Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Life In The Spirit

Greetings My Friends;
The Holy Spirit is someone mentioned in prayers once in a while. Untold numbers of people acknowledge His existence, but don't have a clue about His function.
A number of religions do not teach about the Holy Spirit. This is a real offense to those seeking God. The Holy Spirit does so much in a believer's life. Jesus feels that the Holy Spirit is so important that when we are saved, we receive the Holy Spirit automatically. Before Jesus went back to heaven after He rose from the dead, He promised His followers that He would send them a helper. That helper was the Holy Spirit.
When the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they received the ability to do what Jesus did, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything Jesus did, was done with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit.
Talk about power. All believers can be baptized in the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:7 – 11 talks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All of these gifts are given for the benefit of all. Briefly they include, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gift of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues.
All of this may be hard for a lot of people to accept . The fact is, they are all written in the Bible, so it is not imagination or speculation. These gifts are given as needed by the Holy Spirit. He is not limited to only these gifts however.
Most believers interact with the Holy Spirit every day, and don't even know it. For example. Have you ever heard a little voice that told you something, and you ignored it to find out later that you should have listened? I count on the Holy Spirit so much, that if I park at a store, and I get an uncomfortable feeling, I will change parking spaces. I am serious.
Every day before I read the Bible I ask the Holy Spirit to help me understand and remember what I read. He always does. I count on Him for everything. He helps with decisions all the time. Praying in faith with the name of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will make what looks impossible, come to pass.
There are countless books about the Holy Spirit. Really get to know Him. He wants you to call on Him for everything, including perfect health. Don't scoff at what I say, but rather try it for yourself.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father. I repent of all my sins. I know that Jesus suffered and died to forgive me of all my sins. He rose again to make salvation possible and to conquere death. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart, and be my personal savior. Help me to live according to your plan for my life. Thank you Lord.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Love Your Neighbor

Greetings My Friends;
How many times have you heard or read that you should love your neighbor as your self? How about the fact that everyone in the world qualifies to be your neighbor. How do you do that?
I think we need to take a good look at the word love in this context. This love is not exactly like the love we have come to know, such as love for spouse, kids, parents.
1 Corinthians chapter 13 does a pretty good job of telling us what love is and what it isn't. If all of it is applied to our  families, it would make an unbelievable relationship. But what about your billions of neighbors in the world?
First of all, relax and realize the Lord is not asking you to do the impossible. Your only around a few people a day. How do you love them? Let's take a look at 1 Corinthians for some answers.
Love is kind, does not envy, it does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, rejoices in truth. These are just what I look at as just regular getting along with people. Imagine if someone treated you this way. Pretty nice?
Through all of this you can add financial help to the poor, physical help to someone who needs it, encouraging words in a tough situation, prayers for everyone you meet. Blessings to someone who irritated you, like another driver for instance.
Do yourself a big favor and read 1 Corinthians 13:1 – 13.. Soak it in. Meditate on how you would like everyone to treat you, even if you were less than easy to get along with. When you are finished with all of this prep work, start treating others that way.
I think that after a while, your life will be much better. You won't get aggravated as much, things will look better, and you will be happier. One giant plus. The Lord will be happy because you will be reflecting His light to everyone you meet.
So you see, when you look at it from that point of view, it is not that hard to love your neighbor as yourself.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father. I repent of all my sins. I know that Jesus suffered and died for me to forgive all my sins. He rose again to make salvation possible and to conquer death. I asked you Jesus to come into my heart, and be my personal savior. Help me to live according to your plan for my life. Thank you Lord.

Monday, April 28, 2014

A Short Story

Greetings My Friends;
Today for a change I will tell you a short story I heard the other day, and how I interpreted it.
There was a lion, a bear, and a unicorn in a cave. The cave opening was as big as a regular door. One day an evil king wanted to take over this cave. Well the King had an army of thousands. He attacked the cave, but with the opening so small, only one or two of his men could attack at the same time. As they did, the lion, the bear, and the unicorn stopped them.
Well the evil King was no dummy. He could see his plan wasn't working, so he tried to make a deal. He called out to the bear and the unicorn, and told them he only wanted the lion. He said, give up the lion, and I will spare you. I will cut off the unicorn's horn, chain the bear, and you will live and perform in my circus.When the bear and the unicorn heard him, they replied, do what you will, but we are not giving up the lion.
As soon as I heard this story, I understood the meaning, at least it seemed that way to me. The lion was the lion of Judah, Jesus Christ. The bear and the unicorn were you and me. The evil King was satan.
Picture satan and his horde  of followers attacking believers. The small opening in the cave is God's protection for us so that we can keep evil at bay, and not be overcome. satan wants us to give up Jesus. He promises us that as his slaves, we can live in his evil circus.
We must be brave like the bear and the unicorn, and refuse to give up Jesus. By the grace of God, satan is under our feet, and he has no power over us.
Just my thoughts on this little story. See if it makes sense to you.
Father. I repent of all my sins. I know that Jesus suffered and died to forgive my sins. He rose again to make salvation possible and to conquer death. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart, and be my personal savior. Help me to live according to your plan for my life. Thank you Lord

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Where Is God???

Greetings My Friends;
One of the most controversial subjects to talk about is Jesus Christ. Many people get upset and even hostile when His name is mentioned.
I guess we have reached a point in time where Jesus is not politically correct. It is fashionable to ridicule His name, and those who believe in Him. People have been systematically taking God out of everything.
Our God has been replaced by many other gods in this world. I don't have to mention what they are, it is obvious to everyone. Every little group claims its rights based on the Constitution. That is fine, and it should be, but not if it takes away the legitimate rights of someone else.
Again the favorite target is God. Many atheists want to take any reference to God from our national anthem. I guess it never occurred to them that no one is holding a gun to their head to say the words they object to.
There are people in government willing to do things like that to help them get elected. The pretense is that they do things like change the National anthem in order that some group or other is not offended, even if it goes against someone else's rights.
When a major disaster occurs, and hundreds or thousands of people die, or even one child dies, everyone wants to know how God could allow that. They never ask how Allah, Mohammed, Buddha, or any other God could allow it. Interesting isn't it?
I did not intend for this message to turn into an editorial, but I am tired of blaming God for everything. We take God out of everything, and expect Him to take care of every little thing as if He was a slave.
This country was founded on godly principles. Founding fathers, and leaders in Congress, believed in God openly, and this country was blessed. It seems that as time went on, and we became prosperous and sophisticated, that took the place of God.
If you are reading this, you are probably a Christian or thinking about it. We need to pray for this land of ours, for God to come back to us. To change hearts and minds so that our lives are blessed by God, and we are not a country run by votes from special interests.
It doesn't matter what country you live in. The world would be a much better place with God. Christians should pray every day for peace and justice that comes only from God. Pass it on. Praise the Lord.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father. I repent of all my sins. I know that Jesus suffered and died to forgive my sins . He rose again to make salvation possible, and to conquer death. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart, and be my personal savior. Help me to live according to your plan for my life. Thank you Lord.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Hate

Greetings My Friends;
Hate is one of those words most people use without realizing what they are really saying. We have covered the use or misuse, as well as the power of words. We say things like, I hate this burger, I hate my job, and it goes on and on.
It is written in 1 John 3:15 "whoever hates his brother is a murderer in his heart and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him".
That gives you an idea of what God considers hate to be. The Bible flat out tells us it is a serious thing. When we use any word or phrase, our brains and our hearts become conditioned to acting on those words. As we all know by now, if you keep hearing yourself say things like I hate my job, you will, even if it is not as bad as you make yourself believe. It will get worse and worse.
Sometimes minor irritations  that are caused by someone you are not fond of lead to something worse. We all have someone in our lives that we dislike either  them or the things they do. We must be extra careful in a situation like that. Just because we think they don't measure up to our standards, is an even bigger reason to overlook what we think is questionable on their part. Don't let your pride hurt you, or have any ill feelings toward them.
Perhaps my biggest hot buttons are other drivers, and people who park in handicapped spots when it is obvious that there is nothing wrong with them. For years both of these things really bothered me. I would get angry and self-righteous. It made me feel better to cuss and call them names. Even though those types of feelings are pretty common, that does not make them right. When I think about it now, I realize how ridiculous that was.
One day the Holy Spirit put some insight about this into my heart. People do what they do for any number of reasons. Self-righteous me was also guilty of irritating someone else. I felt that I would feel better if I would acknowledge that fact. Now when someone gets to me, I just  tell myself that there is a reason for what they did, and I ask the Lord to forgive me, and bless them.
At sometime or other, we all do things that bother someone else because none of us is perfect. If God was so quick to judge us by his standards, we would all be guilty. So avoid the possibility of judging, and pride, which can eventually lead to hate. You may not agree with that statement but think about it. Words said in anger often can take a situation or feeling from dislike to hate very quick.
We can follow the example of one who is perfect, Jesus Christ. Forgive and bless someone. Would you like to be forgiven and blessed, rather than to be cursed?
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to forgive all of my sins and to make salvation possible. I asked Jesus to come into my heart to be my personal savior. Thank you Lord.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

How Much Does God Love Us?????

Greetings My Friends;
Have you ever stopped to think about how much God loves you? I must confess that I know He loves me very much, but I guess I really don't think about it as often as I should. Let's take a quick look and see just how much that is.
In the beginning God created man and a perfect place to live. At the time He did it, He knew  man would fall and many would not love Him. He did it anyway. When man became evil, and everything man did was sin, God sent the flood to wipe the slate clean. He planned to try again with the only righteous people in the world that He could find, Noah and his family.
Even as God planned to give man another chance,He knew what it would cost Him. It would cost Him plenty, the only son He had and loved. But He loved man so much, He gave them another chance.
If you read the Bible, you become aware of certain things. God has always blessed those who truly love Him. He has on countless occasions blessed sinners., and people who knew He was God, but did not acknowledge Him or love Him. In spite of everything, he still blessed these people, in order to bring them to Himself. I know, I was one of them for many years.
Think about all the trouble He kept you out of, and you didn't even know He was there. You may think your life is terrible right now. You are broke, trouble with your spouse or kids, no job. Maybe you live in a dangerous place. I have been there,. Well my friend I finally figured out what was going on in my  life,  probably the same thing that is going on in your life. I tried to do it all my way. What I came to realize is that because of His love for me, He kept sending me messages to repent.
Just as the 10 Commandments were given to show man that he needed God, things happen in our lives to show us how much we need God. Some people are silly enough or  influenced by satan to the point that they feel they can do better than God. At this point, many people then blame God for their failures instead of themselves.
God knows that we are not capable of loving Him the way He loves us. He is okay with that. He just wants us to trust Him in all things, and love our neighbor and the poor.
Every man at some time in his life is called by God and satan. God blesses, and satan curses. All of us have a choice to open the door for God or satan to come into our lives. Neither can come into our lives unless you open the door. Your eternity depends on who you choose to follow.
Remember. God is love, blessings, forgiveness and eternity with him. satan is hate, condemnation, and death for all eternity.   It really is your choice, God does not send you to hell, and satan does not send you to heaven.  Take responsibility for yourself and choose wisely. There are no second chances when you get to eternity.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Father I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered and died and rose again to forgive those sins. He also made salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart and be my personal savior. I give my life to You.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Never Fear

Greetings My Friends;
The other day I was having a conversation with a very close friend. I know this person to be a very loving Christian. I was very surprised when he told me that he was concerned about going to heaven.
I asked him why he had doubt. For whatever reason, he allowed satan to condemn him. He told me that he didn't feel like he was saved. He started talking about some very minor things that he had trouble dealing with, but then came out that he saw a movie about the end times and the rapture. He then started wondering if he would've been taken.
The that was a good place to start. I reminded him about John 10:27 – 29 it says "no man shall shake me out of his hand for I have eternal life"{paraphrase} that made him feel better, but it just fueled the conversation.
There are many people like him I think. They love the Lord with all their heart, so much so, that they start to worry if they love Him enough. First of all, none of us can love Him enough. Thoughts like that are attempts by satan to cause doubt.
This individual earnestly prays for anyone and everyone. I'm sure this is very pleasing to God. The problem with some people is, and that includes my friend, they never feel they have prayed enough for an answer. And this sometimes causes some doubt to enter in.
So here is what I told them, because this was on my heart. Go to your concordance and find a half a dozen uplifting verses dealing with whatever is troubling you. Memorize them, and say them out loud, as often as it takes to engrave them in your heart. Remember the power of words. God did everything by words and faith.
The next thing you should do is go to your private space, and have a parent child conversation with the Lord. Tell Him you would like to love Him as much as He loves you, but you are at the present time doing the best you can. He knows that, He is God.
Prayer should be words from the heart. Some people pray prayers that go on, and on but it really isn't necessary. Personally I think the Lord is disappointed when people beg rather than pray. Jesus did everything with words and he expects us to do the same in His name.
God created everything with just a few words. Do like He did. Make your petition short and sweet. Then just receive an believe right then. After that talk to the Lord as much as you want, but make it a conversation of thanksgiving. Believe you have already received what you pray for, and wait for His perfect timing. Keep in mind the fact that God hears the prayers of those who love Him, always.
Of course don't forget, there are plenty of situations, where you speak to the mountain in Jesus name.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again, to forgive all my sins and to make salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart to be my personal savior, and to help me live my life according to Your plan.

Monday, April 21, 2014

The Defeat Of satan

Greetings My Friends;
In the beginning, when satan found out about God's plan for man, his super pride got the best of him. I am sure he felt that man was so inferior to him, that he couldn't let God get away with it. I am sure that in his crazed mind, he not only hated man, but he wanted to get even with God for what he felt God had done to him.
He knew it would take some effort to get God's creation away from Him. If satan could not rule in heaven, he would make sure he could rule on earth. The ultimate thief would steal God's creation.
When satan first saw Adam and Eve, he realized it might be difficult to get them to turn on God. They had everything, so he resorted to trickery. He used his most productive tools, doubt and lies. Well Adam and Eve fell for it, and satan stole their birthright.
I can imagine how satan gloated about his victory. It was probably then that he came up with his master plan to make slaves out of man. When man got so corrupted that God sent the flood, all of the demons celebrated. I'm sure satan did not expect God to give man another chance.
Well after the flood when man filled the earth again, man became corrupted again. This time God sent His only son to redeem man. satan thought that if he could kill Jesus, it would be the ultimate revenge on God. satan wasn't as smart as he gave himself credit for being. He could not see God's thoughts. He stirred people up against Jesus. He appealed to all of man's worst thoughts and feelings. In spite of all of Jesus teachings and miracles people turned against Jesus. They crucified Him.
When Jesus died, every demon, especially satan, probably had a big celebration. They celebrated because they judged God by the way they were.
God threw satan a curve. Jesus rose from the dead, and satan and his minions were in shock. Then they found out that Jesus suffering and death took away a man's sin and afflictions. His resurrection opened the door to salvation, and death was conquered.
The part of this story of satan that is comical and make you feel good, is that  the ultimate deceiver, deceived himself, because God took man back. Remember these few things about satan. He cannot read your mind. He cannot make you do anything that you don't want to do. He is a liar. He will do what ever he can't turn you against God.
God gave us power over satan because of what Jesus did. satan will flee if we invoke Jesus name. James 4:7 "I am submitted to God and the devil flees from me, because I resist him in the name of Jesus".
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to forgive all of my sins and to make salvation possible. I ask Jesus to come into my heart to be my personal savior and to help me live according to His plan. Thank you Lord.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Spring Is Here

Greetings My Friends;
The other day was warm and sunny. I went outside and sat on the swing with my coffee, and thanked God for the beautiful day. It struck me that spring is renewal, and everything comes back.
I believe in the power of words, and I try to use faith filled words as much as I can. I walked around the outside of my house, and as I did, I told each tree how good it looked, told the flowers that showed signs of life how beautiful they looked. I told the lawn how lush, green and weedless it looked. As I looked at the house I told it that it never looked better.
If my neighbors saw me talking, they probably thought I'm a little strange. Well my friends, what I did works. That is why I don't care who sees me talking. When you do what I did, two things happen. Number one, is everything you pronounced really does happen just as you said, and your mindset changes, and you see the beauty. It's peak faith filled words every day and enjoy.
Let's go a step further with these words and revitalization. Try looking at people and seeing what they can blossom into. Do this especially with your spouse and children. I'm not saying you should flatter them and say insincere things. Pray for them, speak life to them, and believe.
Encourage your children in everything they do. The same thing with your spouse. See them the way you want them. Loving, productive, a joy to be around, and happy with themselves. Speak and believe every good thing for them, especially salvation, and the Lord will make it happen. Lead by example.
Speak faith filled words about everything in your life. Neighbors, coworkers, your job, everything. Each faith filled word is a seed that will grow after it's kind. You plant, God makes it grow.
Think about how you would like your life in two, five, 10 years. Plant those seeds today. Remember, if you want a fruit filled cherry tree, you won't get it planting weeds.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to forgive all of my sins and to make salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart and be my personal savior. Thank you Lord.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Plan A

Greetings My Friends;
Being human, almost everyone likes to feel that they have control over their lives. In an effort to accomplish this, we generally have a plan A for whatever we would like. We also have a plan B if plan A doesn't work. Sometimes we even have plan C, D, E, etc.
What we usually finally out is that despite our plans, time and chance have played a big part in the outcome. We are human, so we are prone to mistakes. Don't despair, there is an answer. That answer is God, and He should be plan A. With God you do not need plan B and so on.
Many of us say to God that we put a situation into His hands. In this case lets use selling a house as an example. When we commit that to the Lord, we really mean it. Maybe the next day you hear on the news that the housing market is really down. We try to overlook that negativity, and tell ourselves everything will be okay.
As I said before, the problem is that we are human. As humans, time becomes an issue. Depending on what we are trying to do, time becomes something that makes us worry, or makes us desperate. It works on our minds to the point that all we think about is the problem. We try to come up with contingency plans.
Now we are headed for trouble. We, maybe without realizing it, took the situation back from God. We have come up with other plans. After all, God was taking too long. By doing this we have set ourselves up for disaster. satan can step in, and he usually does, and he will really bring in the confusion. You can probably guess the rest.
After we make some bad decisions, we finally figure out that the best place for the problem is with God, so we give it back to Him again. The situation has probably become much worse by now.
The reality is that the problem, regardless of what it is, will probably bounce back and forth between us and God several times. The reason things take so long sometimes, is that when we give the problem to God, he sets the wheels in motion. When we take the problem back, everything stops and goes back to square one.
I think it reaches a point where there is a pause in the spiritual world, in order for you to make up your mind. After all you have free will. You decide who will handle it. But God will not do anything without clear instructions from you.
I say all of the above, because that is what I used to do. I found out a good while back, that if you sincerely pray, put plan A in God's hands, and tell your brain to stay out of it, you win.
When Cortez came to Mexico in the early 1500s, he had 500 soldiers on 11 ships. He came to conquer the country against enormous odds. In order to make sure his men did their best, they burned all the ships. They had to win or die. They had no choice. Sometimes no choice works the best. Go with the Lord to begin with and give yourself no other choice.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to forgive all of my sins, and to make salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart, and to be my personal savior. Thank you Lord.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Resurrection Day

Greetings My Friends;
This message is about what is to me, the most important day in anyone's life. The anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I think many of us grew up never knowing much about the day most people call Easter. I don't know how you were taught about Easter, but I can tell you that I never knew just how important it was.
I went to a religious school, and church every Sunday. The Bible and our church and its importance were never mentioned. Teaching involved 2 verses on Sunday and that's it. Religion classes involved memorizing questions and answers that we were required to know. There was no teaching at home, and no Bible. Parents were brought up pretty much the same way, so they didn't know any better. I left church after grade school.
A number of years ago, my wife and I started searching for God because we had emptiness in our hearts we couldn't explain. One day we ran across Pastor Arnold Murray on TV. He went through the Bible verse by verse. He was on from about 2 AM until 5 AM. We taped his teaching every day, and watched it in the evening.
When Easter came, one of the things he covered was how people celebrated it. He went on and on about Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny,  and just about everything we associate with Easter. At the time I thought he was a little ridiculous in the way that he was talking because everything he said seemed pretty harmless to me. When I think about it now I feel bad that I was not aware of just how right he was.
Praise the Lord for all of the preachers on TV. There are many good ones out there, who are exciting to listen to. It is a rare day that at least one of them doesn't give some insight into something that we never realized before. They explain the significance of so many things, it really is uplifting. The Bible and Jesus have finally become valuable.
When you realize that when Jesus went to the cross, he took all of our sins and sicknesses with Him. They were on the cross with Him. When He died, so did our sins and sicknesses. When He rose from the dead He defeated satan, and by extension so did we. He also made our salvation possible, thereby giving us eternal life with Him.
Here is something to think about. If you have a child that is the most precious thing in the world to you, who do you know that you would let your child go through what Jesus did for that person? Better yet how about for the worst person you know,or ever heard of ?
God the father loved us so much he sent Jesus to save us. Think about how much love that took and how much it would be unappreciated. He did it anyway. That is the God we serve. We must pass that love of God to everyone, especially our children. You could write books about the importance of resurrection day, but the space here is pretty limited, but I think you get the idea.
By the way, I believe with all my heart everything I say. I only wish I could express my feelings about Jesus much better than I do. My feelings about Easter and what Jesus accomplished at his death, are so mind-boggling to me that I get so emotional that I can hardly speak about it. I only wish I could put into words how I feel. I trust in the Holy Spirit to put on your heart what resurrection day really means.
God blessed His people through Aaron the priest;
God bless you and keep you
God cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
God lift up His face unto you and give you peace
Prayer of Salvation;
Father I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to forgive all of my sins and to make salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart and be my personal savior.
Remember Jesus Loves You, And Have a Blessed Day

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

You Are Not Alone

Greetings My Friends;
When you are a sinner, satan talks to you all of the time. You don't realize it, because you are a sinner, and his suggestions seem very agreeable. You may even consider the worst things, as normal or good, because in a lot of cases, he has taken away your discernment of right and wrong. Your heart becomes corrupted.
When you find the Lord, satan will attack you for sure. He is relentless. He knows from experience that if he is persistent, a lot of people will cave in and go his way.
As we have said before, one of his best tools is doubt. He tries to convince you that you are not saved. Why would God forgive you? He tries condemnation by trying to convince you that God no longer loves you, because you just don't measure up.
There are probably millions of other people in the same boat. You aren't the only one. The best thing you can do is go to the concordance in the back of your Bible, and find a couple of verses you can use to defeat him. Say these verses often. He is attacking you because you are on the right path, and that scares him.
In our church, we pray for healing for anyone who needs it. This is every Sunday after the service. In talking to some of the people, you hear a lot of the same thing. They will say things like "I was healed, but three days later the pain came back". Further conversation reveals that they were waiting for or expecting the pain to come back. That was the door for satan to come back, so he did.
When you pray about anything, you must believe, and continue to believe. God does not bless you one moment and take it away the next. When he heals you or answers the prayer, it is for good. Only you can give it away to satan.
It would be a good idea to keep this fact in mind. Your faith is not what makes things happen. What causes healing for instance is your belief and trust in the Lord to do it. When you speak to the mountain in Jesus name, your faith and belief is that Jesus will then bring your command to fulfillment.
Here are a couple of verses to quote to satan. Remember that attacks on you will happen. You can be the victor through Jesus. Remember that Jesus always forgives, no matter what you have done.
1 John 4:4 "greater is he who is in me than he who is  in the world"
James 4:7 "I am submitted to God, and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the name of Jesus".
Galatians 1:4 "I am delivered from the evils of this present world, for it is the will of God".
Remember Jesus loves you
Prayer of Salvation;
Father, I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to forgive all of my sins and to make salvation possible. I ask Jesus to come into my heart to be my personal savior. Thank you Lord.
God bless you and keep you
God make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
God lift up his face unto you and give you peace

Monday, April 14, 2014

Making Almighty God Happy

Greetings My Friends;
All believers have at times wondered how they could possibly make God happy with them. They have heard things like "good works of man are as filthy rags". Boy that will make you think. There is a way however.
It makes sense that if you read the word of God, there should be some clues. The fact is that besides clues, there are countless statements of fact that will cause God to be happy.
Read the words of Jesus in the New Testament. He wants us to trust in him with all of our hearts, as was stated in the Old Testament and Proverbs 3:5 – 6. He also tells us that believers walk by faith and not by sight. He tells us to love the Lord with all our hearts, and have no other God than Him. Follow the Commandments.
Okay. Just from the small paragraph, and Jesus teachings, we have learned what it takes. First of all, our God is God. Our families, jobs, positions, money, are not God. None of it can be number one in our lives. God is number one, always. Whatever your mind and heart dwell on, is your God.
We know God cannot lie, therefore, whatever He said in His Word must be true. When He sent His apostles up to preach, He told them to take nothing with them. They all did just fine. They walked in faith and not by sight. God does not get that drastic with us, but he still expects us to count on Him for everything. That makes Him happy.
In my messages, I don't ask for money, so you can believe what I say about giving. We are to help the poor. Basically what He said was, "to whom much is given, much will be expected".It is against the Lord's will to ignore those in need when you are able to help. Sowing and reaping as the Bible says it should be done, is absolutely true. Following God's will, with all our heart, always makes Him happy.
To say much more about the goodness of the Lord and all of His love for us would take countless pages, so I'll stop here.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father, I repent of all my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to forgive all of my sins, and to make salvation possible. I asked Jesus to come into my heart to be my personal savior. Thank you Lord.
God bless you and keep you
God make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
God lift up his face unto you, and give you peace

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Believing The Bible

Greetings My Friends;
Believing the truth of the Bible is pretty much of a challenge for most people. Many people say that they believe in Jesus, but the Bible has too many holes in it. They look for things to reject.
Let's take a look at the Bible again, this time through spiritual eyes, not human eyes. The first thing we have to do is recognize that nothing is impossible with God, and the next thing is that God does not lie.
The Bible says what it does, because it was inspired by God. When you accept that fact, you must also realize that if God wrote the Bible, He would make sure that those He dictated it to would get it right.
I have heard the arguments that if God is a loving God, He would not send people to hell just because of what they themselves did not consider important. They are trying to make themselves feel less condemned when they spout off like that.
When you tell these people that the Bible means what it says, it is not up to us to say what God really meant. A lot of people cannot get it through their heads, that God does not send people to hell, they send themselves, by the choices they do or do not make. The Bible makes it very plain, that only through Jesus can a person be saved. At that point, the conversation is usually over.
People that believe in evolution, and totally reject creation, have a long list of questions they cannot answer. An example is the fact that fish fossils have been found in mountains. The remains of different species, have been found a half a world away from where they belong. Oil and coal are found in the wrong places. Those are just for starters.
 Another frequent argument is Noah's flood. Besides where did all of the water come from? It is impossible for so many people, and animals to show up that quick in the historic timeline. How could people be so advanced so quick? How come historical records didn't record the second beginning?
Well my friends, it is a matter of faith. I look at it this way. If some of what is in the Bible is wrong, the whole thing becomes suspect. God is a liar at that point. God however is not a liar.
I believe that when we get to heaven we will find out how and why. Remember we are dealing with a God who can do anything. If God wanted 10 million people on the earth  one day after the flood, all He had to do was say so. He could have planted 65 million-year-old dinosaur bones the same way. Maybe this sounds simplistic to you, but nothing is impossible with God.
Remember, God created the world in the first place. He can manipulate whatever, whenever, and wherever. He is God. We just have to believe. As the old saying goes, and it does show up in the Bible, the bowl does not tell the Potter how to make it.  Give your brain a rest, relax, and let your heart guide you. Stay in the word and just believe. If I am wrong, you haven't lost anything. If I am right however, you stand the chance of losing everything.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father, I repent of all of my sins. I believe Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to forgive all of my sins and to make salvation possible. I ask Jesus to come into my heart to be my personal savior. Thank you Lord.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

More On Prayer

Greetings My Friends;
As time goes by, I see more and more answers to prayers by people I know. Some pray as a routine, some pray for particular things, and some pray out of desperation. All of these people have one thing in common they believe in prayer, in varying degrees. Some are faith filled, many don't feel much either way. For the latter, it is usually something that gives them comfort, but they don't really expect results.
I believe that the majority of people do not understand how powerful prayer is, when it is done through faith. I believe this is a result of not being taught properly about prayer.
Faith in prayer for most people takes time. The first thing you need to do, something most people would ridicule you for. That something is to stop thinking with the natural human brain, and concentrate on what God says in His Word.
No matter how outlandish your human mind thinks something is, don't pay any attention to it. In the spiritual world, where prayer works, nothing is outlandish or impossible. The next step is harder for very successful people to accomplish. The more intelligent a person is the harder it is. I'm not saying you need the IQ of a tomato plant to be successful in prayer. What I am saying however is that you need to develop the faith and trust that a regular five-year-old has.
It is written in Matthew 18:3 Jesus said "assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven".
It takes effort to do that, but it is necessary when it comes to faith. The next thing is to pray with a clean heart. No sins, unforgiveness toward someone, etc. Repent and then pray. You may want to start out pray for little things that you can believe for. Then start stretching your faith. Realize that it is written, that nothing is impossible for them that believe, and love the Lord.
It takes time to get where you need to be, but it certainly is worth it. The next message contains ways people pray that get results. These are in addition to some discussed in the past.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer Of Salvation;
Father I repent of all my sins. I know Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for me. I acknowledge Jesus as my personal Savior, and I ask Him to come into my heart. Thank you Lord.
A blessing from the Lord through Aaron the priest to the people;
God bless you and keep you
God cause His face to shine upon you
God lift up His face unto you and appoint unto you peace

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Ways To Pray Continued

Greetings My Friends;
An over whelming number of Christian teachers, will tell you never to use the phrase "Lord if it be thy will", or even think of it. They call it a faith killer, especially if you are praying for healing.
The Bible is full of verses that show how Jesus never refused to help someone. Jesus always spoke the answer, not the problem. He told us to speak to the mountain. The mountain of course is whatever the problem is or regardless of how big it is. The big requirement to getting prayers answered is faith. His will is always to help us.
I write about my own situations a lot because I believe other people go through much of the same thing. I feel my stories may help someone realize that they aren't the only ones struggling with something.
Since I became a Christian, I read a lot of books written by preachers, especially old-timers. Reading the Bible is a daily thing. CDs are a help, you always learn something. I do this stuff to build my faith. I tell you these things not in a boastful way, but to show you what can happen if you get too concerned with learning. Sometimes you have a tendency to think too much.
I arrived at the point in my prayer life where I believe in the power of prayer so much that it was causing me a problem. How can there be a problem you may ask? Well here it is.
We have all heard that God has a plan for each of us. His plan is the best. Well one day I prayed about something, I don't even remember what it was. Then I started thinking that maybe that was not God's plan, and if it wasn't, I didn't want it. Well I tell you what, that kind of prayer and thinking will go no where.
The next thing I did was pray that I follow His plan for everything, and to help me keep my two cents out of it. Then I read that God does not do things like that because we have free will, and must make our own decisions. Now what do I do?
Then one day I was talking to the Lord, and it came to me. I told the Lord about everything in my heart. I said to Him, Lord you know what is in my heart, and you know what your plan for me is. Open the doors and give me your guidance so that I can make the right decision.
I am of the group that believes in praying in the spirit. When I don't know how to pray about something, I let the Holy Spirit do it for me. To me this is the most effective thing you can do. For me at least it leaves no doubt. I believe I have what I ask for as soon as I pray. I also believe that the spirit prays God's plan.
All of these ways to pray are good. Find a way comfortable for you that helps you to believe the result. Just remember as I've said many times, the Lord hears your prayers, and He always answers prayers for your good.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father, I repent of all my sins. I know Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for me. I acknowledge Jesus as my personal Savior, and I ask Him into my heart.
A blessing from the Lord through Aaron the priest to the people;
God Bless You and Keep You
God cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
God lift up His face unto you and give you His peace

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Ways To Pray

Greetings My Friends;
Today we will look at some of the ways people pray, and what seems to be the best for most people. Some are a little easier than others. One or more of them might help you. If you heard some of these before, please be patient, because some people may have missed them.
First you have written prayers that we are all familiar with. There are prayers for every subject you can think of. I think these prayers are the hardest. When you repeat prayers from memory or a prayer book, at least for me, it is very unfulfilling, so it becomes difficult. It is hard to concentrate.
I give you an example. I went to a religious grammar school. I probably recited Lord's prayer a couple of thousand times. I never thought about it. 50 years later, I find out what that prayer means by analyzing each line. Guess what. It is a beautiful and powerful prayer.
Many people feel comfortable repeating prayers constantly. Many were and are under the impression that the more times you say a prayer, the quicker you will get results. That leads to many disappointed people, and unbelief in prayer.
One of the most popular ways for a majority of Christians to pray is pretty simple. Just talk to the Lord as you would your best friend. He wants you to, and He listens. Just pour out your heart. Tell Him everything that is on your mind. For instance. If you are having trouble forgiving someone, or having trouble believing, tell Him. He loves you more than you can imagine,and He will help. As it is written "cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you".
Another good way is to put your conversation on paper. Or you can just put your request on paper. Include a verse or two about whatever you pray for. Add the line I believe, and I receive right now. Read that prayer out loud. What you hear, you believe, and it goes into the spirit world were it is fulfilled and ready to manifest in the natural world. This may seem a little radical to some people, but I think a lot of you probably agree with that way.
Every day, at least once, hold the paper and say out loud. Lord Jesus, I thank you and praise you for answering my prayer.That is all there is to it.   Just believe that He always answers the prayers of those who trust and love Him. More to come.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father I repent of all my sins. I know Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for me. I acknowledge Jesus as my personal Savior, and I ask Him to come into my heart. Thank you Lord.
A  blessing of the Lord through Aaron the priest to the people;
God bless you and keep you
God cause His face to shine upon you
God lift up His face and give you His peace

Monday, April 7, 2014

What Does That Mean

Greetings My Friends;
Many times in our lives, we have heard that we are to carry our cross daily. Okay, but what exactly does that mean?
I struggled with that one for a long time. Is it something that you are to be afraid of? Does it mean sickness or heavy burdens?
It is not uncommon to be nervous or afraid to put your self in that spot. I know I was. You ask God to help you follow His plan for your life. You hope he goes easy on you. You soon realize some things about carrying your cross. To begin with you forgot how much God loves you. Your cross will be a custom fit, not too heavy, and not to light. No disasters start to fall on you.
After a while you get pretty comfortable, and go on with your life. The pitfalls show up when we forget about God. When that happens we take our lives back, and follow our own plans. We make bad decisions that create giant pitfalls. The sad part about the whole thing is, most of us then blame God.
If we carry our cross, we do not forget God. We read His Word every day, even if it is just for a half-hour or so. We treat everyone the way, Jesus told us to. We follow everything Jesus said as it applies to us. We just carry on our regular life, the way we are supposed to according to the Word. That really is all that carrying our cross really means. Just live your normal life, without complaint or feeling sorry for yourself.
If you have any questions or problems, or big decisions to make, just ask the Lord to help you make them. When you do all this with a happy heart, you will find that your prayers will be answered, and your decisions will be good. You and your family will enjoy peace and prosperity. When you look at your life that way, and include the Lord every day, you will eventually realize that you are content.
Here are a couple of verses that you may want to memorize and repeat every day.
Proverbs 3:5 – 6 "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.
Prayer of Salvation; Father I ask you to give forgive all my sins. I know Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for me. I acknowledge Jesus as my personal Savior, and I ask Him into my heart. Thank you Lord.
The Aaronic blessing; The Blessing Of The Lord Through Aaron The Priest.
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord causes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord lift up His face unto you, and give you peace

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Follow The Voice

Greetings My Friends;
The last message was about hearing the Holy Spirit. Now we will get into acting on it. What I am about to write happens to the majority of us. It certainly has happened to me, and maybe you too.
You hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in your heart. You feel happy and privileged. Let's say he tells you to do something, and you get all excited about being chosen to be used.
Now you begin. You thank the Holy Spirit and ask for guidance, then proceed. In the beginning you do it every day. For the sake of an example, let's use talking to people in nursing homes. The idea is to help people find Jesus.
Every day you go out for a couple of hours to talk. Let's say you go to one home a day, and five a week. The same five every week. People are happy to see you. Well most of them are. You feel you are doing what the Holy Spirit says.
As time goes on, your human brain begins to kick in. You start to wonder, because it seems not much is happening. You may have hit the point a while back where you stopped asking the Holy Spirit for guidance . You might start to rationalize. If the Holy Spirit was really involved, people would be getting saved. That is just what satan wants you to think and believe.
I'd like to make a couple of things plain at this point. First of all you need to get back into the relationship with the Holy Spirit, in order to hear His voice loud and clear again. Recommit yourself and repent. Before you know it you'll be right back where you were in the beginning when this excitement started. The other thing you have to remember is, our job is to plant seeds. It is the Lord's job to make them grow. Just because we did not see the plants break the ground as yet, does not mean the seeds will not grow.
Never get discouraged, just do what you are supposed to do, follow what the Holy Spirit says, and keep planting those seeds. The Lord will do the rest. satan tries to tell you that stuff, because you're probably doing a good job, and he wants you to stop. He's just plain scared. So take pleasure in the fact that you're scaring the you know what out of him.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation;
Father I ask you to forgive all my sins. I know Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for me. I truly repent, and acknowledge Jesus as my personal Savior, and I ask Him to come into my heart. Thank you Lord.
A Blessing From The Lord Through Aaron The Priest To The People
God bless you and keep you
God causes face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you
God lift up His face on to you, and appoint unto you peace

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Follow The Holy Spirit

Greetings My Friends;
There are quite a few people who are Christian, and saying that they would like to follow the Holy Spirit's leading, but they don't know how. I can tell you from personal experience, that sometimes it is easy, and sometimes it is hard. I'll explain.
If you are born again, you have the Holy Spirit in you. He speaks to your heart all the time, whether you realize it or not. He is here to teach, guide, advise, comfort, educate, and whatever else we need.
You may be saying "that all sounds good but". You guessed it, as with everything else, there is a catch. If you want to hear Him there are a few things you must do.
First understand, that now he is in you. At this point as I always say, read the Word, study it, meditate on it. I am not saying you have to do this constantly. Take the first part of your day, and do two or three chapters. If you have to, get up a half-hour earlier. You would do that to go fishing or to play golf, right?
Next live your life the way Jesus instructs us to; to the best of your ability. Ask God to help you do that, it's no crime. The next thing you have to remember, is that the Bible is a set of directions for life, written by Jesus Himself. The Holy Spirit is here to help us in every way, including understanding the directions.
Since this is what you are dealing with, it just makes sense that in order to participate, we must understand those directions too. The more we read the directions, the more we become a part of the plan. A good study Bible helps a lot. The English standard translation, or the American Standard, are good choices.
Now comes the exciting part. All of this is like a volume knob on your stereo. The more you learn, the louder the voice seems. Always listen to the voice, if it lines up with the Word of God, follow it. That is why you must have knowledge of the Word. He will talk to you constantly. Just get practice listening for His voice, and believe me you will hear it. So whether or not you hear the spirit really depends on you, because He is always there.
Remember Jesus Loves You
A Blessing from the Lord, Given through Aaron the Priest To the People
God Bless You and Keep You
God cause His face to shine upon you
God Lift up His Face Unto You, And Give You His Peace
Prayer of Salvation:
Father I ask you to forgive all my sins. I know Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for me. I acknowledge Jesus as my personal Savior, and I invite him into my heart. Thank you Lord

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Fasting

Greetings My Friends;
Sometimes you hear someone ridicule fasting. As a matter of fact I heard someone the other night, saying that people believe that if they fast, that their prayers will be answered. It looked as if he thought that those who fasted were foolish. It looks like he doesn't know very much about prayer or fasting. Think about what comes next, believe me it works.
Prayer works all the time, whether you fast or not. This is how it works for me. I ask the Lord for healing for instance. I thank him for hearing my prayer. I tell Him I thank Him for giving me my request, and that I receive it right now. At that point you believe you have what you prayed for just as a little child would believe. Visualize it in your heart and mind.
satan will probably attack you, so just tell him it is written "that he has no power over you in Jesus name" if he persists, do what I do. Thank the Lord for your result and just talk to Him. 99% of the time that's all it takes to make satan leave. Keep at it. Speak only faith filled words from that point on. Do not let him steal your victory.
Now we come to fasting the way we believe it should be. After we have received in our hearts whatever it is we prayed for, we fast as a way of thanking the Lord for answering our prayers. Remember just because your prayers haven't been manifested yet does not mean they haven't been answered. You must believe and thank the Lord for the result as it already showed up in the physical world. This is very important.
Fasts vary by what you want to do.
Three day fast, only water and clear broth.
21 day Daniel fast, fruit and vegetables and nothing more except water.
These two fast are the most popular, with many variations on the Daniel fast. It is called the Daniel fast because of what Daniel of the Lions den did.
The more talking to God during a fast, the closer you will get to Him. The rewards over time are great, especially the faith and peace you receive. You start to look at the fasting as something that becomes a part of your life. You might want to think about a three day fast once a month, or a couple of times a year. Just do one that you can handle for starters. It should be however, some sacrifice.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Yahweh bless you and keep you
Yahweh cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you
Yahweh lift up His faith unto you and appoint unto you peace

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Jesus Love

Greetings My Friends;
I do not write some of the things that I do, in an attempt to defend God. He does not need me or anyone else to do that. I just try to pass on thoughts about things I was puzzled by, or just happen to think of. As I said before on several occasions, my interpretations are not biblical, they are just my thoughts. I hope they help understanding.
If you listen to enough people, including preachers and authors, you will find that there are two main opinions about Jesus and the early church.
Jesus teachings brought people to him. The people were not used to hearing about love and mercy, or forgiveness of sins. All they ever heard in the Temple, was condemnation. I doubt that they ever heard anything about love or mercy. They were all so bombarded with the rules, regulations, and tradition. Jesus was like a cool breeze on a very hot day. Many were also led to Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
A second opinion says that it was the miracles that led people to Jesus, and that without the miracles, not too many would have listened. The part usually left out is that in working miracles, Jesus practiced what He preached. Love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness, were all shown in His healing miracles.
Maybe there is yet another way to look at it. This one is my opinion, and not biblical. Jesus preaching and his miracles work together. Not everyone believed in spite of what they saw or heard. Not even the people that were healed, remained faithful. Some stopped believing.
In John 9:3, a blind man from birth came to Jesus. Jesus told the apostles "neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him".
A lot of people take this verse to mean that God made this man blind. Not so, satan did. I believe since satan didn't know what God's plan was, he afflicted countless people in order to get them to blame God.
Jesus came along as in this verse, and used the blindness that satan put on this man to have the opportunity glorify God, by healing him. So it looks to me, that satan outsmarted himself, and gave Jesus many instances to glorify God.
All through time, the Holy Spirit has been working. He led people to Jesus, he was the power behind Jesus miracles. He is alive and well today. He is still leading people to Jesus and working miracles through believers. So the next time you hear someone say that God put some kind of disease or sickness on them in order to be glorified, check your Bible, and you will find out, what I said was true. satan is the one who afflicts people.
Remember Jesus loves you
Yahweh bless you and keep you
Yahweh causes His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you
Yahweh lift up His face on you and appoint unto you peace