The Power of Believing

It Is Written, Galatians 3:22, but the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

There is a common problem with faith, that affects many people. Generally when people start to get to know God, they want to do something to show God how thankful they are. One of the top things that people decide to do, is to pray for others. There are many other goals, but the results are usually the same.

For example. Suppose that you decide to pray for others. You make up your mind on how you will go about it. You have all of the details figured out. The only problem is, you can't seem to get around to doing it.

At this point most people set a new timeframe. When it still doesn't happen, they start to beat themselves up about it. Finally they tell themselves that it must not be God's will for them to pray for others.

Big mistake. What is really happening is, satan is trying to stop you. He knows the power of prayer, so he does all of his tricks to deceive you.

Remember this. As a believer, you have power over satan. Make up your mind to cast him out, and follow God's plan by faith. Intercessory prayer is one of the most powerful prayers,  but as with any prayer, you must believe and have faith that it is, what you say. God bless you and your family. 

Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. 

Thank You Lord

Amen

Surviving A Godless World

2  Timothy 3: 1 - 5

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive,  disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not living good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

As we have said many times in the past, look to the Bible to see the signs of the times. God spelled it all out in His Word the Bible. People ridicule the Bible, and those who read and believe. The truth is the truth. Pride and stubborn ignorance account for many people ending up in hell.

Proverbs 17: 15-16

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, are both alike, an Abomination to the Lord

If you don't know the Word of God, you more than likely will go against what this verse says. In a crime, it is called being an accessory to the crime. so how can you explain that there is some kind of a difference between the two. There isn't.

Psalm 4:1

Vindicate me, o God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!

As you probably noticed, the justice system is corrupt, and evil has taken over. Evil feeds itself, and grows constantly, devouring innocent people. In the worldly sense, you cannot escape. There is nowhere to hide.  the only answer is Jesus Christ, and prayer.

Romans 12:- 2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

So here is the way to deal with the world. repent and welcome Jesus as your savior. Pray for our country to come back to God. As a matter of fact, pray for the world. And ask the holy spirit for help, guidance, and discernment at the start of each day. the only answer to this dilemma is to put yourself and your family in God's hands.

Proverbs 3 - 5 - 6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.

You may slip, and temporarily forget that God is in charge. Dust yourself off as they say, and start again. When things really look bad, never forget, God is in control, and there is no other way. God's plan works for the good, of all those who are His. 

Luke 21:28

Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your hands, because your redemption is drawing near.

 God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

 Remember Jesus loves you

 Prayer of Salvation.

 Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve Only You. 

Praise the Lord!

Amen

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

The Truth is Out

Habakkuk 3:17 - 18 

Though the Fig Tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and a field yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

As is our normal practice,  somewhere in our prayer time the Holy Spirit puts a thought or two in our heads, that we discuss after our prayers.

As you can imagine, politics is on most people's minds. You either agree with someone, or you strongly disagree. Either way the conversation escalates to dizzying levels. Everyone gets worked up, and everyone is miserable.

Romans 13 : 1 - 2

Let every person be subject to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities, resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

If we stopped to consider this first, we realize a couple of undeniable facts. God was and is in charge of everything. He allows what happens, because it brings out the real person in each of us.The Lord puts us in a position, where we show the world who we really are, and can no longer Live a lie without scrutiny from someone. Good or bad, it is in the open. As the Bible says in John 8:32 32 you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. When you know the truth  you can make better decisions. Think about that.  

If you read Revelation, it describes the end times in no uncertain terms. Sooner or later, people will someday experience the end. It could be today, next week, a hundred years from now, but it will happen.

Look at everything as a wake-up call. Get right with God. Pray for salvation of others. In the days of Noah, life went on until the clock ran out. The clock is ticking my friends.

Psalm 34: 22

The Lord redeems the life of His servants; none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

God bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve Only You. 

Praise the Lord!

Amen

The Word Is Life

It Is Written, 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instructions in righteousness.

As most of us know, the Bible is the Word of God. The writers copied what the Holy Spirit told them. It is God's blueprint for salvation.

As most of us realize, there are two forms of life. There is spiritual life, and human life.

Life as most people know it is the here and now. The problem with here and now, it is dominated by satan. satan wants everyone to spend eternity with him. satan has no blueprint for getting to hell, because if most people knew it, they wouldn't follow it. Instead, he looks for weaknesses, and he exploits them. Doubt, fear, and all forms of deceit are among his favorite weapons.

The Word on the other hand, is totally opposite. When you know and follow the Word of God, it is always tougher,, and satan's way seems pleasurable.

The result of following God's Word, includes blessings of all kinds. Peace in your heart and mind, as well as a fulfilling life. The eventual outcome is eternity with God. His Word has all the answers for whoever will follow it. God bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. 

I want to serve only you.

Thank You Lord

Amen

The Talents

It Is Written, Romans 12:6-8, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministry, he who teaches, in teaching: he who exhorts, and exhortation; he who gives with liberality; he who leads, with diligence, he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

When we hear the word talents, in a religious setting, immediately think of Matthew 25:14 to 30. The story tells about a man who went on a journey and gave money to three servants, expecting them to do something with what he gave them. We all know how that turned out.

The average person doesn't realize that God gave each of us talents in the form of intelligence, and abilities, and ambitions of all kinds, such as we see in the Romans 22 verse above.

God expects each of us to use what He gives us, in order to help others, as well as ourselves. Each person's plan from God is supposed to act with other people's plans from God, for the good of all.

When we follow God's plan, and use what He gives us to the best of our abilities, we are pleasing Him, and giving our lives meaning, fulfillment, and peace.

Every person has some kind of gift. We must put out the effort to find it, and then follow through with it, in the name of Jesus. God bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves

You prayer of salvation

Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. 

Thank You Lord

Amen

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

True Forgiveness

 Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. 

Forgiveness is something that is difficult for just about everyone at some time or another in their lives. I guess forgiveness is what the Holy Spirit wanted us to talk about and pass  on to you today.

Have you ever heard “forgive and forget”? Most of us have. The big problem is, those same people don't do it. Some are proud to say,” I forgive, but I don't forget”. Is that really forgiveness?

Let us consider this. Suppose someone hurt you deeply. It bothers you so much you can't forget it. The fact is, that the person who hurt you may not realize they hurt you, so they go on with their life. You however think about it constantly. This person hurt you once, but you hurt yourself every time you think about it. Forgiving someone, and thinking about the hurt once in a while, is not forgiveness. It is still with you.

 Acts 3 : 19

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

True forgiveness is a hard thing. A big part of forgiveness is to forgive and blot it out of your mind like God does with you. Blotting it out is like it never happened. This is what God does with us, and expects us to do the same with others; it tells us in His word forgive others as I have forgiven you. Seems pretty plain don't you think? God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.  

Praise the Lord!

Amen

Salvation For All ?

 

John 14:6

Jesus said to him,” I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”.

The majority of people in this world  are not saved. That is a fact. Why is that? Is John 3:16 wrong?

John 3: 16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

satan tries to give everyone the idea that if they are a good person, didn't kill anyone, and such, they will go to heaven. satan knows that what he is saying is a lie, so he is happy to use it on people who do not know the Word of God. 

Ephesians 2: 8 - 9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Verse  John 14 : 6 above, tells you about the one and only way to heaven. Ephesians 2:8 - 9 tells you we are saved by grace, a gift from God. It is by grace that our hearts and minds are open to the fact that we are sinners and need a savior.

You may be wondering how you get to the point where you can be saved. Nature itself glorifies God and His power. God speaks to everyone's heart. Just open your eyes and heart to the glory of God, and the Holy Spirit will lead you. Don't over-analyze, just believe. The Bible is a set of directions for our lives, but is also a test of faith. It is simple, just believe.

 If you have a loved one who is not saved yet, pray for them.

John 14:13

And whatever you ask in My name that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you pray with a sincere heart, the Lord will hear your prayer. Pray always in Jesus name. The Holy Spirit opens hearts, and quickens a person’s Spirit self to see and accept Jesus as Savior. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you. 

Praise the Lord! 

Amen

The Mind Is a Battlefield

It Is Written, Romans 12:2, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

When the words, Battlefield of the mind, first came to light, it is doubtful very many people really knew what it referred to.

I am a simple person, so I will explain it as I understand. I am sure there are believers out there, that can relate to what I say.

Every person on earth has a mind. Each persons mind decides what the person does. Each person also has a soul, and is a spirit. In human beings, there is almost always conflict between mind, soul, and spirit.

I believe the battle is greater among many believers. Fortunately we have been given the Holy Spirit to help us.

Here is a typical for instance. Our spirits love God above everything, and believe every Word of God. After a time, the soul starts to believe. So far so good.

The mind however flip-flops in belief, and levels of belief. satan tries to plant doubt in the mind, in order to keep us from God. By prayer and the Holy Spirit, we can win the battle over the mind. If we believe, the mind will start to believe too. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. 

Thank You Lord

Amen

Time For Faith

Psalm 27: 14

Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

Well this morning when we were having our coffee right before our prayer time, we were talking about the situation in our country politically and socially, and how there seems to be a general unease among the people. Our conversation was  directed to where God fits into this story of, a country that seems to be drifting away from God. The Holy Spirit is a good advisor.

The times we live in present many challenges to people all over the world. Everything seems to be completely messed up. Leaders all over the world seem to lack the will, or the courage, to work out the problems. They don't know what to do.

Philippians 4:19

And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Believe it or not, many people are not falling apart, and giving up. Why is it? The reason is simple, they trust in God. Those who panic and give up, or want to hide under their bed, don't know God.

The common problem with most people is they are afraid of the unknown. So-called experts are wrong about almost everything, so there is really nothing the average person can count on in the ordinary life of a human being. There are however a good many people who read the Bible, and see that the Bible has already predicted many things that were fulfilled. It was right about the past, so it stands to reason it is right about the future. If you don't read  the Bible, you don't know what  God says about the future  When you know what the Bible says, you can put your total trust in God. You get to know Him, not just about Him. When you know who He really is, and how much he loves you, you can put your trust in Him. You can always rest assured that whatever happens, He is with you. The Bible is the Word of God, and it is the only source of Truth in this world.

It isn't easy at first of course, but reading the Bible, and using a little common sense, tells you that God always takes care of those who love Him. The Bible is full of examples of God taking care of His people. I know it may seem silly, or ridiculous, but Jesus talked about having faith as a child. When He talked about faith as a child, He was describing the trust the children, especially small children have in their parents. They believe without question even if adults think they are stupid or silly for doing so.

So my friends there is a way to get through tough times no matter when or where, and that way is our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We have found from experience  that they will never let you down, no matter what. God bless you and your family. 

Praise the Lord!

 Remember Jesus loves you.

 Prayer of Salvation.

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve Only You. 

Praise the Lord! 

Amen

The Cost of Doubt

It Is Written, James 1:6-8, but let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Doubt is defined as a feeling of uncertainty, or lack of conviction. As you can tell from today's verse, doubt keeps prayers from being answered.

When it comes to God's Word, doubt is ugly, and hurtful to God. Doubt is your mind telling you that the Word of God cannot be relied on. There is no other way to describe it.

When we pray, our spirit knows that the Word of God is always true. Our hearts know it too. The problem is that our minds are vulnerable to negative attacks by satan.

As we know already, thoughts that pass through our minds, do not make us guilty, unless we accept them. The same is true about doubt. If we do not accept, and instead reject them, God will  and does have mercy on us.

God has never lied, and will not lie in the future. All believers are children of God. When we live as we are led by the spirit, we are showing God that we love and trust Him.

If you find yourself starting to doubt, listen to your heart, and call on the Holy Spirit to help you. He will. God bless you and your family. 

Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. 

Thank You Lord

Amen

Trust

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.

If you look at the history of man, you will realize that man has always lived in different times and places, but has always had similar problems. Man has always had to deal with the unknown. Decisions were based on desperate situations, or emotion.

Fast forward to today.  Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun. Man still lives with desperate situations, and emotional decisions. Ask any successful person about how they make decisions, and they will tell you, it takes cold, hard logic. Emotional decisions are a disaster. The best you could do overall, is to make fewer mistakes.

That doesn't sound too encouraging, does it? There is a simple answer. Look at all of the complicated and unexplained things in the universe, and all of what you see, How did they come into existence?  Everything points to a Creator. His name is God.

It stands to reason that if God made it, He can fix it. All the trillions of things that go on at the same time in order to sustain life, and the universe are controlled by God.

When God sent Jesus to bring us salvation, He did it to help us get through this life, and eventually to heaven. When we confess our sins and ask Jesus to come into our hearts and be our personal savior, we receive the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2: 38

Then Peter said to them, repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

What many people do not realize is, the holy spirit was the power that turned the Word of God, into creation. The Holy Spirit was the power behind all of Jesus miracles, even His resurrection.

John 14:26

But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to you remembrance of all things I said to you.

So what does that mean to a believer? Just this. The Holy Spirit will teach,  and help you through daily life. Talk to Him, and listen for His voice in your heart.

Remember this fact. When you ask God for something, you must do two things. Believe you have what you asked, and get out of the way. Trust God, and it will be. Realize that God works in His time and not yours so it may take a while, so be patient. If you follow this idea, your life will not be a mess. God can do everything that we can't.

Psalm 9:10

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for you Lord have not forsaken, those who seek You.

Psalm 37: 4 - 5

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He Shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins and come into my heart as my personal savior.  I want to serve only you. 

Praise the Lord!

Amen

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Luke 6: 37

Judge not and you shall not be judged. Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

As a regular part of our coffee routine in the morning, my wife and I commit our day to the Lord, and ask the Holy Spirit to help, teach, and guide us all day in the way we should go. When we start to talk we just talk about what's going on in our lives at that particular time with nothing special to talk about. We wait for the Holy Spirit to get the conversation going. Before long, usually within 5 or 10 minutes at the most, a subject comes up. This past week, for two days in a row, it was pretty much the same subject so we felt that we should talk about it in this blog.

The first day it was about a very close family member who just seemed to drift in the wrong direction, causing heartache and mental suffering to us  anytime we thought about it. It wasn't about the usual things like drugs or possibly criminal activity or anything like that, this person was drifting further and further away from God. We tried many times on our own and through prayers asking the Holy Spirit to open his heart and mind to Jesus so that he would come to Salvation.

The second incident involved a different family member who decided not to talk to several of us for a number of years. During that time this person spoke lies constantly to anyone that would listen, and as a result turned a number of people in the family away from us. We didn't have the faintest idea of what it was all about.

So you see we have two different stories  both needing the Lord's help to make things right.  In one case it was a form of despair and in another case it took the form of something that needed forgiveness that only God could put in our hearts.

The first person still cares very much about us. I know this because we know his heart. So we continue to pray for salvation even though it doesn't sound encouraging when we talk to him. We realize harsh words and hurtful remarks aren't going to do the job. Only God can get to his heart, so we put everything in God's hands.

The second person actually called the other day. This person wanted to talk about the past.  We told this person that the past should remain in the past. We said we were willing to start over on a gradual basis. At this point this person started talking again about the past and would not let it go. We finally told them that we would like to start over but we could not do it if it was going to dwell on the past.  As I said before both of these situations require the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name in order to get resolved.

Another thing that came to our minds today we realized how we drift from God on occasion. He does not condemn us, He forgives us, He always loves us and gives us another chance. We must all remember that before any of us has a knee-jerk reaction to hurt feelings or any type of offense that someone does  against us, we should take another look at how we treat Our Savior and go from there. Remember God forgives these people and loves these people. If God forgives them, still loves them, gives them another chance, how can we do otherwise. We are all God’s children, saved by Grace and Jesus death and resurrection.

Matthew 7 chapter 6 verse 15, if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your father forgive you your trespasses.

God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you. 

Praise the Lord!

Amen

The Blood

It Is Written, Hebrews 9:22, and according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood, there is no remission.

Anyone familiar with the Bible realizes that blood plays a major role throughout the history of Israel.

Lambs blood was spilled in the Old Testament, in atonement for sins. Lambs blood on door posts at the time of the Exodus was to indicate to death that it must pass the house.

Jesus is the Lamb of God. God sent Him to shed His blood for the sins of man, because only His blood was capable of doing it. When Jesus shed His blood for us, we became righteous in God's eyes

I have always believed that if someone had the blood of Jesus on a towel or even a rag, it had the power to heal physically, spiritually, and mentally. The cloth from Paul touched the sick person, and they were healed. How much greater is Jesus? The Holy Spirit does the miracles in any case.

One of my favorite ways to pray, starts out with, in the name of Jesus, and by His blood, through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is real prayer answering power in these words. Try it. God bless you and your family. Praise Lord!

Remember Jesus loves you

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.

Thank You Lord

Amen

Helping Others

It Is Written, 2 Thessalonians 3:13, but as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.

When most people hear that we should all help others, they usually think about money, and get turned off. The truth is, the Word of God goes far beyond money.

God gave His only Son, so that we might be saved. Jesus suffered for us as He did, so that our sins would be forgiven, our minds bodies and souls would be healed, and by calling on Jesus name and repenting, we would receive the greatest gift of all, salvation.

If each of us makes an effort, we can help many people. Small acts of kindness, such as listening to someone who needs someone to care. A few uplifting words to someone who seems to need it.

Then we have physical help. You may have a neighbor who is sick or elderly. Cut the grass, or shovel the snow. Give them a hot meal once in a while. Give them a ride to the store, or to church on Sunday.

Perhaps the most important thing you can do for friends and strangers, is to pray for them and their salvation. If the Holy Spirit leads, talk to people about Jesus. If you practice what you preach, they will listen eventually. God bless you and your family. 

Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. 

Thank You Lord

Amen