Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New!

John 3:3" Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto thee,Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Birth, the sign of Life; it is a symbol of new life, a new creation. If you want to see King Jesus, you must be born again. It is a must if you want to walk on this journey. Jesus said you must be born again. Every sincere Christian purifies his soul to rid it of the uncleanliness and the defilement of sin, which pollutes the soul. Whoever is seeking salvation, must be purified thru the truth of the gospel, for we are clean by his words. The word of God says at our best we are but filthy rags. Jesus said "except a man be born again". We must have a new life; birth is the beginning of life, so the walk must start here. Just as physical life begins at birth, so must our spiritual life begin with the birth of our spiritual man.

The old foundation has faults and short comings, it can't support the glory or the treasure of this new building. We must have a new nature, with new principles, with new affections and new aims. We must be born another, a different person than the first; like the birth of Israel from Jacob and Paul from Saul. We will have different traits, different desires, doing different things. all Christians are born again. The first birth was after the first man Adam, corrupt, born in sin and shaped in iniquity, born to die, lost in need of a savior. So we must under go a second birth,  a spiritual birth to take on the nature of our adoptive Father.

Born again, changed from a dead soul into a life giving quickening spirit. Walking in the spirit and not giving way to the flesh as it has been crucified with Christ on the cross, as we now live in a resurrected body, a temple not made with hands, now we are a new creature in Christ, sons of the most high Gods.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

In Jesus Alone

1Peter 4:18 "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear"?

"Scarcely saved" points out the difficulty of salvation. Some think it easy to believe, but the prophets cries, " who hath believed"? and Jesus asks, "when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth"? Some may also think it easy to persevere to the end, but the godly are hard put to it to keep their faces toward Zion. It is no light thing to be saved; omnipotent grace is needed. It is no trifling thing to be lost, but it can be done by neglect.


The fact is the righteous scarcely are saved. The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. It can be hard to lay hold to and hold on Christ simply as sinners. There is a challenge to give up and overcome the desires and lust of the flesh day after day, and moment by moment. To resist the world with its blandishments, threats, and customs. To vanquish Satan, his horrible temptations, and all the false hoods he promises.  It will not be easy to perform duties in a humble and holy spirit, to forsake the earthly in search of the heavenly, and continue in them. When the apostle uses the phrase if the righteous scarcely be saved, he does not doubt salvation, he is speaking of the difficulty of making it through the fire and the water, coming through many trials and tribulations, and staying faithful to the call. It wasn't easy to get Lott out of Sodom, and Israel out of Egypt, and it is no easy matter to get man out of his state of corruption.

 
Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? IF the saints scarcely reach heaven, what of the ungodly? What can they do who have no God? what can they do who have no savior? What can one do who are without the spirit of God? What without prayer, the word, the promise of God etc. What without truth? If the saints be sorely chastened, what will the justice be to the openly defiant sinner? Surrender unto Christ rest in the peace of the savior of the world. Jesus never fails....

Monday, December 29, 2014

He Died For Me

2Corinthians 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.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Come To Jesus

John 4:29" Come, see a man,which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ".

Here Jesus' interview with the Samaritan woman establishes, for all the readers of John's Gospel, that salvation is for everyone, regardless of social, or racial, position. If we want to be an effective witness for the Lord, we must be willing to cross all barriers. The wall of separation has been destroyed, God is now accessible to all through Jesus Christ. Let us invite all to come to Jesus.


In this scene at Jacob's well, the metaphor of water that satisfied the woman's physical thirst represents the need for spiritual nourishment that can satisfy the thirsty soul. Jesus initiated the conversation by asking for a drink. He then offered her living water that would meet her eternal needs. We must realize that Jesus is that one thing that meets our most basic need. Jesus did not rush His discussion with the woman. He began where she was, drawing water. We too should share at the other person's pace, meet them where they are in Christ. We all have a story to share, if Jesus has changed our life.  When Jesus told the woman that He was the Messiah, the woman immediately went to share her experience with those in her town. She invited all to come to Jesus, she challenged them to answer for themselves:  "could this be the Christ?" 


What will you do with Jesus? God has given him to us all, now will you invite all to come and see? When a Christian shares his or her story, they never know how far the gospel will reach, and they never know how much one changed life can change the world. Remember Jesus started with twelve, look how far their testimony have come. Let us tell all that we see to come to Jesus.

Friday, December 26, 2014

Gift Offered; Now What?

2 Chronicles 7:14 " If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land".
Now what; the gift has been offered now what? Well it is time for all who has accepted this gift to lift up the savior in all that we do.What if we truly was to come together as one with a singleness of heart and message and loved one another as Christ has loved us we could save the whole world. What if we truly believed " One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism".If we did these things from our hearts, God says he would hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal the land.

"If my people", if the people of God would do what He has asked of us, then will I forgive their sins and heal their land. We must be careful not to get so wrapped up in the fig leaf of self righteousness that we begin to think we are more than we are. Those who profess to be of God are required to live a life pleasing to God before man that all in darkness could be lead to Jesus the light of the world. What if we truly lived the life we talk about, what if we were half the saint we professed to be. What if we truly accepted the free gift of salvation with all of our heart soul and mind, and shared it with all that we see.

The love of God has made salvation available to all who will accept it, now let us who has accepted it do our part and with the love of God share this free gift with all that we see, in both word and deed, that all might be saved.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

The Gift Of Everything

2 Corinthians 1:20 "For all the promises of God in Him yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us."

Everything God wants to give to man He gave with Jesus. When man was lost, God gave us Jesus, as he is the way. When he wanted to man love one another, he gave us Jesus. When man needed an advocate, and a high priest, a sacrifice, a Savior, a redeemer, a provider, an example, and a light in a world of darkness God gave us Jesus. God said he was supply our every need, and he did when he gave us Jesus.
 
Here we have Paul explaining to the church at Corinth, that all they need, and every promise of God was fulfilled in Christ. He says all the promises; that includes those in the old testament as well as those of the new testament. Everyone from Genesis to Revelations, every promise in the word of God was fulfilled with Jesus. The conditional and the unconditional, the physical and the spiritual, all promises of God are in Him. They are established beyond all doubt, they are confirmed beyond all alterations. In Christ lies the stability of the promises, for He is the foundation and truth of God's word. Christ is the witness of the promises;the surety of the promise, the sum and substance of the promise. The fulfillment of the promises by His actual incarnation, His virgin birth, his living plea, His atoning death, and in his rising with all power.  

The closer we are to Christ the more of God's promises are fulfilled in our lives. Let us glory in the promises of God, through living a life led by his spirit, in obedience to His word, and in the way of His darling son Jesus the Christ, the promise of God to all mankind.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Good News

Luke 2:11" For unto you is born this day in the city of David, A savior, which is Christ the Lord".

Have you given birth to Christ in your life? With all of the commercialization of Christmas, have you come to the realization that you need a savior? With the worries and worldly cares about what is under the tree, have you taken to heart the most wonderful gift that was born to hang on the tree.
Jesus the Christ, the infant Lord who was born Savior of the world. Who was rejected by the inn keeper, hunted by a king, and received joyfully by Anna and Simione, is still being presented to all today. The good news about Christ is being proclaimed as we read this message.We each have the same choice that was available back then. We can like the inn keeper have no room for a savior. We can be like the king and try to kill the savior, not wanting him to enter in and make changes to who we are. Then we can be like Anna and Simione, who prayed not to see death, until they saw the salvation of the Lord for themselves.They heard about it but they prayed to see it.

We should not want to see death without seeing our salvation. Hearing about it is great, but we must pray not to see death until we see it for ourselves. Let us not kill him off., let us make room in for him in our life. Receive Him in our hearts, and share him with a dying world........Merry Christmas

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Give Me Your Heart

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:

The heart is the seat of man's affections, and devotion. The heart attaches and focuses our  affection, will, and devotion to an object or person. The heart causes a man to will, or to give himself either to good or bad. To love Jesus means that a man focuses his heart, affections, and devotion upon God by giving and receiving the love of God to one another. When we give all we have and are to Jesus Christ for him to do as he will, then we he surrendered our hearts.

If we love Jesus ,we will keep His commandments. Obedience is not optional for believers. Jesus stated a simple fact that must be clearly understood. If  you love me keep my commandments. Jesus is not giving an optional commandment, If you love me then keep my commandments. He is saying that the man who truly loves Him will keep His commandments. So for the born again believer there is no option. He loves Jesus ;therefore, he keeps His commandments. In this we the true believer is not claiming perfection, but we are claiming to love Jesus and to believe with all our heart that Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore we must diligently seek Jesus, and seek to please Him in all that we do. To Love Jesus is not an emotional thing. It involves emotions but it is not based on emotions. It doesn't change according to the situation. It is not a rational or mental commitment. It involves the mind but it is more than deciding and following some rules. To love Jesus is a matter of the heart and the spirit. It is a heart thing, from the innermost being of man.

Let us be careful not to give God simple lip service while our hearts lay with the enemy. Let us surrender our whole hearts and live a life of pure love unto the Lord, a life that He might be pleased with our testimony and we have everlasting life.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Putting Off Until Tomorrow!

Acts. 24:24-25 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and the judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered, "Go thy way for this time;
when I have a convenient season I will call for thee."


There are many who walk in darkness and feel they have time to surrender there life to Christ. Many who think being saved is just for old people or those who can no longer do anything fun. But the truth is the day you hear His voice is the day of salvation. The word of God says there will come a day when we want to hear but won't be able to hear. Today is the acceptable day of salvation, surrender to Christ and live, don't put off till tomorrow what has been made available to you today.

Here we see Felix and his wife came to hear Paul preach the gospel, it moved Felix to the point that he trembled, yet he told Paul that he would call him back to him when it was more convenient for him. Many today have heard the word of God and it shook up there lives to the point where they know they need Jesus, yet they have put Him off feeling they can call Him back at a more convenient time. When ever you are in a place to hear the Gospel, remember it wasn't by accident, it was part of God's perfect plan for your life. The day you hear Him accept Him, surrender to Him, for He is the only way.

Don't put off until tomorrow, what God has made available to you today. After all tomorrow is promised to no man. Today is the acceptable day of salvation, harden not your hearts..

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Marathon Runner

Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall endure unto the end, that same shall be saved.


The life of a Christian is not a Sunday morning thing, it is a life long commitment. It is a life of total surrender. Once you confess Christ there is no turning back, for whosoever put his hand to the plough and look back is not fit for the kingdom of heaven. Jesus tells us to count up the cost before we begin this journey. This is not easy. It is a long uphill journey on a narrow road, but it is the road that must be traveled if you want to be with Jesus.

When you confess Christ, when you truly give your life to Jesus, you will find that many who said they were your friends and family will begin to stray away. They will blame you by saying things like, you think you better than us, or you changed, you're so holy you are no fun. But don't be discouraged by how others act towards you, just make sure you act like Christ towards them. Jesus warns us that we will be hated for His name sake, He didn't say to hate them back, He said to endure to the end and you shall be saved. Don't let the way others treat you, dictate how you treat them. My mother use to always say, "you be the Christian if no body else will". It is not you they are hating it is the perfection which lies within you, that now exposes the imperfection of their lives, it is called conviction of the heart, and this must take place before there can be conversion of the soul.

So as you make this journey there are times when you might feel like you are all alone, but remember Jesus said He will never leave you nor forsake you, so hold to His hand and trust in His word and endure unto the end and be saved. This is a marathon and not a sprint.

Friday, December 19, 2014

The Gift Of Salvation

Romans 6:23"For the wages of sin is death;But the gift of God is eternal life,through Jesus Christ our Lord."

As I think back over this year I can only say thank you Lord. God has truly been good to me and chances are if you think back He has been good to you also. Even though we were deserving of hell, working towards the wage of sin, God looked beyond our faults and gave us what we stood in need of.

The gift of God! Eternal life, being free from sin and  a servant for God. Gods gracious gift of His only son is our deliverance from sin. Gods grace takes what was once a sinner, wrapped in sin and makes him/her a saint ,wrapping them in the righteousness of his precious son Jesus the Christ. Replacing the ways and desires of the natural father, with the characteristics of the Heavenly Father. The gift of eternal life, something given but not deserved, judgment said, we should die, but mercy stepped in and said wait. Though the way may be up hill, and the road is narrow, even though we will be attacked on every side, everlasting life awaits us at the journeys end.

Eternal life ,no infirmities to hinder us ,no death to put a period to us, just life everlasting with our Heavenly Father. Death is the wage of sin, and it comes by abandoning and forsaking our savior, but the life is a gift, it comes by favor, without respect of person. We work for the wage paid by sin, but life is freely given. Sinners merit Hell, it is what they are working for, but saints do not merit heaven, you can't work for it , you can't buy your way in, it is a gift from God, to all who believes, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Accepting The Gift

Luke 23:39 " and one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying if thou be Christ save thyself and us ".

Contrary of the popular belief and the self serving messages of today, Jesus came to save. He said, He came to call the sinner to repentance. We have begun to allow the worlds doctrine, ideals and belief structure to start and dictate the why Jesus came into this world. We celebrate His birth with the giving and receiving of material things. Making it about the treasures and pleasure of this world and many have lost track of the true gift and meaning of this holyday season.

Our text today is a picture of the prayer and desire of many of todays believers. There were two thieves hanging with Christ. They were both near to Him Physically so they both saw the same thing. They both prayed, but as you see one prayed to be saved from the cross, while the other prayed to be saved by the cross. One prayed to be saved in his sins, while the other prayed to be saved from his sins. Many of us today want to bypass the suffering and the necessary death needed to truly enjoy a life with Christ. We desire to be saved from the cross instead of by the cross. Jesus came to save and if you truly want to receive the spirit of Christmas surrender your life to Christ. Be saved by His new birth into your life and the dying of the old man with Him on the cross. Be saved by the cross and not from the cross.

Don't remove Christ out of Christmas, now I don't mean the word Christmas, I mean the true meaning of Christmas. Make sure with all that you might find yourself giving or receiving, to be sure that you give Christ to someone and make sure you have received Christ in your life by living a life of total surrender unto Him.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Gift Given

John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water".

Here as we enter this season of giving we must keep in mind the greatest gift ever given was Jesus the Christ. He was given to be given. He came wrapped in the ugliness of sinful man, but there was a precious gift on the inside.

In our text today to make sure all on the cross was dead, the soldiers went and broke the legs of the malefactors. But when they came to Jesus they saw He was already dead, but to be sure the stuck Him in the side with their sword. Then the gift of life came flowing out, the blood by which we have the remission of sin, and the water by which we are purified. Guilt contracted must be expiated by blood and stains contracted must be done away with by the water of purification, the two must always go together, and what Christ has joined together let no man take apart. They signify the two great ordinances of baptism and the Lords Supper. It is the water out of the side of Christ that by faith is to us the washing of regeneration. It is not the blood from the grape that will save our soul but the blood out of the side of Christ. See the present was ripped open and the gift of life flowed out, given for all to receive..

Let us continue to give Christ this Christmas, He is the gift that was given to be given. He is the gift that keeps on giving, especially if we keep on giving.  Have you received this free gift from God? 

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

A Vessel Of Gold

2nd Tim.2:20 "But in the great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor".

The new testament gives us many beautiful parables about what it means to be saved, to be a member of the family of God, and to serve the lord Jesus Christ. In the book of Ephesians, Paul talks about the church as the household of God. Here in 2nd Timothy he speaks of the child of God liken to a vessel in this great house.
 
Here he speaks of two types of vessels in this house; a vessel of honor and a vessel of dishonor. Every Christian is a chosen vessel unto Christ, the question is are we to honor or to dishonor. As  believers of the gospel, we should live a life dedicated to serving the Lord, and have a compelling desire to be used of God in whatever way he chooses. We must be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ, we must study Gods word that we might be a workman who needs not be ashamed, and useful to the master, prepared for every good work. See it is Jesus Christ which gives us the power and the tools to fight this spiritual battle, he equips us for this ministry of reconciliation., Through Christ, the presence of God enters our hearts, and has the power to transform and convert a vessel of dishonor into a vessel of honor. Gods grace allows us to endure all things, that we might with a singleness of mind proclaim with a loud voice the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation.
 
Let us walk in the power of God, and walk worthy of the name by which we are called that we will be victorious over are enemy and lead all in darkness into his marvelous light.

 

Monday, December 15, 2014

Lost.......

Luke 15:8 "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it"?

Church there are many who are lost. Some lost outside the church and then many are lost in the house. We must lay aside denominations, titles and positions, and seek diligently to find all that are lost, those in the house as well as those out of the house. We must be careful not to get lost as to the message, or the business of the church.
 
There are a great many people, who enter church houses around the world to worship and praise God, but who have no ideal they are lost. They are lost in the church. Over the years it seems that there has been a great growth in the number of Apostles, Bishops, Pastors, and Prophets, and yet sin is running more rampage than ever before, and the sad thing is a lot of the trouble is coming out of the church house. We must be careful not to get lost in religion and religious rituals, and forsake the true  business of the Church. We were called out and separated to be servants of God, to go out into the world, and preach Christ and him crucified, that a lost world might be saved.
 
Jesus came to seek and save the lost; he gave us instructions to go into the hedges and the highways and compel them to come in, that his house might be full. To preach the gospel to every creature. Somewhere the message has gotten lost. The message of salvation seems to have been replaced with one of prosperity and self promotion. Let us get back on track and find the lost in the house of God, and then go out and preach Christ and him crucified to a dying world. He is the power of God unto salvation.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

A Slave to The Gospel

Romans 1:1" Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God."

In our need for self gratification, it is easy for us to become lost in regards to the mission which we have been called into. God called us into His ministry, that we might be His servants to do His will in building His kingdom. It is not about who we are, but whose we are. The title and positions we hold means nothing, it is the work that we have been called to do that will change the world.

Here we have Paul, Now with all that he had accomplished he says he is a servant of Jesus Christ .In fact he often referred to himself as a bond servant or slave for Christ. He never referred to himself as Rev. Paul or pastor Paul or even the apostle Paul, he was just a servant of the Lord. Paul realized it wasn't about him, or the position he had, but it was simply about Christ and Him crucified. He was just an unworthy vessel, called to be an apostle, separated for the purpose of spreading the good news of the gospel. Paul used every opportunity he had to proclaim the salvation of the Lord. Rather in bonds or free his message was the same, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He had to preach the gospel, for he was a prisoner of the gospel. He new it was the gospel that saved him, kept him, protected him, and provided all that he needed. He knew it was the power of God unto salvation.
 
It is not about us being saved. The world don't care what position or titles we hold. The sinner can't be saved because we have fancy degrees in various religious studies that allow us to call ourselves these fancy names and hold important positions. The only thing that we have that matters, the only thing we have that can save a lost soul is the good news about Jesus Christ. Let us just be called servants for the Lord, that we might hear the words, "well done my good and faithful servant".

Friday, December 12, 2014

He Is Lord

Romans 4:24 " But for us also,to whom it shall be imputed,if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead:"
It is the part of faith to accept great contrasts,if laid down in the word,and to make them a part of her daily speech.This name,Lord, is a great contrast to incarnation and humiliation.In the manger, in poverty shame and death,Jesus is still Lord.These strange conditions for "our Lord" to be found in are no difficulties to that faith which is the fruit of the spirit.

It ought to be the great care of every one of us to follow the Lord fully.We must in a course of obedience to God's will and service to his honor follow him universally,without dividing; uprightly, without dissembling; cheerfully,without disputing;and constantly,without declining: and this is following him fully. A disciple of Christ is one that gives up himself to be wholly at Christ's disposing; to learn what he teaches,to believe what he reveals, to do what he commands, to avoid what he forbids, to suffer what is inflicted by him or for him,in expectaion of that reward which he hath promised.Such a one is a disciple of Christ,and he ,and none else, is a Christian.
 
This thing is solely about Jesus and Him alone.Everything that we are is because of Jesus; all that we have is from Jesus. He is everything that God had to say to man, all that he needed to give to man;and in him is everything man needs to say to God.Jesus is Lord!c

Thursday, December 11, 2014

The................

Isaiah 43:11 "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior"

God's promise to save, to help, and to rescue, has been extended to all humanity through Jesus Christ. The God who rescued Judah, is the same God who is with us today, and he rescues all those who call on him, and he walks with them in each hardship. The Lord looked past the sins of mankind, and seen something of value and significance, so much so that He would send His son to die on the cross for our sins.

We never outgrow our need for the Savior. As Christians we trust Christ for our salvation from sin and for the promise of eternal life. When we come to Christ, we are justified, or saved from the consequence of our sin. As we walk with Christ, we are sanctified, or set apart to obey God and live for him, saved from the self-centered living, that trapped us in sin and condemned us to death. And when we go to live with him in heaven, we are glorified, realizing the full extent of our salvation, as we are made complete in every way to enjoy fellowship with God forever, face to face.
We will never stop having a need for the Savior in our lives. He is here for us right now, whatever we may be navigating through, or struggling with, Call on the Lord, trust in his promises, and wait for Him For they that wait upon the Lord..... For he alone is or Savior!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

The True Light

John 1:7-8 "The same came for a witness,to bear witness of the light,that all men through him might believe.He was not the light ,but was sent to bear witness of that light."
We have been called out of the darkness into God's marvelous light that we might lead others out of the darkness. Let us let our light so shine before men that they will see our good works, and seek the true light and the salvation of the Lord.
 
We must remember we are not the light. It is not about us, not about who we are, what church we go to, our positions, titles, education, or even our salvation. No it is all about the Saviour, the one who can save, it is about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We are to bear witness to the true light that those in darkness might believe. Sometimes we spend so much time trying to convience the world of our own salvation that we don't have any time to show them the Savior. We must bear witness not only with our talk but we must also live a life that bears witness to the light.

We have been sent to bear witness to the savior. God called us out, we are the light which sits upon the hill that all might see. Live a life which reflects the true light, that all in darkness might be saved.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Only Ask

Psalms 18:1" I will Love thee, O Lord my strength"

 I heard a story of a father and his son on a camping trip.  As they were making their way up the path a large rock blocked the path. The father said to the son "I'm going to make a man out of you, use your strength and move the rock." The boy gripped the rock on both sides and tried pushing the rock but it never moved. The boy told his father "It won't move". His father told him he wasn't using all his strength. The boy said father I used all my strength and I just can't move it. His father looked at him and said you didn't use all your strength, because you never asked me to help.


Many of us are hindered because of a blocked path and we are stuck all because we have yet to ask the  Father to help us in our journey. There are stumbling blocks that sometimes block the path that God has called us to travel , and many of us get frustrated and change course because we try to move these obstacles by ourselves; But the Lord is our strength in our time of weakness. He is the way and it is in Him and by Him which we are able to conquer and overcome all that life puts before us. we must put our trust in the Lord and trust that He will do just what He said.


 Let us call on the Lord to aid us in moving the mountains which hinder our journey, let us use all our strength........











Saturday, December 6, 2014

Give Me Your Heart!

Revelation 20:4"And I saw thrones and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ  a thousand years.

There are many who are lost in the church, and who truly wants so badly to live a holy life for the Lord. They are lost to who God truly is, and what it is he truly requires from us. Many try and appease God the way we appease the people in our life. We try to serve, worship and give to a spiritual God, with a carnal mind. But until we are willing to give up our head, we can't fully give God our heart.
The problem is our head, our carnal mind is enemy to God and the spiritual things He stands for. So it seems every time  you want to give God your all, the carnal mind gives you a reason not to. It tells you things like "it don't take all that" or You don't have to put up with that" or God understands you are only human" and all these things may be true to the flesh and the carnal mind, but they hinder us in the giving God our whole heart. We must remember God doesn't want our things, He wants our all. We must come to the realization that the carnal man has no understanding of the spiritual man. The carnal man can't understand suffering for another, can't rationalize the ideal of self sacrifice, it can't comprehend the notion of losing your life to save it, or the thought of denying ones self taking up a cross and following a crucified Lord. So we must be willing to lose our head and let Christ be our head that we might surrender to Him our whole heart. Having the mind of Christ by the surrender of our hearts to Christ.

In our scripture today, it was those who were willing to lose their heads, to tell the story, to stand bold on Gods word, who refuse to worship, give his mind or the business of his hands to the work of the evil one. It is those that were beheaded and surrendered their whole hearts, who will reigning with Christ. So are you willing surrender your heart?

Friday, December 5, 2014

For A Lifetime

Joshua 24:24"And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord God will we serve, and his voice will we obey."

Joshua didn't sigh in relief when the Israelites responded to his challenge to serve the Lord and him only. Instead, he questioned them to say," Do you really mean what you say?" He wanted them to make a conscious decision for God, and he even presented the alternatives so they could make a clear choice, without conviction there is no real conversion or commitment, worldly distractions will draw us away from God. He then presented to them the consequences of failing to follow through on their commitment.

This was wise on Joshua's part. Sometimes people are made to feel that choosing God is simple and easy. They choose to serve Him, but then want to serve Him their way, under their terms and at their convenience. They sometimes have doubts, and wonder if they made the right decision, when trials and tribulations began to come their way. Some even choose to follow God, but then don't think much about it, it is treated like it is no big deal. They allow their days just to flow without a focus on serving Him. Those who haven't chosen to serve God, need to hear Joshua's challenge. This day, right now is the time to choose to follow Him. This is a serious lifetime commitment, that involves putting Him in charge of your life. Even if we have already chosen to serve God, we choose everyday whether we will honor that commitment in the things we do and say. It is through conviction that we will continue to be cleansed of the things in life that might distract us from our commitment to serve God. God has lead us through life and with his shepherd's rod, he has pulled us out of ruts and fought off the enemy.

God still calls us to follow Him by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Once we have made that commitment, we must still choose to keep our lives free of those things that can keep us from feeling the joy of his presence, or that divert our attention away from a single-minded devotion to him. Make Jesus your choice, he has chosen to make you His choice. 

Thursday, December 4, 2014

In ObedienceTo God

Exodus 19:5 "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:"

When we give God lordship over our lives, we are committing to a life of obedience to Him, to His will, and to His ways. How often we tend to renegotiate the terms of our commitment to him as soon as His will cramps our style or dents our pride. How good we are at justifying disobedience, down playing it as we try to draw attention to our attempts at "sacrificial" Christian living. To obey is better than sacrifice, Samuel told Saul, when Saul tried to invent a better plan to honor God than the one he had been told to follow. We need to be careful not to fall into Saul's mentality of creating a sacrifice that suits us, in lieu of plain obedience to what God has told us.

Obedience is not an option, if we want the blessing of God, and want to enjoy a relationship with Him.  we must obey and learn to trust that He always have our best interest at heart. If we the people would obey Him, then we would be God's "treasured possession" out of all the nations on the earth. God promised that we would continue to see deliverance from the enemy, along with His miraculous provisions, if we would continue to obey Him. It's all too easy for us to neglect issues of obedience as we get mired down in our day to day living.  Yet if we haven't been faithful to do what He last told us, how can we expect additional guidance to benefit us?  If we can't be faithful over the little, how can we expect to be trusted with the many. We need to be diligent to obey for this is better than any sacrifice in fact it is the ultimate sacrifice, the surrender of self.

So don't let anything and anyone cause you to be disobedient, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Run on to see what the ends going to bring, for obedience is better than sacrifice.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Called For A Purpose

John 13:14 "If I then,your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet".
We are servants of the Lord, no matter what title or position we hold in God's Church, we are but servants to do His will and carry out His commands. The position you hold or the title you give yourself does not free you from the work in which we have been called to do. We are the servants of the Lord, and are to do His will.
 
Jesus tells his disciples that if He being Lord and Master wash their feet, then they to have to wash feet. Now he is not telling us that we must literally go out and wash someones dirty feet, but we who know the Lord are responsible to share Him with a Lost world. We are responsible to look after and care for those who are less fortunate. See somewhere the message got lost. Leadership looks to be served, when we have been called to serve. Jesus the son of God took on the position of a servant that God's will be done, and we are to follow His example. He came to serve, He washed feet, He fed the people, He gave freely of that which He had to all who had need. He sacrificed that others might have. The Son of God became the son of man that the sons of man might become the Sons of God.
 
The work of all who were called is to lead a lost world to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. We have been called to lead all in darkness to Jesus the light of the world

Monday, December 1, 2014

Loves Power

1Samuel 18:3 "Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul".
Jonathan and David made a covenant, because Jonathan loved him. The covenant was made, not so much because of their mutual love,but because Jonathan loved David. Jesus also made a covenant with us, not so much because of our love for him, but because of His love for us." For while we were yet sinners Christ died for us". While we were rebellious against Him ,he was loving toward us. He entered our nature to represent us, and he pledged Himself to redeem us by becoming a sacrifice for us. He took us  into union with himself making us one with Him and members of His glorious body.

Christ and the believer that love Him, live as if they have but one soul between them. "Lovest thou me", "feed my sheep". Jesus the friend, asks three times and then appoints the duty: Peter out of sincere love answers three times, and renders the life long duty. Saints are to look upon themselves as wholly the Lord's possession in opposition to all other competitors.The Lord will not share us with rival" I am a jealous God". If we accept the salvation of the Lord ,all others must go. We belong to Him, giving up all authority to Him, as self has become a dethroned tyrant. Our soul becomes His soul and His spirit becomes our spirit. Our Soul until it comes into the covenant with the Lord, is in a restless state. It is like a bee going from flower to flower or a bird from bush to bush; but when it is married to Christ, it is settled with Him and it rest in perfect peace.

The covenant we have entered into is a offensive and defensive league. We are to have common friends and common enemies with the Lord. His people must be our people, and His enemies our enemies. We have opened our mouth to the Lord and we can't go back. We must be His without end or interruption. There will be stumbling among the best of us, but a renewal of the covenant is the antidote to the poison of backsliding. He who has truly made this covenant with the Lord, has given himself entirely to Christ without reservation, and like Paul has asked, "Lord what will thou have me to do". This is a covenant bound by love.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Honorable Mention

2nd Tim.2:20 "But in the great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor"


Every Christian is a chosen vessel unto Christ, the question is are we to honor or to dishonor. Every believer should live a dedicated life to Christ and His cause. Having a compelling desire to be used of God in whatever way he chooses. We must be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ, we must study Gods word, that we might be a workman not be ashamed, and  be useful to the master, prepared for every good work. See it is Jesus Christ which gives us the power and the tools to fight this spiritual battle, he equips us for this ministry of reconciliation. Through Christ, the presence of God enters our hearts, and has the power to transform and convert a vessel of dishonor into a vessel of honor. Gods grace allows us to endure all things, that we might with a singleness of mind proclaim with a loud voice the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation.

Let us walk in the power of God,  walking worthy of the name by which we are called that we will be victorious over are enemy and lead all in darkness into his marvelous light..

Friday, November 28, 2014

Praise Ye The Lord !

Revelations 5:12 "Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing

Jesus is worthy to be praised. It is impossible to overstate the worthiness of the Lord to be praised, for he is both the giver and sustainer of every living thing. All of creation owes its glory, strength, and honor to God. Even the lions seek their meat from God, and who provides food for the raven. Man and beast, the blade of grass, the valley, and the sea all find purpose and presence in God; even the rocks will cry out if we fail to do so.
John said The Lamb was worthy, and the books were opened, and we shall all be judged, every man, according to his works. While there is time, worship the Lamb of God! For He is worthy. In heaven He is seen receiving all the honor, glory, and praise, yet on earth He received almost none of these things. In fact, He was ridiculed while hanging on the cross, and he was made a curse for us by being crucified. The solders may have mocked Him, as a false king before His crucifixion, but now He is truly worshiped as a king in Heaven. Do you mock him ,saying he is your King, but living as though He is not. The four living creatures "Amen" in agreement, and the elders do the only thing they could, as they fall down and worship the Lamb who was slain, the Lamb who is worthy.

Jesus paid it all and all to Him we owe. Jesus suffered bled and died to atone for the sin of mankind. He is worthy of all the praise, so let our living say with a loud voice, Lord we praise you, while our life is one that shouts of worship for the precious Lamb of God, for He is worthy. Let us sacrifice as He sacrificed, give as He gave, and love one another as He first loved us that all might know the glory of the Lord....

Thursday, November 27, 2014

The Cheerful Giver

2nd Corinthians 9:7 "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: God loveth a cheerful giver." .

Often times we the professed of God tend to equate giving as the material things of this world. We sometimes think of blessings as only material gifts or the empty things of this world. There are many blessing we receive daily that are neither material or of this world. Let us remember to be cheerful givers of the heavenly things as well as the earthy stuff.

God loves a cheerful giver, and believe me there are times when the giving of the worldly and earthly gifts are truly needed. We must be careful not to just limit our giving to the things stuff and material blessing we have. we should also cheerfully give of our selves, our time, and the surrender of our lives that His will might be done in and with our lives. Let us cheerfully give of our study time that we might rightfully divide the word of truth. Let us cheerfully give to Sunday school and bible study that we might be better example to those who follow us. Let us cheerfully lay down our life, denying ones self, to become a living sacrifice that a lost soul might be saved.

God wants us to cheerfully want Him and His way, not because we are fearful of hell but because we desire to be with Him in heaven. Let us be cheerful givers to Him, of Him and for Him that all might be saved.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The Power In Giving

Romans 8:32 "He that spared not his own Son,but delievered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things".

Living a godly life is much more than merely calling on God's name. Living a godly life is doing what pleases God. It is practicing what he commands us, and living a way of life which is defined by his word. Jesus taught us the way of life, a life based on observing God's commandments from a heart of love, that willingly makes personal sacrifices for the sake of others. A life which puts focus on us giving rather than receiving.

 As Christian we cannot base our way of life on our own ideas about right and wrong. God's law and Christ example of perfect obedience to those laws, set the standards for the Christian way of Life. Our new life is based on giving, a free gift given by God to all who will receive it. Giving is the way of God and the foundation of His love to mankind. Let us use this same foundation as we give to a lost world that which God gave to us, His only begotten Son. Christ taught that God's way is the way of giving rather than the normal selfish human way of always getting. The key to living a way of life different from the way of the world is to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, so we can have the mind in us which is also in Jesus Christ. Through His spirit, God not only leads us in the way we think, He also helps to change the motivations that govern our actions. This focus on unselfishness rather than the self-serving approach produced by our natural way of thinking brings, in turn a dramatic change in the way we live and everything we do.

As Servants of God we need to reorder our priorities, by allowing his spirit to change our thinking. When we put God first ,he promises to provide ways for us to meet our needs. He promises that He will with hold no good thing from us. give and it shall come back to you....

Monday, November 24, 2014

Say Thanks By Giving

John 3:16 " for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life".

 In this time of thanksgiving we find ourselves being thankful for many things. We are thankful for our jobs, health, food ,clothing, family, and for the day. But none of what we have would be possible if it wasn't for what God gave us. Let us be sure we are thankful for Jesus.

Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God went through all that He did for us and because of us. The Son of God became the son of man, so that the sons of man could become the sons of God. By His stripes we were healed. Because of His shed blood we are saved from sin. Because He choose us we can live a life everlasting with our Father. Jesus paid for it all, as He accepted for us the wage paid by sin. Let us be thankful for Jesus. Let us share Him this thanksgiving day. Offer Him to a hungry soul that they too might feel the joy of salvation on this thanksgiving day.

Bless our Father in heaven this day by sharing with others that which He shared with you. Say thanks by giving the meat that will last a lifetime, break the bread of heaven with a hungry soul that they might eat to life everlasting. Let the day of thanks be about more than sharing cakes and pies, turkey and dressing, football and beer with friends and family. Let this Thanksgiving day, be a day of Thanks by giving, share with a lost and hungry soul the blessings given to us from our Heavenly Father.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Actions Speaks Louder

James 1:22 "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves".

It is great to know the word of God. To be able to quote scripture and give others directions as to where to find what in the bible. But our greatest strength as children of God comes when we are doers of what God instructs in His word. we deceive our selves when we say one thing and do another. Remember God is not mocked.

The Apostle Paul tells us in the 2nd chapter of Romans that it is not the hearers of Gods law that are just before Him, but the doers who shall be justified. We as professed children of the Lord must let our lights so shine that those in darkness will know the way to the light. Jesus said we were chosen to bear fruit and fruit that will last, and this is done by doing not saying. Lazarus never spoke a word in the bible, but the word says that many wanted to kill him because his life lead other to believe in Jesus ( John 12:10-11).

When our witness goes further than just simple lip service we can lead others to Christ. Remember we live in a seeing is believing world, and if they don't believe what you say at lest they might believe the miracle which they see. You and your new life in Christ......

Friday, November 21, 2014

Our Death-His Life

Colossians 3:3 "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God".
Does your life confess Christ before men? Does the life you live world bear witness that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God? Does it tell a dying world there is a Savior who loves all and who can save all. Does your life bear witness that Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation?

As believers we are dead to sin, we are hid with Christ in a new life.What does this mean?  It means that God counts us hid in the resurrection and the life of Christ.When Christ arose, He arose to a new life, not to his old life. He died to the old life once and for all. Therefore, when the believer is said to be hid in Christ, it means that God counts the believer risen with Christ. God counts the believer as risen to a new life as he has died to the old life. When you are hid in Christ, Christ is the only life that God sees as living. Christ is your life in the eyes of God, the life which you live you now live through Christ who gave himself for you. You are a living sacrifice as you have died and the life you now live is a life hid in Christ. He is your life

We shall surrender our life totally to Christ, after all we are dead, and the new life is hid with Christ  in God. Let us walk in your newness of Life.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

He Is The Truth

Galatians 5:9 "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump"
.Many congregations today are being turned away from the salvation of the Lord, towards the riches, and false hopes of this world. But the truth is, the only hope for the backslider is to turn back to Christ and obey His truths.We are called to obey the truth, for God does not call us to error. Any teaching, persuasion or position that leads you away from the truth of Jesus Christ is not of God.


Know the truth and obey the truth, for a little untruth makes the whole story a lie. Leaven stands for for evil corruption, fermentation and infection. It takes only a little leaven to permeate and influence the whole lump of dough. So it is with false teachers. One false teacher, can inject his/her false teaching into the church and it will soon permeate and influence the whole church. If we don't root out the false teachers and clean out the false doctrine, the truth would soon be destroyed. Anything being taught that is not in the bible is not God's revelation, but man's imagination. Jesus Christ would no longer be the focus of attention. The congregation would begin to focus on rituals, ceremonies, and good works instead of Christ. They would begin to try and approach God through their own selfrighteousness and merit, with Jesus Christ being placed on the back burner. His prominence and the absolute necessity of His righteousness and death would be downplayed. This is always the case when false teaching is allowed in the Church, or when the church leadership is lifted higher than the great head of the Church.This is sometimes done unaware, how many times do you refer to the church you attend by the name of your Pastor or Bishop instead of the name of the church.
 
Jesus the Christ is the truth of God's word in the flesh. Learn of Him and share Him with all you see.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Jesus Loves

Isaiah 53:5 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

When Jesus suffered and died on Calvary's cross, the sin of the entire world hung on his shoulders. This weight He carried, we are not designed to carry. Jesus suffered enormously so that we might be saved.

Jesus allowed his flesh to be crushed, ripped, and torn. He suffered and died a gruesome death. He was the substitute who took our punishment, who paid for our crimes, that we might be made whole, that we might be made the righteousness of God. Through his suffering, we are blessed, through His death we have abundant life. It was our sins that pressed the crown of thorns on his head, our hatred that slapped him, and spit on him, our disobedience which mocks him. He was wounded for our transgressions, and died for our sins. It was by His bruises that healing was made available to all who will surrender their lives into the Masters hands. Jesus looked beyond all of our faults and he saw our need, and he supplied our every need.

Because of Jesus death, lost sinners can find their way back to the Heavenly Father again. Jesus, our mighty hero who poured out his life and his blood for us. Our gentle Savior, who died for us, and now intercedes for us in Heaven. God now looks upon all who believes, through a lens stained with the blood of Jesus Christ, and where there once stood a sinner, there now stands one washed in the blood of the Lamb...............

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Thank God For Jesus

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 been offered a chance at heaven. Without God our natural nature will always choose to do that which go against God. But it is God's will that we repent of our sin.and 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 deserve.
 
 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. 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 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 word. Jesus gives us the power and willingness to live the life God calls all of us to live.
 
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 sin and walk in a newness of life which is in Christ Jesus.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Spiritual Birth

John 3:3 Except a man be born again ,he cannot see the kingdom of God.

The word of God says that if you believe with your heart the Lord Jesus, and confess with your mouth that God has raised Him from the dead thou shall be saved. This is the truth of salvation, but in this there must also be a new birth which takes place. It is a spiritual birth for Jesus said you must be born again.

Some seem to think that once we have made this confession, one can live any kind of life. The truth is if you have been born again, the spirit of the new birth will not allow you to continue to live the life of the old man. The spirit will convict the conscience and the old man and his ways will begin to die off. You will find that the things you use to do you won't desire to do them anymore. There is a lot which come with the belief and confession. It causes one to repent and turn from sin and turn to God, as it creates in the believer a new heart. If you find that you still continue in the ways of this world without conscience, go to God in prayer and seek His power and work out your own salvation that you might live a life pleasing to God. Remember the enemy is a deceiver and has fooled many into believing a lie.

Many think when we give each other instruction in righteousness with the word of God we are challenging their salvation, the truth is we are to aid one another when we fall down, the bible says if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore him in the spirit of meekness. remember if someone takes the time to instruct you in righteousness be thankful cause that person is of the Lord, cause we know the enemy is not going to tell you anything right.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

He went Forth

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

Here we have Jesus at the end of His earthly ministry. Here He is in the garden preparing to drink from the cup. The garden where it all begin, sin begin in the garden, and his suffering began in the garden, and in the garden was where the redeemer was promised. Here is Jesus, the promised seed  making ready to bruise His heel on the head of the serpent. Jesus knew His Father's will was for him to die for the sin of the world, and he knew he would need His Fathers help, so here he is in the garden seeking His Fathers face. Here we have a great picture of total surrender, for knowing all things that should come upon him, Jesus went forth.

Jesus knew the awful separation from God he would endure because of our sins, yet he went forth. He knew he would be cut off from God's presence, that His Father would have to forsake Him, and turn His back on Him, because he was covered with our sins, yet he went forth. He knew the coming judgement on sin that would be excersied upon Him by his Father; knowing all things that should come upon Him he went forth.When they tried to make him king he withdrew and disapeared in the crowd, yet he went forth to be our sacrifice. He went forth in complete surrender, he went voluntarily,
he was not driven, he was lead like a sheep to the slaughter,he went forth. He knew of the suffering, pain and the impending judgement that lied ahead, yet he went forth. He knew he would be rejected, despised, sold out, lied on abandoned, slapped, spit on, falsely accused, whipped all night long and then nailed to a cross, yet he still went forth. The world he came to save was coming to kill him and he didn't hide in the garden like Adam, he went forth.
 
Jesus went forth that we might be spared, He went forth to die so we might go forth and live a life that is pleasing to God. He went forth to save us, that we might go forth to lead others to the salvation of the Lord Jesus stepped forth in our place that we might step forth to save someone else. Knowing all that should come upon him, Jesus surrendered for you, now will you surrender to Him?

Friday, November 14, 2014

Merciful Savior

Exodus 34:6 "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth."

The sun rose today on a selfish and wicked world. God's gift of life and provision along with the offer of salvation were freely doled out. This is just a small demonstration of God's steadfast love, and the faithfulness He has for his creation. He allows the rain to fall on the just and the un-just.
Nothing we will experience on earth can compare to the mountain top experience of Moses as he talked to God in all his glory. As God passed near Moses again He emphasized His love and the depth of His mercy showed in His forgiveness. Through the worship of the golden calf and the activities that followed, the Israelites broke many of the commandments they had recently received and promised to obey. In response, the Lord told Moses of his love and capacity to forgive their sin, wickedness and rebellion. That was extremely good news for the people who needed His forgiveness and restoration. God is still expressing that capacity today, for all who seek him.Look around you, see the evidence of God's faithfulness and goodness, His mercy and His patience. Not because we were so good, but because God is that Good, and He loves us just that much.

We might be tempted to think that the people of Israel were an especially challenging group of people. But we're stubborn and stiff-necked people too! We take God's goodness for granted so often. How desperately we need His compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and steadfast love in our lives! What would we do without God's abiding presence?

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Both Day And Night

Luke 2:43"And when they had fulfilled the days,as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem;and Joseph and his mother knew not of it."
Here we have a story that is not all that strange, it happens every Sunday. Jesus is left at the temple. t While in church,we worship him,we praise him, we pray to him, call on him, preach about him, and lead people to him. But it seem that when we leave the church, we leave Jesus. We suppose that he is with us, yet we have left him.We have left him at church and He is missing from  the rest of our life.

We sometimes get so busy with our praise and being a Christian, that we forget to take Jesus with us when we leave the church.We are so busy trying to show the world how saved we are, that we forget to let them know there is a Savior. We need to take Jesus outside the church and make him part of every aspect of our life. He needs to be in our whole life. Include Him in your marriage and see How blessed it will be. Invite Him in your homes give Him rule, take Him on your job and let Him shine, don't leave Him at the church. Jesus needs to be seen in every aspect of our being, after all we profess to be born of Him. Jesus needs to be just as much a part of our life outside the church, as he is inside the church.

When his parents realized he wasn't with them, they began to seek him.They looked everywhere, even among their kinfolks, and when they did't find him, they turned around and went back to where they last seen him.When we realize we are no longer walking with Jesus, we to must turn from our wicked ways and diligently seek him. Let us live Monday through Saturday the life we profess on Sunday that a lost world might be saved.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

In Him I Trust

Hebrews 11:6 " But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must  believe that he is,and that he is a rewarder of them  that diligently seek him".

Trust and fidelity; faith in God and faithfulness to His word are essiential aspects of the way of life. Infidelity, the absence of faithfulness is a major cause of broken relationships, especially marriages. In any close relationship faithfulness and trust are vital.Commitment is the foundation of any loving relationship. Both side has to be faithful in order for the relationship to flourish.

Belief in God is not enough;such faith without works is dead. A living faith an active faith is a must. We must be doers of the word and not hearer only, decieving ourselves.We must demonstrate our faith by walking in God's word and trusting in his promises. Abraham's dynamic example shows what living faith in God really is. Abraham not only believed in God, but he also believed what God said and followed what God commanded.This is the way we must live, to live a life pleasing to God.Since God is faithful to us, he expects us to be faithful to Him. He expects us to believe in His faithfulness, to trust Him with a loyal heart. Because he trusted God, Abraham lived the way of life that pleased God. Since genuine Christianity is a way of life, God expects us to prove our faith with our actions and deeds.This is the way those in the hall of faith lived.


Putting God first requires faith and sacrifice, as Christians we are face with trials and suffering just as Jesus and the disciples did.Such suffering is not unusual, almost everyone suffers in one way or another. But God's servants understand that their trials and suffering;can help them build character. They know all things work together for good to those who love God .Those who have faith in God's faithfulness, are confident they can trust Him to act on their behalf. Trust in the Lord, for He never fails

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Love is.........

1John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love

The standard of love goes beyond what we might feel we should do, it is what Jesus teaches us to do. The prime example of giving and forgiving is seen in our heavenly Father, who showed kindness to all the world as he gave his only begotten son to die for the sin of man. This is the love we must show to others that they might see the glory of the Lord.

 Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments. Now even though we profess to be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us, when it comes to keeping Jesus commandments we often fall  short. But He is a forgiving and a giving God. His purpose for our life has become our main focus. He told us to take His yoke for it is easy, and his burdens are light. His commandments are to Love God and to love each other. He is so giving that He gives us the strength to do what it is He commands . We must be careful not to put more love, care and preparation in our stuff than we do our savior. He has not only forgiven our sin, but he has also given us the strength to obey His  commandments.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the way of love, the truth of what love is, and the life of love we are to live. Let us walk and communicate that love to a lost and dying world, that they may come to know the person and way of love. 

Monday, November 10, 2014

Doers Of The Word

John 12:10-11 "But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus".
The Lord said "let your light so shine before man that they see your good works and glorify your Father which art in heaven".Light is seen, and not heard. Jesus wants us to live a life that shows who He is. But many are busy telling  the world they are saved, telling the world what God can do ,but the life they live tells a different story all together. Our life should tell a dying world that the Savior lives.

Here we have one who lived such a life. Lazarus doesn't say a word in the entire bible, there is no record or reference of him saying anything. Yet the life he lived was one that caused others to believe in Jesus. Lazarus was dead and Jesus called him to life. His new life with Christ was such a powerful witness, that not only did it lead others to believe, but the religious leaders wanted to put him to death along with Jesus. We were once dead in sin, once wrapped up in the guilt of sin, and held captive in darkness, but Jesus called us into a new life with Him. We should let the light of our new life so shine that a lost world will believe on the only begotten of the Father.

Jesus said "If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me". It is when we lift Him with the living of our life which draws lost souls to Him. A Christian doesn't have to say he/she is one, the life they live will tell the story.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Jesus On Display

Matthew 10:32 " Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven".

Does your life confess Christ before men? Does the life you live in this world bear witness that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God? Does your walk proclaim a living Savior who can save all. Does your life bear witness that Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation? are you a living testimony that Jesus lives?

Jesus wants the world to know that there is a savior who lives, and He Is that savior. It is not about us being saved, it is solely about Him as the savior. He wants our life to be one that confesses Him to a dying world. Much like the children of Israel, when they openly placed the blood of the lamb over the door post so the death angel would know they were of the Lord, we to must confess our alligence to Christ openly by proclaiming His word and showing His love to all we see that they might know Jesus Christ is the way.We must openly walk in obedience to His word, do His will, and lead a lost world His way. Our life must put the savior on display, He said if He is lifted up that will draw all men unto Him.The world must see His love working in us, His mercy coming from us, and His power keeping us on the path of righteousness. Don't just confess Him with our mouth, live a life before men that will lift Him up to draw lost souls to Him to be saved.
Be careful not to just confess Christ with our mouth, and then live a life of denial before man. Let us do a self examination and honestly ask if the life we live in the real world, bears witness that there is a Savior who can save anybody. Put Jesus on display with your life.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Not My Will

Luke 22:42 Saying , Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done

The heart is the seat of man's affections and will. The heart attaches and focuses our affection, will and devotion to an object or person. The heart causes a man to want, to give himself either to good or bad. To love Jesus means that a person focuses his heart, affections, and will upon God and by surrendering to the will of God.

To truly show our love to God we must give all we have, and are to Jesus Christ that He might do as he will with our life. He died that we might live so we must die that He might live in us and through us, that God's will be done in and with our lives. Our love must be strong and purposeful in accepting mistreatment, as we shows our trust in the Lord and his ability to use the situation for his Glory. Jesus not only taught us our love must be strong and purposeful when mistreated, but He teaches us to also be merciful to those who mistreat us that God might get the glory. This is how we let our lights so shine before man. Re.member the Father daily pours out new mercy on us daily in spite of how we treat Him, and we must love others as He loves us, that His will be done.

The will of the Father goes beyond what others might do or what we might feel we should, it is what Jesus teaches us to do, it is what he did. In the garden He said not my will but thy will be done. As we go through this life let us also remember, not my will but thy will be done.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The Truth Heals

John 8:32 " And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free".

Many believe that the truth hurts, but in reality the truth actually heals. Jesus says He is the truth and  we know He is a healer. Many struggle with the truth, and with sharing the truth. There are times in the house of God when we struggled with the truth not wanting to hurt feelings, but we hinder the healing, of a life. It is only by the truth of God's word that man can be saved. 

 Here we have Jesus teaching the truth of Gods word, and like today he was met with opposition. We must be careful not to disregard something as being the truth  just because it goes against personal beliefs or tolerated lifestyles. There is so much being taught in the house of God that is not the truth of Gods word, and many will sit quietly by and let it be taught. The word of God didn't change because the world changed. If it was a sin in Abrahams day it is a sin today. The bible tells us Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever, and since Jesus is the word of God made flesh, we must believe he hasn't changed. It is the truth of Gods word that makes us free from the lies and deception of the enemy. It is the truth of Gods word that makes us free of sin and the guilt of sin. His truth gives us the power to live a victorious life.

Jesus taught that when you believe the word of God you know the truth, and it is in this truth that we are made free. The truth is man was destined for hell, when God sent His only begotten son to die on a cross for the sin of the world. The truth is only those who believe this truth and receives in their heart, Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior, and confess this truth with their mouth will be saved.The truth is, as it was in the days of Noah, all who are not in the ark of safety will perish. So let us live in the truth of Gods word and be free from the wiles of the evil one..

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

I Surrender All

Matthew 15:8 "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me".

We Live in a very self-absorbed society we have to work to stay away from the self centeredness which surrounds us. We adapt through worship to Jesus. The word worship these days seems to have been limited to the couple of hours we spend in the church house on Sunday mornings. True worship  is done in spirit and in truth. That is in the spirit of God and the truth of how we live our lives daily. It is not a lip service it is a surrender of the heart. Does your worship end when you leave the church house or do you worship Him with your life?


 The word of God tells us to present your body a living sacrifice unto the Lord. We worship God with our life and praise Him with our living. In our text today Jesus says we draw near to him with our mouth and honor him with our lips, we talk a good game, but most times our life tells a different story. Have you ever wondered why you haven't drawn those in your house to the Lord ? Could it be because they see you outside the church house when you have taken off the church clothes. Many today talk about a relationship with Christ, we speak about how good he is, we quote all the biblical saying with our mouth, yet with our life we deny his person, his power, and his presence. With all that Christ has done for us, should He be happy with the few hours a week we spend in ritualistic exercise that we call worship.

Remember Mary worshipped the Lord, by covering him with expensive oil. Now it wasn't the fact that the oil was expensive that mattered. It was the fact that she worshipped him with all she had, she didn't hold anything back, she felt there was nothing to good for the Lord. Are you giving the Lord all and the best that you have, or are you keeping something for yourself? Are you worshipping Him with all your life or is it just Sunday morning lip service.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Ever Present!

Luke 2:28-30 "then he took him up in his arms, and blessed God and said, Lord ,now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."

There are times in our life when we go through some things, and we don't recognize Jesus working in the mist. We often go through trials and tribulations feeling that we are all alone and not seeing God at work in our life. But the word of God tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We must just diligently seek Him in all that we are going through.

 There was a lady with cancer, she tried to be upbeat about it ,but after a few weeks of chemo, a bout with pneumonia and a stay in the hospital she became angry with God.Then one day her friend helped her to see things differently: She told her you may not see Jesus, because you aren't really looking for him. She said what about the doctors and nurses you've witnessed to about Jesus, the encouraging visits, the constant flowers? What about your son, who is praying and attending church for the first time. Then the lady realized Jesus was there all the time. God doesn't make us sick, yet he is redemptive and knows how to make great things come out of adversity. Our text today shows us that if we pray to see our salvation God will hear and answer our prayers.

During our times when we make mistakes, or during times of confusion and despair, if we expect Jesus to be there with us we will not be disappointed. God will give us eyes to see him and a mind to know him-that he is faithful.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Just A Little Lie

Galatians 5:9 "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump"

The Galatian churches had back slid den. They were turning away from the truth,from Jesus Christ Himself. Many congregations today are also being turned away from the salvation of the Lord, to the riches, and false hopes of this world. But the truth is, the only hope for the backslider is to turn back to Christ and obey His truths.We are called to obey the truth, for God does not call us to error. Any teaching, persuasion or position that leads you away from the truth of Jesus Christ is not of God.

Know the truth and obey the truth, for a little untruth makes it all a lie. Leaven stands for for evil corruption, fermentation and infection. It takes only a little leaven to permeate and influence the whole lump of dough. So it is with false teachers. One false teacher, can inject his false teaching into the church and influence the whole church. If we don't root out the false teachers and clean false doctrines, the truth would soon be destroyed. Anything being taught that is not of the bible is not God's revelation, but man's imagination. Jesus Christ would no longer be the focus of attention. The congregation would begin to focus on rituals, ceremonies, and good works instead of Christ. They begin to try and approach God through their own self righteousness and merit, with Jesus Christ being placed on the back burner, and out of sight for many.His prominence and the absolute necessity of His righteousness and death would be downplayed. This is always the case when false teaching is allowed in the Church, or when the church leadership is lifted higher than the great head of the Church. This is sometimes done unaware,how many times do you refer to the church you attend by the name of your pastor or bishop.

We must first know the truth ,to obey the truth.This christian life is a race, and Paul told the Galatians that they had been running the race well, having believed in Christ,they had been living for Christ sharing the good news of Christ, and worshiping and serving him with a great zeal.There had been nothing fake about them, they were not Sunday morning Christians, but someone had stepped in with a false doctrine that begin to hinder there run. But knowing the truth Paul was confident they could overcome and get back on track by turning back to Jesus Christ, the truth of God's word.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Stay with the Lord

Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless  I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love

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. In the book of Hosea Ephraim was condemned for mingling with heathen nations, learning their works, and serving their idols. Ephraim 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 cannot come unplugged from our power source.

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 be one thing with our mouth on Sunday mornings, and something totally different in our hearts the rest of the week.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

In Him Place Your Trust

2Chonicles 12:14 "And he did evil,because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord".

Here we have the sum of Rehoboam's life, he was not so bad as some,but he did evil in various ways, not so much from design as neglect. His heart was not thorough with the Lord, and he, himself,was not willingly consecrated to the worship and service of the true God. But many are like Rehoboam the unready, many whose hearts are not prepared to seek the Lord.


Rehoboam did evil because his heart was not prepared to seek God, so it in turn was seeking the things of the world. When we don't seek after the things of God, by default we chase after the things of this world. When you don't worship the true God, your heart is by default worshiping Idols that we have elevated to the high places of our lives. Jesus said  if you are not for him you are against him, there is no in between. Let us prepare our hearts to seek the guidance and direction of the Lord Jesus through prayer and sacrifice. Let us with self denial give our hearts solely to the Lord. Let us confess our need for God in our whole life. Cry out to Him for help and wisdom. Surrender to His guidance, seeking to be right in all occasions by searching the scripture diligently and with prayer as to what we should do. Serving Him carefully and earnestly, leaving nothing to chance,being lead by His spirit, and obedient to His word. 

Many fall by the way side because they are unprepared, they start off fine, but become distracted and lead astray chasing after the false riches of this world. Their hearts are not prepared to seek the Lord, so they follow godly advise from ungodly people,thus leading them to do ungodly things.Let us surround ourselves with the wisdom of the Lord by joining ourselves with the people of God. Have some prayer warriors in your life, not those that beg God for stuff, but those that worry God for change.Learn to cry out to God and He will learn the sound of your voice, and answer your prayers.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Stay The Course

2 Timothy 4:7 "I have Fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith".

We must keep moving forward, trials will come and sacrifices will be required, but we must stay the course. These test help us to build godly character. James wrote count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. It is the going through trials which helps in the perfecting us for this long journey home.

Jesus cautions us to count the cost of traveling this road, just as we would with any major endeavor. No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for God's kingdom. Jesus expects us to finish what we start. Just as a small child learns to walk, we may be wobbly at first, stumbling in this new way of life. The temptations and trials we face will sometimes cause us to stagger and fall. But remember that God the Father and Jesus Christ are there to comfort and help us each step of the way. Our job is to keep striving with God's help and to become mature Christians. Living God's way must always remain our priority. We must continually seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. There are some things that can help us stay the course through the many challenges we will encounter along the way. We must stay in prayer and continue in the study of God's word. Also fellowshipping with other true believers can be a tremendous encouragement in living our new lives dedicated to God. Jesus said not everybody who says Lord Lord will enter into His Kingdom, only those who do the will of the Father.

We are given a choice as to what we will do, but Jesus clearly expects that we do our part in remaining faithful to Him. We must produce fruit in our lives that is pleasing to God. Stay the course, we come to far to turn back now.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

He Told Me To Run On

Galatians 5:7 "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth"?
Here we have Paul praising the Galatians as he said "Ye did run well". It is great pleasure to see the called of God running well. To do this they must run on the right road, run straight forward, not turning to the right or the left, at top speed, with their eye on Christ. It is a great grief when such are hindered or put off the road. The way is the truth, and the running is obedience. Men are hindered when they cease to obey the truth. It is a great thing to find out who has hindered us in our race.

It is a good thing to be walking in the ways of God, but it is better to be running, making real and visible progress. Day by day advancing in knowledge and understanding of God and His word. The Christian race is by no means easy. We are hindered in running the race set before us because our sinful nature still remains regardless of how righteous we think we are.Because of the entanglements of the world, our weakness and infirmities, we soon tire but the race is long and the road is tough. Some are too busy to run, they hurry about the worldly things to much to run. Some run to fast at the beginning that they run themselves out of breath. We are also guilty of replacing the reading of God's word, with self help books about God's word. These tend to hide the word of God from our mind  and we have no time to read the bible.

So don't let anything and anyone cause you to be disobedient, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, and run on to see what the ends going to bring.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Ask and You Shall Receive

James 4:2b "Ye have not, because ye ask not"
  
There was once a father and his son on a camping trip. They were traveling on a ready made path to a camp ground. As they were making their way up the path a large rock blocked the path.  The boy desiring to be his own man though he would move the rock. He gripped the rock on both sides and tried pushing the rock but it never moved. The boy told his father It won't move. His father told him he wasn't using all his strength, so the boy tried again pushing with everything he had, but the rock still didn't move. The boy said father I used all my strength and I just can't move it. The father said you haven't used all your strength, the boy a little upset now grab hold of the rock and pushed, sweat rolling down his face, yet the rock never moved. The boy said father I used all my strength and still the rock didn't move. His father looked at him and said you didn't use all your strength, because you never asked me to help.

There are many stumbling blocks that will sometimes block the path that God has called us to travel, and like the boy in our story many of us will get frustrated, change course or even give up because we try to move these obstacles by ourselves. But the Lord is our strength in our time of weakness. He says we have not because we ask not, He and He alone is our ever present help and our strength. God called us to this journey not for us to travel it alone but for us to lean and depend upon Him to carry us through. Let us call on the Lord to aid us in moving the mountains which hinder our journey, let us use all our strength. We can have if we ask and only believe.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Trust In The Lord

2 Corinthians 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doeth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us".

Here we have yesterday, today and forever; as we consider the past , present and future, each one by itself. We may also view them in their relation to each other. Our text points out the delivering mercy of God as it is working out the safety of his people. God has and will continue to deliver all who calls upon the name of the Lord.

Now the text suggest three trains of thought, memories of deliverances in the past. delivered from the   grips and death of sin. Deliverances in the present, by the hand of the Lord, from the unseen dangers of this life, and the constant and subtle assaults of Satan. Our present standing is solely due to the grace of God. With expectation let us look upon the future. Faith rest alone in God, in whom we trust, and through him we seek our future deliverance;  from all future trails and tribulation. We know God will deliver us and it is in him we trust. 

We know that the Lord will preserve us to the end, and thus we say "In whom we trust that he will yet deliver us". When we learn to trust in God, we will then know He is our deliverer.