The Holy Spirit In You

Greetings My Friends;

The other day I was reading a book written by John G Lake called your power in the Holy Spirit. The author was a preacher around 100 years ago. A lot of what he wrote, is what we hear today. Some of it really got me started thinking about faith and prayer. It also gave me a new way to look at important things such as the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

I don't know about you, but I was anxious to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. My feeling was that the Holy Spirit was where the power is. Praying in tongues to me was the ultimate prayer. The key to the power. Don't get me wrong, I just wanted to be closer to God, and thought that that was the answer.

The book said that during the time, Paul was teaching, cloths and a few other things touched by Paul were used by believers to heal people. The cloth was placed on the sick person, or just touched the person, and they were healed. The reason these cloths caused people to be healed, is that they were saturated with the spirit of God.

To me that was quite a revelation. He went on to say that when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, every cell in our body is saturated with the Spirit of God. Talk about a blockbuster statement. This way of looking at the baptism of the Holy Spirit changes the way a person looks at everything.

Think about this for a minute. If every cell is saturated with the Spirit of God, how can any evil thing, such as sickness or doubt survive? It can't. Think of it this way. This is my example. Suppose your cells were soaked in antibiotics, could a germ survive?

We have all heard that the Spirit lives inside of us. We have a tendency to see that blessing with human eyes, and don't usually give it much thought. When you look at it spiritually, you start to realize what we have. For one thing it is written "where two or more are gathered there I will be also" the way I look at it the Holy Spirit and I are in agreement, and are together always. This is a no-brainer.

When you pray for someone, you are a contact point. Just like the cloth in the story of Paul. You are passing Jesus faith and healing power to the other person. The great thing is, Jesus never runs out of faith or power, so you can always be a conduit.

I speak more on this subject at another time, and in the meantime, ask the Holy Spirit to help you see what you have been blessed with.

God Bless You and Remember

Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation;

"Oh God in Heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen"

Prince of Doubts

Satan is without a doubt the greatest deceiver the world has ever known. His career of lies and deceit , started back in the Garden of Eden. When he spoke to Eve, he stirred up doubt by his comment "has God indeed said?" You know the rest of the story.

We are all attacked to varying degrees. His favorite trick is to make us think that God doesn't love us, and wants to punish us.

Satan brings things into your life that take advantage of your weaknesses. If you are worried about bills, he will really get to work making everything worse. You will start making bad, desperate decisions. You will start complaining that something always comes up to take your money. A common remark is every time I get a couple of bucks, something happens.

Maybe you feel that your marriage is less than perfect. Your children are nothing but trouble. He will make you dwell on these things to the point where you feel you are serving a life sentence on Devils Island.  Anger will cause you to lash out at your family, causing things to get worse. Comments like "what a lousy marriage I have" "these rotten kids will never get better" the devil wins again with your help.

While all of these things are going on, satan is putting thoughts in your mind like "if God really loved you, would he let all of this happen to you"?

I know two people who are convinced that God hates them t. It seems that they are oblivious to anything that is contrary to what they believe. God's grace can take them from satan's grip. He gave us His Word. No one is lost unless they choose to be. God loves all of us.

satan tries to put so much doubt into your mind, that you will not even think of reading the Word. He knows he cannot fight the Word of God.

Another trick of his is to get you to speak so many negative words about your situation that you actually bring on what you say. Just as faith filled words produce good, negative words produce destruction. Negative words help satan against you.

Read and believe the Word. If you are a believer, satan has no power over you in Jesus name. Becoming a believer in your heart is the answer to everything. If you aren't already, do it soon. God calls each of us, but we have to accept His Son Jesus in order to be saved. He died for us to prove His love. The more you know of God's love the smaller the chance of satan deceiving you.

God Bless You and Remember

Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

"Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen"

Fellowship

Greetings My Friends

Defined as a community of interest, activity, feeling, or experience.

For most of my life, I had never experienced fellowship as it relates to church. The religion I was brought up with, at least in our church, except for everybody being there at the same time, there was no fellowship.

I was so turned off by our religion that I left the church at a very young age. Except for one attempt when our son was born, I had not gone to church in many years. I never even thought about it. One day I heard a preacher on TV.  It sounded different.  He had a real Bible-based message, and I started to watch him semi-regularly. The next thing I knew I was a regular, and I started looking for other preachers. After a while, I was watching three or more preachers every day besides the original one.

I started reading the Bible and watching my preachers. I learned a lot from them, and I felt that this was a terrific substitute for church. At one time or another they all talked about finding a good local church that was Bible-based. I wasn't too keen on the idea. I don't know if it was because of my past experience with church, or just plain laziness, but I fought the idea for a while.

One day my wife said that she thought we should find a church so we could be with other believers. At that point we started to checkout churches. We're looking for a church that taught what we were learning on TV. When we got to church number five, we found it. Well when we started going to the small church, no one had to explain fellowship to us, because this was a church of believers that felt like family. Kind of the way the Bible describes the body of Christ.

All I can say at this point is, I believe in fellowship for several reasons. You really get to know people. If one needs prayer, some or all of the others pray for them. If someone is struggling with something, you get a chance to help, or someone helps you. You learn from each other and witness to each other. Also it is written "when two or more are gathered together in my name I will be there also".

If you've never associated with other believers, you are a juicy target for satan. Yes you have power over him in Jesus name, but he can make you so miserable until you remember that. If you call someone from church, we help each other to realize sooner that you are children of the most high God, and satan has no power over you in Jesus name. At the same time the fire of the word is rekindled in your heart. There really is no substitute for fellowship and the life of a believer.

God Bless You and Remember

 Jesus Loves You;

Prayer of Salvation;

"Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen"

Types Of Seed

Greetings My Friends;

When you mention seed, most people don't want to hear about it. It is true that tithing is mentioned a number of times in the Bible.

Genesis 28:22 "And this don't know which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that you give me, I will surely give a tenth to you"

Leviticus 27:30 "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lords. It is holy to the Lord".

As you can see tithing or seed planting referred to many things. The Hebrews raised livestock and produce of all kinds. They didn't have much money so they brought what they had.

An example that I have heard many times, is an ear of corn. It is just one ear with let's say 100 kernels. You take the best 10 kernels and plant them. Take care to water them and they will each produce 500 to 1000 kernels. It works the same way with everything. A large return for what is sown.

We usually don't stop to consider the various types of seeds we can plant. Kindness to others, not just friends but strangers too. Any little thing done from the heart will eventually produce results. Volunteer for a worthy cause. Give your time and effort with a happy heart. Take the time to just listen to someone who needs someone else to talk to. You may be thinking, how can this help me? Well my friends, if you do it because you love God, he will bless you. Start paying attention, and you'll see what I mean.

Luke 8:11 "Now the parable is this: the seed is the Word of God" the parable he is referring to is the one about the sower and the different kinds of ground. If you want to check it out, it is in Luke 8:4 – 10.

This is without a doubt the greatest seed you can plant, and we get it free.  Study the Word diligently, put that seed in your heart. Give it the living water from reading the Word. You will find that you grow into a new man or woman. You will be showered with so many blessings in this life that you will be amazed.

All good works or deeds are rewarded by the most high God.

God bless you and remember

Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

"Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen"

God Versus satan

Greetings My Friends;

I just thought I would pass on this short message because I really believe someone needs it. If we step back and take a look at our lives, it is easy to see how we have been conditioned or brainwashed to follow what everyone else is doing or thinking. In so doing we fall into the situation satan wants us in.

As I write this you may not agree, or even think I am off my rocker. What I say to you is a result of personal experience and is completely true. The brief background can apply to anyone.

We all grow up under different circumstances. Some parents believe in God, and some don't. Some are well-off, and some aren't. We mostly grow up the same way our family does. One thing we all have in common is God loves each of us and has a plan for us. He even goes so far as to make sure everyone sees God one way or another. He wants you to come back to Him.

It is easy to see satan at work. Just look at what is happening in the world. satan tries to convince you that creation happened by itself. The sad part is some highly educated people fall for that line. He wants you to believe that God does not exist. If you believe there is no God, he tells you there is no such thing as sin. Do whatever you want, everything that gives pleasure is good. He is out to destroy man's soul.

A more subtle way he operates this by making seemingly harmless things such as a house something that we must have it all costs. Better job, more money, and a constant supply of stuff we must have. His purpose for all of this is to keep you thinking about stuff, which will keep you from thinking about God.

Another sneaky way he operates is to make you think about what you don't have. Some people spend their whole life in depression and obsessing about what if. Here's where he can get you to think God hates you, and that is why things are the way they are for you. He can keep you so messed up you don't know if you are coming or going.

Now let's look at something else. If you accept Jesus, and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, a number of things will happen. You will discover that the things you don't have, including lifelong dreams, is still just stuff. Choose to believe that whatever you are doing that lines up with the Word is part of his plan for you. Do not be a slacker, you are working for Him. Be sincerely thankful for everything he gave you. When you are ready for the next step, it will happen, and it will make you happy.

Remember Satan hates you and wants your company. God however, loves you unconditionally, allowing you to be happy in this life, as well as the next.

God Bless You and Remember
Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word  and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your  Spirit , in Jesus name. Amen"

Jesus Incredible Love

Greetings My Friends

I was reading my Bible and got to the part where Jesus suffered in the garden right before his crucifixion. Much has been made of this especially by unbelievers. Even some Christians doubt, claiming He was God and didn't feel anything. Some say He was very scared, and couldn't handle it. All kinds of stories. Well I have my version too, and it is quite different.

Since I was not there, I can only speculate like everyone else. Some say he did not sweat blood. Well my friends there is a condition known as Hematidrosis. It is usually caused by extreme anguish, or physical strain. Subcutaneous capillaries dilate and burst, mingling blood with sweat. Sweating blood seems reasonable to me.

Reade chapter 17 of John. If ever anything was written that shows more love, I would sure like to know what it is. This chapter is so beautiful it brings tears to your eyes. At the most stressful part of His life, so close to what he was going to suffer, he thought only of his disciples and all believers. In His prayer to His Father you can see without doubt how He loves the Father, and all who believe in Him.

The next thing I believe is this. All through His ministry on earth, He encountered unbelief and mans inhumanity to man. Even His apostles didn't seem to believe or understand as much as you would expect. They lived with Him over 3 years and He taught them all that time. They saw his miracles; they healed people in His name, and still didn't completely believe. Before we judge them too harshly, we should look at ourselves. We have His words, and see creation. Do we believe more than they?

Next I think His anguish was at least partly because He thought maybe He should stay longer. I think that is what prompted Him to speak to the Father the way He did.

Hell was created for Satan and the fallen angels. When sin came along man was doomed. To God, sin is sin whether man or Satan. God loves man, so He decided to send a son as a savior. If anyone accepts this gift from God, and acknowledges Jesus with their mouth, their penalty would be paid by Jesus.

When you put all of this together, it would not be a stretch to think that Jesus felt He should stay longer. He had to trust men until His second coming. He didn't want to lose a single person. Yes Jesus is the Son of God, but for that brief moment in time, He was also man. Subject to what all men deal with. As I said, I was not there, and I pray I did not offend the Lord with my opinion.

God Bless You and Remember

Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Oh God in Heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen.

Armor of God

Greetings My Friends

If you have been going to church or reading the Word for any length of time, you have probably heard of the full armor of God. The armor was compared to what Roman soldiers wore when they went into battle.

Girded with Truth. Soldiers had a loose fitting tunic, which hindered them in battle. They put on a belt that gathered up the loose clothing. The belt of truth gathers all of the spiritual loose ends, and tucks away anything that would hinder us from truth, and victory.

Breast plate of Righteousness. The soldier had leather, or other heavy covering on his torso, to protect his heart and other vital organs. Our spiritual breastplate is the holiness and righteousness of Jesus. If we stay faithful and obedient to Jesus he provides that spiritual blessing breastplate everyday to help protect us from satan.

Shod with Gospel of Peace. Roman soldiers had boots with nails in them to grip the ground in combat, so they could stand firm. Spiritual boots refers to the Word, and the confidence of divine support to help us hold our ground against satan

Shield of Faith. The soldier carried a shield that protected his whole body. It was covered in leather and soaked in water to protect from fiery darts. The fiery darts are what we usually call temptations from satan. They would also include his lies and promises.

The Helmet of Salvation. Protected the head, a major target in battle. Satan uses doubt and discouragement to try and destroy a person's assurance of salvation. The Word gives us Gods assurance of salvation when we are saved.

The Sword of the Spirit. The soldier’s main weapon was his sword. The believers weapon is the word of God. The truth of the word is overwhelming against satan.

So there you have it. We as believers are fully equipped to do battle with satan. On the offense as well as defense, the Word of God assures us of victory.

God bless you and remember

 Jesus loves you

Prayer of Salvation;

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive your word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen

The Turnaround

Greetings My Friends

I don't really know about anyone else, but I look back in my life every once in awhile. The past has a tendency to get distorted at times. Some of the things we remember may not have been exactly as good or as bad as we remember.

As we go through life, we have to deal with many different types of situations. Most of us handle things the way the world does, because we don't know any better. There seems to be an unwritten rule for solving these problems.

One of the big problems is raising your family. Children have problems or in some cases cause problems. How we handle them can affect the rest of their lives for good or bad. Another problem is the relationship with your spouse. Are you in the habit of discussing solutions or plans, or is it a dictatorship. Are you both on the same page. It is hard to have stable children come from a confused or arbitrary family life.

The next item is the job. Many times we have to work at jobs we don't particularly like. The rent must be paid, groceries must be purchased. The kids need all kinds of things, and emergencies such as car repairs come up. All of these things cause stress. If you start feeling sorry for yourself, the job will seem worse. Taking out the frustration on the family does not do any good. In fact just the opposite is true

Money is another part of the big three. We seem to spend a good part of our lives worrying about it, needing it, and not having enough. It seems to most people that as soon as you see the light at the end of the tunnel, you realize it is an oncoming train. Something always comes up to keep you down. More stress on you and the family.

Another problem is unrealized dreams. This is the big kick in the guts for a lot of people. As you get older you realize the dream is getting farther and farther away. Then to make yourself feel better you pick a time for this dream to happen. When the kids are grown up, or maybe retirement.

I think everyone goes through varying degrees of this story. You can even throw in some if only, what if, I should have, I could have. This is all death to your soul.

Well my friends, I have discovered the answer to reversing everything you have just read. That answer is Jesus Christ. If you are born again, you realize that Jesus loves you and will provide all of your needs. One of the conditions is that you trust Him and get out of His way. The word is the instruction manual for life.

Regardless of your situation, if you believe and trust in the Lord, he will take care of everything. You will no longer be stressed; you will not feel persecuted at work if you realize your job is part of the Lords plan for you. You'll find answers to whatever comes up. Your family life will be a harmonious one. Your children will have an even better future because they found the Lord sooner.

During my recent years, I have found all of this to be true. The Lord puts us where He does to help us to grow. Maybe sometimes-hard times are good because they bring us to him. We grow one step at a time. When we succeed in one step, He moves us up to the next step. Kind of like when you're in grade school. I have found that if you trust in the Lord, follow His plan, He will bless you abundantly. He does everything for our good, and will not give us something that will separate us from Him

All of this may be difficult to believe, but it is true. It works for me, it will work for you. Accept Jesus as your personal Savior, and He will bless you.

Proverbs 3:5-6  "trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path".

God Bless You and Remember

 Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation;

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen

Gifts of the Holy Spirit 2

Greetings My Friends

Continuing with the gifts of the Spirit we come to prophesy. The word prophecy does not mean exactly what the old time prophets were doing. Since scripture was completed, it generally refers to proclaiming what has already been revealed in the written word. Much of what the old prophets did was repeat what was spoken earlier.

Discerning of spirits is the ability to recognize evil or lying spirits. It also allows the believer to identify all false doctrine, perverted cults and anything else that is against the Word of God. Discernment will even reveal if a person you are talking to is under the influence of an evil spirit. Twice in my life I met someone that made my blood run cold, the evil was so strong.

 Preaching and teaching our gifts that require the anointing of the Holy Spirit to be effective. Any preacher that is a real preacher or teacher will tell you they pray for knowledge and guidance before they teach or preach. If they do not feel the anointing, they will pray until they do.

 Another pair of gifts sure to cause a stir is the gifts of speaking in tongues and interpretation of it. I believe but I cannot prove the following opinion perfectly. Because of the Holy Spirit, the apostles could preach to say 20 different ethnic groups at the same time in Hebrew, and each group would not hear Hebrew, but their own language. The Bible gives me the impression that each apostle spoke each language. I don't know for sure, but I do know that the Holy Spirit did something.

 Over the years tongues became a sign that the Holy Spirit dwelt in whoever prayed or spoke in tongues. It is as the Spirit gives utterance. Praying in tongues is the Holy Spirit talking to the Father making your prayer perfect. My personal opinion is the most powerful spiritual thing you can do. Your mind doesn't wander and Satan cannot understand it.

 The Holy Spirit gives these gifts as we need them. Some we may never need. If you experience only one or two in a lifetime, don't despair. The Holy Spirit is still in you if you are a believer. Besides it is all part of God's plan for you. Praise the Lord!

God bless you and remember

Jesus loves you.

Prayer of Salvation;

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen

Gifts of The Holy Spirit

Greetings My Friends

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to all believers, but not all believers can accept that fact. These gifts are not natural, but supernatural.  They fall into two categories: speaking and serving. These gifts set believers apart, and are evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The word of wisdom is generally considered to be the ability to understand God's Word and His will. It also allows that  person to apply that understanding to everyday life.

The word of knowledge enables a person to understand the deeper meanings and truth in God's Word that can only come from divine revelation.

 Faith is given to all believers. The special gift of faith is the kind that is so persistent and enduring in intercession that no one or nothing can prevent this from its trust in God in the outcome it seeks.

 Healing is one of the more controversial gifts. Some people believe healings are rare and then only by special people. I am in the group that believes healings occur every day and everywhere. Especially effective is when two or more believers pray for a healing for someone. Sincere prayer, love, and trusting in the Word of God and Jesus name will heal or restore anything if we believe. I personally have seen many healings and have received several myself.

Miracles happen even today contrary to what some people think. Miracles are divine intervention. The unexplainable is usually explainable by calling it a miracle. I do not use the word miracle in a haphazard way. For instance, someone has an accident and by all logic should be dead, but he survives and is normal. Terminal health problems go away and doctors scratch their heads. What would you call it? There are countless cases of the impossible becoming the opposite. So many unexplainable events that the only explanation is divine intervention or a miracle. Some of us have an idea so imbedded in our brains, that we don't let facts interfere with our beliefs.

We will cover more gifts in the next message. It is true all of these gifts are for all believers. What I believe is what I have read, and several preachers said, and that is that we receive each gift as we need it, and have the faith to use it.

God bless you, and remember,

Jesus loves you.

Prayer of salvation.

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive your word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen".

Fruits of the Spirit 2

Greetings My Friends;

Today we will take a look at long-suffering and gentleness. Although they are mentioned separately, there are many similarities. Long-suffering is often defined as patience which refers to the ability to endure injuries inflicted by others, and the acceptance of irritating situations. Gentleness is an attitude that is patient and submissive to offense, with no idea of revenge.

As you can probably figure it out  if it wasn't from the Holy Spirit, it would be impossible to be this way. Almost anyone you know would call this a doormat attitude. The Lord doesn't tell you to be a doormat; he just says do not take offense to what people say about you or what they do. Ask the Holy Spirit for an answer, and he will give you one that lines up with the word of God. Follow the peace in your heart.

Then we come to self-control. Self-control generally refers to doing what is right, and following the word of God. Without self-control, revenge or retaliation would be a regular occurrence. Lack of self-control would allow you to break every commandment there ever was. If you have peace in your heart as well as the Holy Spirit, self-control should not be a problem.

As you can see, if you have self-control, you will not have a problem with long-suffering and gentleness. Jesus knew how hard it is to be human, maybe that is another reason to forgive us along with love.

God gave us the Holy Spirit to teach us, guide us, and help us. He reveals the meaning of God's word to us. Put your trust in the Lord and relax.

God bless you and remember:

 Jesus loves you.

Prayer of Salvation;

"Oh God in Heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen"

Does Jesus Love Me?????

Greetings My Friends

This message was supposed to be after the fruits of the Holy Spirit, but I felt moved to do it now. I will go back to the original plan on the next message.

 For years I struggled with the issue of feelings. If God loves me so much, how come I don't feel it? I think most of us have wrestled with that one. We must take it on faith that God really does love us. It was a problem for me too, but the Holy Spirit solved it.

If you were in high school 50 years ago, and you had a crush on a girl, you wanted to know how she felt about you. You asked some of your friends to find out, because you just didn't know. A friend came back and said she really likes you. You got all excited for a couple of days and then it wore off. If you started seeing her and going out with her, you knew by the way she acted if she really liked you.

 In a way, that story is the key to the answer for whether God loves you or not. For some reason when it comes to God, we are usually blind and not very smart. If we can tell if another person likes you or not, just apply the same logic to God.

 First of all, God created you. He made you in His image, so right off the bat you know there was no chincing in your creation. He created you to function perfectly. He even put it in your heart to someday return to him. He also gave you a free will, freedom to decide for yourself.

 Now you have to start looking back and being totally honest with yourself. From the time you were young, you probably got into situations that could have gotten ugly, but they didn't. Maybe something very good happened to you. Some doors were closed because they would have been a disaster. Some doors were open to you that really benefited you. You could still pursue these goals if you wanted to, but the results would not have made you happy.

Then of course comes all of the blessings that you may not even recognize as blessings. Your spouse and children, your health, your job, where you live, and the list goes on. Even the sights and sounds that bring you pleasure.

 The biggest one of all is when God gave His only Son. Because of Jesus death and resurrection, our sins are washed away, we are totally healed, and we are made children of God when we accept Jesus as our Savior. At the same time we also receive the Holy Spirit. Yes my friends, God did all of this for us, even before we knew him. That is unconditional love. I have always said that God must really love me, because he protected me from myself.

 Since the Lord has no favorites, remember, the only difference between the Apostle John and you is he knew how much Jesus loved him.

 God Bless You and Remember

Jesus Loves You

 The Prayer of Salvation.

Oh God in Heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen.

Fruits of The Spirit

Greetings My Friends

If you read Galatians 5 : 22 -23 you will see that it refers to Godly attitudes that are called the fruits of the Spirit. They are all equally important, so as I list them remember that. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control.

Love as it is described in the fruits does not mean the same thing as carnal love. Love in this case is a willingness to sacrifice something of yourself to help someone else. Examples of this might be going out of your way to help a coworker, or volunteering in a worthy cause. There are many things you can do. You must remember you are doing it because you want to please God. You will not score any points with Him, but I think you will put a smile on His face.

 Closely associated with love, is kindness and goodness. Goodness is usually thought of as a spiritual condition that allows you to be kind.

 Kindness takes on many forms. You can lend a helping hand to someone. Maybe someone you know needs you to tell their troubles too. Be patient and actually listen. Do not use words that judge or condemn. Try to be helpful and follow the prompts of the Holy Spirit.

Faithfulness refers to loyalty and trustworthiness. Naturally faithfulness to God goes without saying. Trustworthiness refers to someone having confidence in you for whatever situation comes up. Just as we have faith and trust in the Lord, people who deal with us should have faith and trust in us. Obviously not to the degree we have with the Lord.

 An example of faith and trust in the carnal world would be something like buying a car. You sign a contract. You believe that the dealer will stand behind what he is selling, and he believes you will hold up your end. Of course faith and trust go much deeper in many other situations. Another might be marriage. Two people have faith and trust in each other for better or worse. The list of examples goes on and on.

Next time I will briefly describe other fruits of the spirit. They are all ours, free of charge.

God Bless You and Remember

 Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart the Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen

Destiny

Greetings My Friends

Destiny is a word that seems to puzzle a lot of people. The dictionary says : a predetermined course of events, often held to be an irresistible power or agency.

I for one do not believe that everything in life is unavoidable. We go through life from the time we first know we are alive until we die, making all sorts of decisions. Part of the problem is we generally don't consider the outcomes of those decisions.

Many people base their choices on the emotion or circumstances. The definition of destiny indicates that you have no choice in the matter. At any time you can change your future. For example, if you go to college you will probably have a better job and make more money than someone who didn't. People have all kinds of excuses for inaction, only they call it reasons. I think some people use destiny so that they can feel better about themselves. Life is full of choices, nothing is chiseled in stone ahead of time.

 God has a plan for each person. You might say that His plan results in a good life for each person, and eternity with Him. In spite of the fact that He is God, and can make you do it, he does not force you. It is your choice who's plan you follow, yours or His.

 God provided the way for us to be saved, by grace through Jesus. Big choice here. You pick your eternity. When you choose Jesus as your Savior you also get the Word of God, the Bible. At the same time you will receive the Holy Spirit. The Word is God teaching you how to live, and the Holy Spirit helps you to understand that Word. The Holy Spirit also helps you and guides you in God's plan for you. You will hear that tiny voice in your heart guiding you. Things that seem impossible will happen for your good.

Remember this. At any time you can choose your own plan. Lightning will not strike you but you will have to live with your choices. God will not force you to be blessed.

So what do you think? Is destiny something real or just an excuse to distance yourself from the life you chose?  You can decide. You are not a slave with no choice. Choose well

God Bless You and Remember

Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen

Does God Send Sickness??????

Greetings My Friends

Several people I know have mentioned that they were bothered by the fact that God sends sickness and other misfortunes to people he supposedly loves . Well my friends, if you believe that the God we serve is like that, you have bought into Satan's lies. Satan is a tricky devil, no pun intended. He hates man and will do anything to turn man against God. He twists the word, and he fabricates facts, and downright lies. He will put a disease on you and put in your heart that it is from God, and he does it trying to convince you that you are suffering to bring glory to God.  Now think about that a minute. Does it seem reasonable for a loving God to use his greatest creation that way? Ridiculous.

Let me ask you a question. Would you hurt your child on purpose expecting him to love you more, or expect him to brag to his friends about how great you are?  It is just the opposite. You would do whatever you could to protect that child.

 God's glory comes from blessing his children. He lets us know how much He loves us if we let Him. He gave His only Son to save us, so that we could be with him someday.  Does that sound like someone who would hurt you on purpose?

 God has a plan for your life. His plan as great as it is has two flaws. He gave man a free will and Satan roams the earth. Hold on a minute. Almighty God also had a plan to counteract the flaws. He sent His Son to die for us, and that accomplished many things. It allowed us to be redeemed, just by accepting Jesus as our Redeemer.  Jesus also conquered death and Satan.

 Jesus gave us the authority to use his name for anything we ask the Father. With that authority we also have power over Satan in Jesus name. Satan rules this world, but we have the power to defeat him in Jesus name.

 Is there any doubt as to why he tries so hard to separate us from God? The Word of God and the Holy Spirit will keep us on the right path. We know how the story ends; apparently Satan didn't realize he is the defeated foe. Maybe he didn't read the ending.

God bless you, and remember

Jesus loves you,

Prayer of Salvation.

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive your word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen.

Believe as a Child

Greetings My Friends

We have read in the Bible in Matthew 18:3 "assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven".

I think you will agree that this verse is really powerful. But what does it mean? Let me give you some examples.

When we are little children we believe absolutely everything we are told, because we don't know about lies. We start going to church with our parents. Many religions concentrate on rituals and traditions, and spend very little time with the Bible. My church, when I was growing up usually read a couple of verses on Sunday, and almost no teaching. Some people grow up that way and stay that way their whole life. They never suspect that their  strongly held beliefs may not get them to heaven. Either they don't read the Bible because they think they are getting everything they need at church, or they are just plain lazy.

Then you have a group that accepted Gods call and were born again. There is a large percentage of this group that doesn't read the Bible because they don't feel the need to because they are saved, or they are lazy too.

When you read the Bible, you are reading the Word of God. He does not lie. Relax when you read the Bible, it is not a regular book, so don't read it like one. Study it, think about what you are reading. I find the ESV Study Bible works best for me. Do yourself a big favor. Don't analyze every word, pick it to pieces, or try to find fault or mistakes. If you really study, after a while you'll have very few legitimate questions.

 When you are an adult, you probably have quite a few years of lies and deceitful practices behind you. You must make up your mind  when it comes to the Word of God, just to believe. Don't fight it, all will become clear. The more effort you put in, the faster it will happen.

The Bible is the key to a blessed life. How would you know about the love and blessings and just plain joy you can have in your life, if you didn't read it. Your spirit believes every word that is written, and your soul follows. Everything at that point depends on your brain for fulfillment. It must use faith filled words and believe. Whatever you say and believe in Jesus name will be yours. The Bible is a plan . If you follow a plan to build something and do it exactly, you will succeed, get the picture? Just believe, talk to the Holy Spirit about it, and you may be surprised. He does help.Listen for his little voice in your heart.

God bless you remember

 Jesus loves you.

 Prayer of Salvation.

 Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word, and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen.

Joy and Happiness

Greetings My Friends

Many people think that happy and joy represent the same feelings. I think there is a big difference. To me happy is a temporary feeling, for the most part. Maybe you bought a new car, or took a great vacation. The average person has that happy feeling for a couple of weeks, and waits for the next thing to be happy about.

Joy on the other hand is more spiritual. If you are feeling as though you are dead inside, or nothing gives you a feeling of contentment, you are probably missing true joy in your life. First off you must make up your mind to have joy. Joy takes a little effort at first. You can start out by listing all of your blessings. If you are born again, that is one of the best reasons to have joy. If you stop to think about all of the things that are really good in your life, joy will well up in your heart.

When you get into the word and see the fabulous gifts you receive from God, you can't help feeling joy. He called you to salvation as a gift to you. With salvation comes the Holy Spirit and eternal life. This in itself is the most fantastic and downright incredible thing that can happen to you. As you keep your eyes on Jesus and learn what it means to be a child of Almighty God, you will grow in joy and even more blessings. Your whole life will change for the better.

 As you grow, you will realize more and more that God and the Holy Spirit live inside of you. You can talk to them anytime you want to. They will talk to you in that small quiet voice that you feel inside of you. The fact that God chose you is the greatest reason for joy. Throw in the fact that he wants to bless you beyond your wildest dreams, and spend eternity with you. If these blessings aren't enough to fill you so full of joy you can hardly believe it, something is wrong. To maintain that joy, all you have to do is remember how much Jesus loves you and what that means. It sure beats the temporary happiness of something like a new car.

God Bless You and Remember

 Jesus loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, and I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen

A Visualization

Greetings My Friends

I think this message will put a difference slant on things. I am sure you have heard of a few preachers talking about seeing the results even before it happens. I call that visualization, and you can use it in many ways to bolster your faith.

I am going to tell you a story. Get into a comfortable chair in a quiet room, and take a visual trip with me.

It is roughly 2,000 years ago. You are living near Jerusalem. You hear about someone traveling around talking about God. One day you are working at your trade when you see a half a dozen men coming toward you. It seems they are following this ordinary looking man.

This man comes up to you and looks at you with penetrating but loving eyes. Your heart beats faster and you feel a kinship with this man. He looks right into your eyes and says in a matter of fact tone, come follow me. You don't even realize that you do in fact drop everything, and you follow him.

You find out from other men that his name is Jesus. They have been with him for a while, and are very fond of him. Real love hasn't developed in them yet. This Jesus teaches about God every chance he gets. He teaches about love and how we should treat each other. His words make your heart sing. He teaches  and lives by example. Everyday we see him do things like feed thousands of people with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread. His followers don't seem too impressed by this. As a matter of fact when Jesus was about to do it the second time, it looked like the apostles were taken by surprise.

Jesus healed countless people of their afflictions, including casting out demons. He often spoke of the poor and how people should care for them. He would approach the dregs of humanity with the same love he had for the best of men. He had no favorites.

He sent the disciples out into the world to preach. He told them to take nothing with them, money, extra clothes, food. He said his Heavenly Father would provide for all their needs.

When Jesus told his followers what was going to happen to him, they didn't get it. They had no idea. After Jesus resurrection, they still had a hard time believing he rose again. He had to appear to them a few times before they caught on. He gave them the Holy Spirit and told them that they were authorized to do as much and more of what he did in his name.

 I don't know about you, but I find it very easy to draw a real comparison between then and now The story repeats over and over through the centuries. Remember how you felt when Jesus called you? Everything he said and did is in the Bible. The Bible is the way He teaches us. The apostles lived with him over 3 years. They were witnesses to it all. Through His Word, we are witnesses to it all.

There were times the Apostle had doubts, and I am sure they acted according to the flesh. Jesus however did not condemn them and He does not condemn us. Give Him your best and He will give you His best.

God bless you and remember

 Jesus loves you

Prayer of Salvation

Oh God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive Your Word, & I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen

Father God

Greetings My Friend

Most nights when I go to bed I ask the Holy Spirit to talk to me while I sleep .Many times I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the Bible or some idea for a message that came about that way.The Holy Spirit has added to it and  here it is.

Many people either ignore the existence of God or they are afraid of him. Either way you pay the price. Here's a brief description of what I have in my heart from the Holy Spirit.

Picture yourself as a brand new parent, full of joy and excitement. This little baby goes about doing its thing. Dirty diapers, cries, doesn't want to sleep. It doesn't care if you sleep or not, it is totally self centered, even though it does not even know what that is. You look at that baby and you love it, you would do anything for it. Slowly it grows and overcomes a lot of the problems that babies have. It gets to the point where understanding comes in.

As the child grows he learns mostly by making mistakes. You have love and patience for the child and you teach him. You nurture him constantly. You make sure that he knows that you are always there for him. No matter what he does, if he needs correction, you correct him,  but the one big thing you don't do is condemn him. As you teach your child about love, responsibilities as well as right and wrong, a bond forms between you. Whatever you ask him to do, he will do because he loves you. He does not do because he is afraid of you, he does it out of wanting to please you. You two can always talk and be close.

Well I look at God that way. Even much more so. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Father smiles and is proud of his new child. We are just like babies, and the new version of the above story takes place. God is not someone to be afraid of. There is no comparison for his love. He is always in your heart. He says he will never leave you or forsake you. He is a part of you. Look at him as the most loving father there is.

God does not require you to have endless hours on your knees and battles in your mind to stay focused on prayers. Say  little things from your heart during the day. There is no quota. He will never condemn you if you look at God in that personal way, tell your brain to stay out of it, and listen to your heart. Faith is easy, follow the peace in your heart, and you really will be one with Almighty God

God bless you , and remember 

Jesus loves you

Prayer of Salvation;

"Oh  God in heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive your word, and  I repent of sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with your spirit, in Jesus name. Amen "