hard part of overcoming sinful influences has been done for us by Jesus' life, death ,and resurrection. To remain in His victory, we need only to hold confidently to God's provisions for us in Christ. Faith in Christ includes an understanding of who he is and a true reliance upon him for salvation and an overcoming lifestyle. Through this kind of faith believers experience victory over the sinful influences of this world. Oh Jesus , what a wonder you are.

Equipped to Serve

 2 Timothy 3:16 " All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works".


We have been called and separated from this world to be ambassadors for Christ. Called to live a life that bears witness to the truth of Gods' word that Jesus saves. Called to let our light so shine before man that they see our good works and glorify God in heaven. We have been given all that we need to live this life, yet we tend to fall short of Gods calling.


The word of God instructs us and  to go out into a sinful world and live a holy and fruitful life that lost man might seek the salvation of the Lord. We must learn to trust the whole word of God, not only to comfort and encourage us, but also to instruct and correct us. Gods word is the lamp which should and must guide our steps. For the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Gods word is  the principles by which we should live by. It is the standard we shall be judged by, and all that we need to be complete in the service for which God has called us into. With Gods word we are all thoroughly and fully equipped to handle all that comes upon us that we might lead a lost world to the salvation of the Lord.

Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to ever creature that all might be saved. We are with the truth of His word, the power of  His spirit, and with and the witness our testimony to lead a world lost in darkness to Jesus the light of the world. We are to take up the fragments of broken lives and bring them to Jesus that none should be lost. 

My Hearts Desire

Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart".


The word of God is full of the promises of God, and the promise to receive the desires of ones heart is truly a great promise. But like all of Gods' promises, this one to comes with a condition. It is when we delight our self in the Lord that we will receive the desires of our hearts. But the thing is we might be surprise what the desire of our heart is when we delight our self in God.

To delight is to take great pleasure in something which gives great pleasure. So when we begin to take great pleasure in the Lord, He actually becomes the desires of our heart, and that is the greatest blessing that man can receive. When we delight in the Lord we then began to trust in the Lord, which leads us to commit our way to the Lord and we rest in the Lord. Now God is not going to give us great pleasure and then replace Himself with the material things of this world. His word say that he will have no other God before Him. So as we begin to delight our self  in the Lord, let us not then hinder that wonderful worship seeking the material things of this world. Instead let us delight in Him seeking first His kingdom and trust that anything we need from this old world He will supply.

The word of God tells us He will withhold no good thing from us, but what we think is good and what God knows Is good is often two different things. We often want things that lead us to become ungodly in our actions and attitude. Lets just obey His word and seek first His kingdom and to do His will and let Him bless us as He sees fit with the treasures and pleasures of this world..........

Half Baked And Good For Nothing

Hosea 7:8 "Ephraim hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake undone".


As the world turns it seems so does the people of God. We have allowed our selves to become so entangled with the things and the ways of this world it is really hard to tell the difference between a child of God and a man of the world. God called us from among them, to be separated, to be in this world but not of this world, but somewhere along this journey we the people of God have lost focus to the things of heaven and have begun to settle and chase after the things of this world.

The word of God tells us that to be friends with this world is to be an enemy to God, but we seem to strive to fit into or conform to the things and ways of this world. We have adopted the worlds social structure, what I mean is the Christian way is the head takes care of the feet, but we have some feet which is taking care of the head. Here in our story Hosea condemned Ephraim for mingling with the nations, learning their works, and serving their idols. He compared Ephraim to a round cake not turned over, baked or even burned on the bottom but not done on the top, he was half baked and good for nothing He had lost his strength and didn't realize it for he was no longer connected to his power source. We must be careful not to get so mingled up with the things and ways of this world that we loose focus to the one that is our savior and our keeper.   

We the people of God must be careful not to come unplugged from our power source. We must not seek the things which are earthy and began to seek those things which are heavenly and trust God to supply us with our earthly needs. Jesus said to seek ye first the kingdom of God, and the earthly things shall be added to us. Let us not become a cake un turned. Let us not be one thing with our mouth on Sunday mornings, and something totally different in our hearts the rest of the week.

Blessed To See God

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”



The word of God tells us that  with our lips we honor God, but our hearts are far from Him. Outwardly we honor God, we sing songs of praise we pay tithes we even call on Him in prayer, but when it come right down to it we have no love for God. Our hearts our inner person are not pure. We act religious to be noticed by man, but don't live holy to be pleasing unto God. In fact the word of God calls us hypocrites.


When we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior we are given a new heart."And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. God gives us new hearts that want to follow and obey him and pours his Holy Spirit into us who motivates us to sincere obedience. To be pure in heart doesn’t mean we never sin. But it means that now we don’t want to. We hate it when we do, and are grateful for Jesus’ constant cleansing.


Now there are ways to cultivate and maintain a pure heart and live a life acceptable to God. First we can read your Bible regularly for it convicts, warns and encourages us. We can constantly pray and ask God for inner purity. David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart.” Regularly ask God to deliver you from evil and temptation. Be careful what you take in through your eyes and ears. Flee from all temptation. Fellowship with like minded people and confess your struggles and temptations and ask for prayer of one or a few wise, trustworthy believers. The reward for pursuing purity? “They shall see God.”

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure (1 John 3:2-3). 

I Shall Not Be Moved

Daniel 1:8a "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank:

We live in a world of tolerance. It is called the free world in which one is free to do and behave just about any way he/she wishes. But when one confesses to be born of the spirit of God there are many limitation on his/her life. It is a condition of the heart. As children of God we can't just act any kind of way. Everything we say and do must be to the edification and glory of the God we serve.

Much like in Daniel's day the world will try to get you to swallow it's permissive ways and take on it's selfish spirit. But like Daniel we who profess to be Christ like must purpose in our hearts not to defile ourselves with the teachings of this world. We must reject the evil and lustful spirit that lives in the hearts of  all who are part of this world. The world will tell you "it's your life live it to the fullest" but in reality the life you now live, has been purchase by the shed blood of Jesus The Christ, and it now belongs to Him. Let us not defile ourselves with the portion of the worlds meat, let our hearts not be filled with the spirit which it partakes of, but let us feed on the meat of God's word and be lead by His Holy Spirit. Let His truths dwell in your heart.

This is a choice we must make everyday. Everyday we are faced with the question "whom will I be servant to this day". You can chose to serve the Lord or by default you will find yourself defiling yourself with the worlds portion of meat and partaking of his spirit. I shall not be move.

First Things First

Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness: And all these things shall be added unto you".

If you are going to worry, don't pray; and if you pray ,don't worry. Worrying is a sign that we lack sufficient faith in God's willingness or power to come to our defense. It also means that we are attempting to shoulder the weight of things we are not intended to carry.

There are certain things that we can't change. For example, we can't change the end of the world, but we can impact where others will spend eternity. We can't change Bible prophecy, but we can intercede for a lost world. We can't number our days on this earth, but we can eat right and take care of ourselves so that we can honor and serve God with our life. We are to pray about everything and worry about nothing, for it is alright already. Worrying impacts our rest and increases our stress. It is alright to plan, but let us not obsess. Some of the best advice about not worrying is found in God's word. We should read and study His word to help us balance what we experience, with what God promises. Yes we are troubled on every side, but we are not distressed or worried. We are perplexed or puzzled, but not in despair or hopelessness. We will be persecuted,but not forsaken, abandoned or left alone. We may be or appear to be cast down or knocked down but not destroyed or taken out. We bear the dying of the Lord, but we also bear His life .It's alright already Jesus has made a way out of no way.

God has a corresponding answer, plan of deliverance, a way of escape out of every situation. We have the promises that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has given us, the promise of a rewarding life here on earth and an eternal joy in heaven with Him. Worrying has no ruling authority in the life of believers. If we walk in fear or worry, then we are not perfected in love, for perfect love cast out doubt and fear. So there is no need to worry

Who You With?

James 4:4 "Ye  adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be friend of the world is the enemy of God". 

If accommodation and compromise continues to be the movement of the church, eventually the church will reach a point of friendship with the world. This is an extremely dangerous place for the believer. Like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot, he will have lost the ability to sense the heat slowly rising and is likely to slowly cook until almost all distinction from the culture is lost. This was precisely God’s point when He dealt with Israel in the Old Testament. God went to great lengths to separate Israel from the surrounding nations because He knew all too well the eventual destination of the path of incremental compromise and accommodation.

Today's congregations are in grave danger of friendship with this world. We have adopted so much of the worlds ways that its' music is now church music, its' dance is now being honored as praise dancing, and its' trinity seems to be the goal of many in the church today(prestige, prosperity, and position.). We have allowed the world to dictate how we are to love one another, as we are so fearful of being called judgmental that we let those Christ died to save, and we profess to love travel on the road to destruction instead of telling them they are going the wrong way. We have become more interested in what is in the collection plate than we are what is in the hearts of the people. Today’s user-friendly, seeker-oriented, market-driven church doesn’t preach much against worldliness. To do so might make unbelievers (not to mention many believers) uncomfortable, and is therefore avoided. It's much easier to justify our actions than to examine them in light of Scripture.

We have been called from among the world, not to be reunited to the world, but through the truth of our testimony the world might be reunited with God. For the word of God says God was reuniting the world back to Him through Jesus Christ. Let us saturate ourselves in God's Word and keep our focus on Christ that we might lead a lost world to the ways of the Lord instead of following the ways of this world.

Life On Display

Luke 22:31 "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desire to have you, that he may sift you like wheat".

Are you the Christian you profess to be? Can God put your life on display? Does Satan desire to have you? Ours is a life in a glass bowl, all eyes are on the Christian in these troubled times. The world is watching to see if we will protests or pray, have a revival or revolt, if we will stand for Christ or fall to the wiles of the evil one. 

Times are hard and getting harder. But we who profess Christ must realize that we are not to behave the same way as the world. We have been called from among them and the Lord God is our provider. The enemy is trying to sift us to show the world we are hypocrites and that we are more like chaff  than wheat. He wants us to react as the world would, protest in stead of praying for he knows our power in in our prayer life. He wants us to hate, find fault and judge all that we disagree with as he knows that will show we are rebelling against the will and way of God. No matter what you believe God is always in control and everything happens for His reason not ours. Satan is still using his same old tricks trying to divide and conquer. Trying to separate us from God that he might destroy or testimonies and make worthless our witness.

We have reached an impasse in this country that has shed light on actions and hatred unbecoming a child of God. Satan has requested permission from God to sift His children and many are coming up short. There is a saying what ever you are full of is what will spill over when pushed, and there is a bunch of non- Christ like stuff coming out of some of us profess Christians. Let us remember who we are and whose we are and stand strong for Christ and in Christ that a lost world  might be saved.

It Is About Jesus

Philippians 2:21 "For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's".

We live in a me and my society today, and the sad thing is the house of God is steadily moving in the same direction. Christianity is not about what you can get, but more about what you can give. We have been called out and set aside to do the work of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Called to be Christ like and thus we should be about His will and not our wants.

Ours is a life of sacrifice and service, we are to lose our life to save it and have to deny our self to follow Jesus. many of the house of God is slowly and maybe unaware making this thing about them, and their ministry. We have gotten carried away with various titles and positions and have left the work of Christ undone. With all that Paul knew and accomplished he looked at his self as only a servant a bond slave for the Lord as he went out and did the work of Christ he was chosen to do. Let us do away with the selfish self promotion of our thing and lift up the name of Jesus and be about our Fathers business.

Jesus said upon this rock I build my church, but we have taken away from building up His church and kingdom and have shifted our focus on the building of our ministries and our little kingdoms. God is not impressed with the titles and positions we elevate our selves to and the sinner doesn't care what you call yourself. So let us lay aside that weight that has hindered our being about the will of Christ and go into the gleaning fields and bring in the sheaves.

Come To Jesus

John 6:68 " Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life."

This six chapter of John records the feeding of the 5000;the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. The next day people came seeking Jesus. Their motives were wrong. Jesus warned them against worldliness and offered them spiritual food, " My father giveth you the true bread from Heaven, for I am the bread of  life." After this many went back and walked with Him no more. Have you stopped walking with Jesus?

We should look at the crowd following Jesus and the attitude that drove them. Some out of curiosity, many today seek the Lord not for salvation but they are curious about all they have heard about Him. Other followed Him for the fish and the loaves, many still follow Jesus for the wants in their life ,not for the needs of their life, and still some came out of love for Him. But not all stuck with Him, it says many went back and walked with Him no more. Many have backslid, and have gone back into the life of sin, God has called them out of to walk with Him no more. But Peter ask "to whom shall we go?'Whom shall we go to in life, with our problems, our fears, and our sins. Who will speak on our behalf to the Father, no one but Jesus, for in Him is the words of eternal life.

We can go to Jesus, He and He alone is our ever present help in a time of trouble. God has given Him all power, He paid for our sins, He died and rose again that we don't have to fear death or him with power of death. He is our advocate before God and He is inviting all to come. When sick seek a doctor, when in need of legal advice, seek a lawyer, but when you need salvation come to the one and only savior, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God. 

Words To Live By

Proverbs 4:13 "Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life".

The bible says "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord", but how are they ordered? We must seek His instructions in His word and be lead by His spirit. It is when we are obedient to God's word that we are the good man whose steps are ordered by God, for he ordered all steps, but not all obey His orders. Daily wisdom is available in God's word through meditating and memorizing. But most of all, we have to take it seriously, placing it deep inside our hearts and believing this is the only way to conduct our lives. Those who study and practice God's word experience contentment and his peace.

If God's word is deep within the heart, the lips will pour out truth. No speaking against God, no use of profane expressions, foolishness, slandering, arguing, nor bragging. Your eyes will be fixed on Jesus, with no time for looking to the left or the right.Those who name God as Father should have their feet firmly on God's path, not making rash decision or falling off the path into temptations. But how do we keep to the path when there are so many stumbling block? Well the perfect path is always the one that follows God's instruction. If we stray onto another path, His instructions can lead us to where we need to be. As the psalmist said," your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path". When we get out of His light, we stumble hopelessly in darkness. In light of His instructions, we can pay attention to and examine our steps.

Solomon was led astray by keeping close company with those who worshiped idols. This moved his heart away from God, so he advised, keep your distance from those who do cause evil and from evil doers, stay away from those who oppose God's agenda.When people you are around don't want to walk on God's path, pray for them and continue on alone if need be, don't be led astray. Do you find yourself stumbling in some area of life? Do you need to regain your footing? Take hold to God's instruction, and don't let her Go, for she is your life.

The Holy Bible

Revelations 22:19 " And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book".

Jesus said " I come in the volume of the book, it is written of me". The Holy Bible, the written word of God given to man to correct him, rebuke him and instruct him in righteousness, that a man of God might be thoroughly furnished unto every good work.It is the lamp unto our feet which leads guides and direct our path on the narrow road to salvation. It is complete and perfect without fault nor flaws. His word doesn't need anything added to it nor anything which needs to be taken away. It is everything we need when we need it.

In our text today we have a warning from Jesus Himself and the danger of adding and subtracting from His word. It is aimed against the willful distortion of His message which is written in this book for the soul purpose of saving lost souls. Any one who feels the need to add to or take away from the perfection of Christ shows that they are not a true believer and will not participate in eternal life or the blessings of the promises of this book. we must be careful not to willfully with the intent of fulfilling personal agendas and fleecing the flock. Many have misused God's word to give them material gain and for personal power and prosperity.

God's word is perfect, it is able to supply our every need. It is our weapon of war, our shelter in the storm, our way out of no way, bread when we are hungry, and water in dry places. Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life, and through Him God has supplied our every need. Let us not add to nor subtract from but just receive Him as He is.

Just Do Your Part

Mark 16:1-2 " And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came to the sepulcher at the rising of the sun".

We have all been called to service for the Lord. We all have a calling and no one calling is more important than another, yet every calling must be fulfilled for the building of the kingdom and the strengthening of the body. We can't let anything interfere with that which God has called us to do, we must just go forth trusting that God will provide us with everything we need to complete the task He has placed before us.


In our text today, Jesus had been crucified and buried in a borrowed tomb. There were women who got together some spices to anoint His body. Now they got up early in the morning to go do what it was that they were led by the spirit of God to do. They didn't let the fact that there were guards at the tomb, or the fact that a large stone blocked the tombs entrance cause them to wonder worry or waver in what it was they wanted to do for the Lord. We too must not let anything cause use to waver or hinder us in our duty for the Lord. When they had arrived at the tomb a angel had removed the stone and taken care of the guards. Even though Jesus wasn't there when they arrived they did there part, and were the first witnesses to the truth that He has risen and were instructed to go share the good news.

When God calls us to a duty we must remember He is the author and the finisher of our faith. If He call you to it , He will see you through it. We must just do our part and trust God to do His part. His word tells us He will supply our every need, we must realize that our needs are not always going to be material things. He also provides us with all we need to do that which He has called us to. Let us just do our part.   

Stay With The Lord

Acts 27:31 "Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship ye cannot be saved."

This journey we have embarked upon is going to be filled with life's ups and downs. There are going to be storms in our life which will shake our very foundation of our being. This mean old world is going to throw things at us that will cause us to question the who, what ,and why of our life. We may even get to the point where we begin to question and doubt the will and ability of God, thinking we need to jump ship. But Jesus said "be of good cheer for I have over come the world."

Our text today lets us know the benefit of staying on the ship. Even when life throws all it has at you to where you see the world around you falling apart it is still safer to stay the course with the Lord than it is to jump ship. Now there are some things you will have to do to make it through the times of trials and tribulations. See Paul told them to break fast and eat to their full. Paul knew they would need strength to withstand that which was before them. We to need to eat when the storms of life come. We need to feast on the promises of God's word for strength and encouragement in times of storms.He also had them throw some things off the ship to lighten up the load. There are something's and some people in our life we need to let go of and throw out of our life. Many of us are caring around some stuff and have been holding on to some things way to long that truly don't mean us any good.

We must remember God rides in every storm. If He brings you to it He will bring you through it. We cannot jump ship and be all alone in the storms of life. It is better to make it safely on a little faith than it is to drown in a sea of doubt and despair. Except ye stay with the Lord you cannot be saved

In Season and Out of Season

Ezekiel 2:7 "And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear : for they are most rebellious."

We all have a calling in the building of the kingdom of God. We have been called to proclaim to a dying world the good news of salvation. Now there are times when we can get frustrated, as it seems no one is listening. It seems the harder you pray, the more you proclaim, the more you care the more rebellious the people get. Jesus forewarned us this would happen , He said they hated and rejected Him, so they would do the same thing to us.

But we have been called to a duty, and we can't let the fact that the people are not responding prevent us from doing what it is that God has called us to do. After all we are just sowers of the seeds, we can't see the hearts in which they are planted in. God said His word will not come back void, so we must just continue doing what God called us to do and trust that His word and spirit will do it's part. I have been posting this blog for 2yrs. now and every time I feel no one is reading and get ready to stop writing it, someone will inbox me and tell me how something written has made a impact in their life. See people you would be surprised to know the number of  lives you have touched sharing the word of God. God called us out of the darkness that we might bear witness that there is a light, a glorious light and to lead those still in darkness into that light. So let your light continue to shine for someone right now is looking to be lead out of darkness.

In our text today ,God tell Ezekiel to go and tell Israel what thus said the Lord. He tells him to tell them, rather they will listen or not. He tells Him don't worry, He will protect him, provide for him and keep him through it all. We too don't need to worry, if God called us to ,we must trust that He will provide all that we need to accomplish that which He called us to. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. So be encouraged, obey your call, stand strong for the Lord and proclaim the good news from Calvary whether they listen or not, God's will be done

Lift Him Up

John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth ,will draw all men unto me".


We live in a name it and claim it era. Today's Christian seems to be more about what he /she can get from using the name of God than they are in who can be saved with the name of God. Even though everything  about  being Christ like, is self sacrificing, the modern Christian seems to be selfish and materialistic. We spend more time trying to show the world how saved and holy we are, we don't leave much time to introduce the world to our savior.

Jesus said that if we lift Him up, that will draw all men unto Him. Just simply lifting up Jesus and a lost world can be saved. So you ask, how do we lift Him up? We lift up Jesus first by living a life before this dying world that show that He has all power. Live a life that show we believe the message which we proclaim. To live a life before man that leads lost souls to run asking what must I do to be saved. We lift up Jesus by making everything about Him, and taking the focus off of us and the congregation we belong to. It is not about getting a person to come to church or being of a certain denomination, no it is about them surrendering their life to Christ. We lift Him up by proclaiming His name with a loud voice, we lift Him by the witness of our testimony, and the shining of our light. We lift Him up by showing love one for another, and being all that He has called us to be.

It is nothing wrong with material prosperity from God, but let us not allow the treasures of this world blind us to the real treasures, heavenly treasures. Don't let the things of this world prevent you from loving the people of this world, for Jesus died that people might be saved, not so people can have stuff. So let us lift Him up.

The Power Of Oneness

Genesis 11:6 " and the Lord said behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do".


There is such power in being one. When the body, mind and spirit all come together on one accord, there is nothing which can't be done. In the book of Acts, when the disciples were all in one place, on one accord then the power of the holy spirit came and rested upon them. There is such power in being one, that Jesus prayed that we be one with Him as He was one with the Father. It is in our oneness with Christ that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us.

Here in our text the decedents of  Noah had come together to build a tower and a city. They wanted the tower to reach heaven. Now even though what they set out to do was wrong and went against God's will for their lives, God said because they were one and spoke one language, there is nothing they can imagine that they can't accomplish. So God came down and confused them by allowing all to speak a different language. Just think of the power the body of Christ would have if we came together, all speaking one language, working toward one goal, uplifting and glorifying our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. When we all begin to speak the good news of salvation, and make the promoting of God's business our priority and not our own personal ministries, churches, denominations, and position, just think we could then truly saved the world.

Here God tells us that there is power in our oneness, but let our oneness be one with Christ. Let us be one with His will, His message, His purpose, his love, His giving and forgiving, and the building of His kingdom. Let all that we imagine to do be that which our heavenly Father has called us to do, to tell a dying world the good news of salvation, that we can all walk up the kings highway to heaven.      

A Walk Pleasing To God

Genesis 5:24 " And E'noch walked with God: and he was not for God took him.


We have embarked upon a life long journey. We travel up the narrow road paved solely with the promises of God. Having put our hand to this plough we are unable to turn back and look with regret at the life we have been called from. We have an enemy who is looking to trip us up along the way. The tempter who's whole purpose is to cause us to stumble and fall that our walk won't be pleasing to God.

E'noch walked with God 300 years. His walk was His testimony and it was pleasing to God. The word of God says how can two walk together unless they agree, so to have a walk pleasing to God,  we must walk with God. I don't mean take God where we go, but to go where God leads us. We must also agree with God. Not God agreeing with us , but we must be in agreement with God. We must agree with all that His word says even if it hurts. We must agree that His ways are not our ways, agree that His way is the only way, agree that He Is absolutely always in control, and agree that there are times when we need to be corrected and God can use who and what He wants to correct us. We must like E'noch trust in God and not doubt and walk knowing that He is the way we should go, the truth we are to seek, and the life everlasting we all are striving to inherit.

Many on this journey feel it Is about us and what we do. We tend to believe we can serve and worship God anyway we want and He is happy because we say we are worshipping Him and praising Him. There is more to praising God than a hand clap, and more to worshipping Him than coming to church. Too really give God the highest praise is to live a life before Him that leads lost souls to seek Him. To truly worship Him is to surrender all to Him for Him and to lay down your life that another might live. No not to literally die but to deny yourself for the sake of  the salvation for a lost soul.