Blocks To Salvation

Greetings My Friends

It is fairly common in this day and age to hear things like, "there are many ways to get to heaven" and "everyone will go to heaven". There are many people who for whatever reason, don't know any better, so they listen to high-ranking people in government and society who are saying those very things.

Many of the people who fall for this line of thought, either don't know any better, or they haven't put in the effort to know the truth. Another reason people except this philosophy, is that they don't have to be accountable for their actions, because so-and-so said what they did, and that makes everything okay. And then of course you have those people, who act like if they ignore the truth, everything will be okay.

The Bible says positively, that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. It is written in acts 4:12 "nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved".

There are many people who try to justify what they do by reinterpreting the Bible. My friends, God wrote what He meant, we don't need to speculate about what He really meant or was thinking. The fact of the matter is if it was a sin then, it is a sin now. There is no way to change that. We will all have forever to think about whether we were right or wrong. Remember, we each make our own decision as to where that eternity will be.

There are many people who are what we call good people. They follow the laws, follow what their church teaches, help others, but do not know Jesus as their personal Savior. Good works will not get you to heaven. Only accepting Jesus and what He did for us will do that.

Then of course you have the highly educated, high achievers. Most of them have had people in college who are atheist, constantly talking against God. I never could figure out how someone who does not believe in God, will fight so hard against Him. If you don't believe He exists, why does He bother you?

High achievers for the most part, believe that everything they have accomplished was a result of their own efforts. There is usually a high level of pride and ego, that makes them feel that they have no need of God. Some know a little about God, but cannot admit that they need Him.

In eternity, there are no excuses, reasons, or any justification to save us. It is our responsibility to do what is right. God gave us the Bible to show us. Open your mind, heart, and call out to God. He hears, and wants all to be saved. He said so.

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 my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord. Amen.

Another Breakthrough

Greetings My Friends

If you are anything like the rest of us average people, you have had many unanswered prayers. At least they seemed unanswered, because they usually weren't what we expected.

For the purposes of this message, I will once again write about me. When you know someone else went through the same thing, it usually helps.

A few years ago, I must admit, that my faith in answered prayer was nothing to feel good about. I have always believed in God, but the miracles were for other people, or they occurred because some big-time preacher prayed.

One day I was watching Andrew Wommack on TV, and he happened to mention a CD series that he made called you've already got it. I found it on his website, and I bought it. I wasn't disappointed. I listened to it five or six times ,and got quite a bit from it. I got the information real good in my head, but it hadn't quite made it to my heart yet.

After a while, I began to look for similar teachings, especially the ones concerning the cross of Jesus. All of these teachings, some 100 years old, seem to agree perfectly. So naturally, when a half-dozen famous spirit filled teachers, some from 100 years ago,basically said the same thing, I figured what they were saying is true.

I then found the verification in the Bible. I read the Bible six or eight times and never noticed until I actually started studying. I always ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance, and for understanding. I wish I could say I was smart enough to do that years ago.

I believe that my strong belief in healing, is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Healing for myself and others. As you know belief in something is one thing, but actually seeing something happen is another. When you pray for healing or anything else, be prepared for satan and his lies. You can never fall for that stuff.

It finally got in my heart what Jesus really did on the cross. To make it simple, He did it all. Salvation for those who ask, healing, prosperity, peace in your heart. Every good thing you could think of. All we have to do is receive whatever we pray for. There is no question whether God will heal you for instance. He already did on the cross. Just realize that he has your name on all those gifts he wants to give you. Just receive them.

I'll just give you a few examples of some of my healings. I mentioned a few of these in the past, and I just repeat them as part of what I am trying to get across. At one time I was taking insulin for diabetes, I prayed for healing, and now I get perfect numbers. My blood pressure was barely under control for 35 years and at times was high enough to require hospitalization. I never did go into the hospital for that. Now my blood pressure is normal. On two separate occasions cuts on fingers on a table saw were healed. I had an accident that could have caused gangrene, and it healed totally in two days. I mention these healings just to give you an example of what prayer can do if you believe.

All of these feelings were accompanied by pressure from satan to doubt. He was relentless. But if you remember that he is a liar, that Jesus already healed you, and that God loves you so much he sent His only son to save you and bless you,and you have the Holy Spirit's help in fighting him. satan is the father of lies, and his role as a deceiver is real. As a matter of fact, he is so good at it, he even deceived himself. Praise the Lord. Amen.

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 my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought salvation. Forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord. Amen.

Place Your Faith Where?

This may seem like a funny title, but there is method to my madness. It came about because I casually started thinking about the old days.

A while back, I totally surrendered my life to God. It has been totally changed. When I say totally changed, I am talking about the way I see things. The physical world I live in hasn't changed much, but I see the spiritual much better.

How does all of this tie in with the title? When most people think about the financial aspects of their lives, they generally think about investments, their home, savings, and the job. They have faith in these things.

I think we have all seen what can happen to the so-called best and safest of investments. A part of the problem is, we have been conditioned to think that way since we were very young. When you count on earthly things, it could get dangerous. Even if your investments are going great, you run certain other risks.

Your investments can fill you with pride, separate you from your family, and without even realizing it, make God of little or no value to you. However, your life can be fulfilled. You can have the family, house, investments. Make God number one in your life and let the Holy Spirit guide you.

When you feel sick, you go to a doctor, because you believe he will help you. If your car won't run, you get it to a mechanic, because you believe he can fix it. If you are concerned about your future, you find an expert to manage your money.

Well my friends, I think if you have been around for a while, you realize that things usually don't work the way you planned. Even if people are trustworthy, you cannot put all of your faith in them.

Sound depressing? No need. There is One who has all the answers, and is deserving of total faith in Him. That person is Jesus Christ. Give your life to Him. He loves you and will guide you if you let Him. Do it with His guidance, and the Holy Spirit will take you to the best life you could ever dream of. God does want the best for you, and has the plan that will do it for sure.

Place your faith where it belongs. Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. Amen.

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 my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord. Amen.

Hard To Have Faith?

Greetings My Friends

There are many obstacles to faith that we don't even realize. Praise the Lord, there are answers. Let's take a look at a few things, that usually slip by unnoticed.

It is common for a lot of people to feel that they are really good, because they believe they are keeping all of the commandments. What many of them don't realize, is that if they feel like that, the sin of pride is close behind. The other misconception that many people have, is that you can earn faith or salvation. It is written Ephesians 2:8 "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."

Another thing that hinders faith, is we don't realize our nature. We must recognize our faults and admit them. Most people have to hit bottom. Each one of us has our own bottom. In this process, most people realize how sinful they are on their own. God is not doing it to them. When you finally get the real bottom, you really start to realize how helpless you are, and in desperation, turn to God. He is the only answer.

When your life is totally surrendered, and you ask Him into your life, you start to find peace with repentance. You start experiencing love, not condemnation. Now God can go to work in your life, and you receive what the Bible calls, a measure of faith.

Faith is misunderstood by many of us. We struggle with faith because we subconsciously try to have faith on our own, because we were always told that we have to have mountain moving faith.

Faith is a lot easier than you may think. God gave each of us the same measure of faith. We have the Jesus measure of faith. Jesus on His own couldn't work miracles until He was baptized with the Holy Spirit. At that point He knew that the Holy Spirit would do what He(Jesus) said.

While my friends, if you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, and use Jesus name as you were authorized to do by Jesus himself, you have the same power. It works the same way for us today as it did for Jesus. I guess it all boils down to trust in Jesus name, and Holy Spirit power, to do the impossible. Stretch that trust, or as you may call it faith. Praise the Lord. It really is that easy.

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 my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord. Amen.

Talk To God

Greetings My Friends

Today I would like to tell you about a very close friend, and his battle of faith. He told me his story, and agreed to let me write about it.

It goes back many years. His whole life was one of just enough blessings to keep it going. He had a long lingering illness, job troubles, financial problems. He said he wanted to just give up and run away. For some reason he couldn't do that.

A few years ago, we both came to the Lord. I was searching for God, but he came upon God as if by accident. We talked a lot about God, and he really started to be a believer. He didn't go overboard with the Bible, but he started to believe in prayer.

Well as time went on, his life had less chaos and confusion in it. His faith started to grow, as he started to see some prayers answered.

I saw him about a month ago, and couldn't believe he was depressed. When I asked him what the problem was, he said that God didn't love him. I asked what made him think that? His answer was that he had been asking God to reveal his plan for my friends life. He prayed about it almost every day and God did not answer. He was also disappointed about other prayers not getting answered.

I told him that most of us have been through similar situations. I told him to write down as many blessings he had that he could think of. I told him he had to decide if the Bible is true, and if Jesus suffering and death really meant what was written, and pray about that.

I also suggested something that really helped me. Go to a quiet room or place, and talk to God. Tell Him about everything that is on your heart. You don't have to pull any punches with God, tell Him what you really feel. After that, sit quietly and listen. Open your mind and your heart.

God's timing is perfect, and His word is true. While we wait for answers to prayers, He is working. Not until all the pieces are in place, will the prayer be answered. Remember our ways are not God's ways. When we have even a little doubt, he has to start all over. Keep at it and don't quit, because the next prayer may be the one, that occurs when the time is right.

It is written "I will never leave you or forsake you." Just as it helped me a while back, my friend is also doing much better. I repeat, trust in God always, because He always answers the prayers of believers.

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 my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord. Amen.

What Is satan Really After

Greetings My Friends

As you probably know by now, satan has a limitless number of ways to deceive people. Let's look at a few, and try to figure out what he is really after.

One way, is to constantly bring condemnation on you. The whole idea is to get you farther from God, by trying to convince you that God would never forgive someone with your record. He will go to great lengths to do it. He will even use your friends to unknowingly help him. They may say something like, " you're just paranoid always worrying about the devil".

Another way he has, is to help you slowly slide into sin. He will tell you things like "get with the times everyone's doing it". " all of your ideas are 2000 years old". If you go along with this kind of thinking, you'll eventually rationalize everything you do, to convince yourself there is no sin. After a while, you'll be so used to sin there won't be a reason to rationalize.

satan looks for our weak points. Everyone who wants to overcome someone looks for their opponents weak spot. He likes to try to discredit God. He will tell you that God does not listen or care. Miracles ended when the apostles died. Anything he can think of to cause doubt. He will point to a preacher that wears glasses, and say something like "if God is so good, how come so and so wears glasses?" How come so-and-so is sick? If he can get you to where you start to doubt, he knows the doubt can and a lot of times, does grow.

Remember that the devil hates God, and he hates you too. 1 John 4:4 says "I am of God and have overcome him(satan). For greater is he that is in me, that he who is in the world". Reading the word and quoting the Bible, will make satan flee. The best rebuke, is the word of God. satan does not fear yelling at him, but he trembles and leaves at the sound of God's words, spoken by a true believer.

What is satan after? Nothing less than stealing your eternity with God, along with as many other people as he can gather.

Verses to chase satan. 1 Corinthians 12:27, Romans 12:21, Psalms 23:4, Isaiah 54:14, Isaiah 54:17, Psalms 91:10 – 11, Ephesians 6:16, James 4:7, Revelation 12:10 – 11

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Faith Is In The Spirit

Greetings My Friends

I feel that I have had a revelation about faith and prayer. This came to me about two weeks ago, and I thought it might help someone.

When we pray, most of us have struggled to believe, or as we describe it, have faith. Well it occurred to me that we are talking about two different things. Belief is in the natural world, and faith is in the spiritual world.

It is written in Hebrews 11:1 "now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".

1 Corinthians 2:5 "that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God".

If you really meditate on these verses, I think you'll agree that faith is a spirit thing. So when we pray, how do we reconcile these two worlds?

First of all faith comes from God. We have salvation by faith which is a gift from God. How do we know? Because He said so. So are we to pick out what we believe, or accept it all? Even our poor natural brains realize that God cannot lie, and always keeps His word.

Our spirits were from the beginning, created in the image of God. After we are saved, our spirits are one with God, and do not have the capacity for anything negative. Remember we are the same spirit in this imperfect body, and in this broken world.

The problem then lies with the brain. The brain has been corrupted by this world, since we were born. Being in satan's world, has taught our brain all the ways of the world. It must be retrained. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind. Open your heart to the Lord. How do you train your mind? Immerse yourself in the Word, and meditate. Something is better than nothing.

The best way to reprogram your brain, is to let it work against itself. If you get a thought contrary to faith, speak out loud. Brain you are a liar. When doubt comes in your mind, say brain you are wrong. Keep doing it. Train your brain to think what your heart tells it.

Make your brain work by pointing out what God says. Bombard your brain with faith filled thoughts. I also believe that when you pray sincerely, God goes by your spirit. Ask Him to help your unbelief. Remember, if you didn't have faith, you wouldn't pray in the first place. It is your faith filled spirit, that gave you the hunger to pray. So follow your heart and not your head.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

If The Lord Wills

Greetings My Friends

For a long time now, there has been a difference of opinion about the Lord's will. One opinion is that when you pray for something, add the phrase "if it is the Lord's will". This is a faith killer. The other side, the side saying it, believing they are right. I believe that both sides have a right to have an opinion.

In the years I have studied the Bible, I have reached the conclusion, that Jesus always said yes, to every request for healing, as well as other things. This tells me that He is always willing to help anyone who comes to Him and believes.

When I pray for a specific thing, such as healing, I truly believe that the healing has already been done on the cross, and all I have to do is receive it. When I pray for someone else's healing, I become the point of contact for the other person to receive what Jesus did for them on the cross. After that I just thank God.

Another way I pray is just as simple. If for instance, I want to buy something, I say, if God is willing I will buy whatever it is. Then I forget about it, and wait for the answer. I usually get an answer pretty quick, and I follow that answer.

I don't pray about things like what to have for breakfast, or what shirt to wear. I pray about things that need a real decision. Of course that means different things to different people. Follow the peace in your heart and you'll do good.

I think you get the idea how I look at it God will raise. I do not use it for something I want or need. I basically use it when I need direction, or have to make a decision. Sometimes it is hard to ask for a decision when you have already made up your mind. But if you ask the Holy Spirit he will guide you.

I believe God hears prayers of everyone. The only thing that makes a difference in the results, is the faith in Jesus that a person has. Remember that when Jesus died on the cross, He took care of everything we will ever need. It is all paid for. All we have to do is receive. We receive by faith, which is acknowledging what He did for us. Faith and grace also enter the picture, and they are gifts from God as well. Just believe.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

God's Arm Is Not Too Short

Greetings My Friends

If you have listened to any preachers at all, or read the Bible, you probably have heard about God's arm not being too short. Have you given that statement much thought?

Let me try to give you a starting point. It pretty much depends on faith and trust in God. You have heard about the power of prayer countless times. You have probably experienced unanswered prayer, at least prayer that wasn't answered the way you expected.

Here is something to think about. satan does not like you. As a matter of fact he hates you. He will do everything in his power to block your prayers results. He wants you to doubt, because he wants you to blame God, create enough doubt, and cause doubt to grow to the point where you stop talking to God. That first tiny doubt, if you accept it, is his doorway to accomplish the rest.

Here comes the Gods arm part. When you pray, you must believe you already have what you ask. Remember when you were little? You asked your mother for something you wanted. When she promised, you got just as happy as if you already had it, even if it was for Christmas, a couple of months away. That is the kind of faith I am talking about.

If you keep your faith and trust in God, and don't doubt, there is nothing satan can do to stop God from answering your prayers. God's hand is out to help and protect you no matter what, as long as you believe. That is how I see His arm.

By the same token, God's arm is long, especially if you are talking about salvation. If you are like most average people, his arm is not too short to reach you.

If on the other hand, you are among the worst sinners that ever lived, with unimaginable offenses, if you sincerely repent, God's arm is long enough to reach you too.

And now the best part. God's word cannot be broken. So ask God, believe you have what you ask, and sleep in total peace.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

A Matter Of Perception

Greetings My Friends

The message today is about how we view life in general. Things change over time, and our value system with them. I will explain what I am talking about, by giving you an example from my life. Don't give up on this message yet.

I was born during World War II. We lived in an old neighborhood in Chicago, that was very ethnic. A person could live their whole life there, and never speak a word of English.

The typical family lived in four rooms, and had four or five children. The place was heated with a stove that burned coal. You got hot water by heating it up on the stove. My mother used to put our clothes on the stove, to warm them up in the winter.

We did have indoor plumbing, but every once in a while in the winter, the water in the toilet had a thin coat of ice. Sound exciting so far?

Entertainment, was a radio and books. We eventually got a 7 inch TV with three channels, that's right 7 inch TV. Neighbors came over to watch once in a while. There were only two TVs on the whole block. We watched whatever was on, that the picture didn't roll or get all squiggly.

If you were fortunate enough to have a car, you were one of the few. The car didn't have a heater by the way.

I mentioned all of these things with fond memories. I guess by today's standards, we were poor. We didn't know we were poor, so we were happy. There were many other things, but I think you get the idea. I just want to add, that the majority of our neighbors came from living conditions that made the ones I described, seem like they hit the jackpot.

I guess I feel sorry for the people today, that have a difficult time surviving in a 10 room house, or they can't get a good signal on their cell phone.

The whole point of this message, it is not to criticize anyone, but to suggest putting things in perspective. Life doesn't have to be so stressful. You can live without one of your gadgets for a few minutes, or even a whole day. Look at your blessings just like the old-timers did. Be happy you didn't live 60 or 70 years ago. The old folks were happy they came here, and felt blessed.

Childhood memories are true. I know it's hard for some younger people to realize there were people, that lived without Internet, I phones, and I pads. But they did. Every generation has its own way to live, and the conditions they enjoy or put up with. The main point is, to realize that most of us truly are blessed, and put things in perspective.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Get Out Of The Way

Greetings My Friends

If you read these messages you know that I believe in three day fasts for particular reasons. We have been on fasts twice in the last year or so. They are supposed to help you see your self, and get closer to God. The first one was Thanksgiving for all the blessings we receive.

We just finished the second one. I'll give you a little background leading up to it. We have a belief, that big decisions requires prayer before a decision, and we have to agree. With that being done, we proceed in faith.

As is common with almost everyone, it isn't that easy sometimes. Patience is a very difficult thing to keep, but it is supposed to build faith and character. That sounds good, but it doesn't make it any easier.

As time goes by you will probably start thinking about options, without even realizing that you are doing it. At this point you may hear a small voice egging you on and causing confusion. That is not the Holy Spirit.

At this point you and your wife may start to disagree about the decision and even have a few small arguments. At times it can even lead to a little bit of depression. All of this makes things seem worse than it really is.

One or both of you may realize that this is the time to have faith. Calm comes back for a little while. Before long you flipped back again, and maybe your prayer doesn't get answered.

Now back to the fast. The first day I had a real reinforcement about how much God loves me, and the power of the Holy Spirit. The second day was very good but no revelation. The third day started out with yet another rehash of the current problem. The conversation started to turn negative, but the Holy Spirit woke us up to what was starting to happen.

The rest of the day went very well, and we were back on track. At about 10 PM when we were watching the praise the Lord show on TBN, out of nowhere I heard a very loud voice in my heart. The voice said "get out of the way". Right then I knew exactly what He was talking about. When you give a problem to God, He does not need your help to get it done. Stop blocking Him. Needless to say, I'll remember that from now on, and I will stay out of the way. Once I give it to Him, it becomes His problem.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Negativity

Greetings My Friends

It seems to me, that fewer and fewer people care about how they do their jobs. Some people just plain don't care. Some weren't trained properly. Other people can't handle the job they have for various reasons, some of which are not their fault.

We have a tendency to be impatient with people we deal with. If we ask an employee a question, it seems most of the time they don't have an answer. Sometimes they are new and just get dumped on the floor, with no instruction. If I can't get an answer, or it is obvious the person does not know what I am talking about, I just thank them, and look for someone else. It does no good to embarrass them or give them a hard time, as it will only cause most people to get nervous and fall apart.

Up until recently I had a problem with call center, and customer service people, at a particular company. The call centers are located mostly out of the US. I don't know about anyone else, but I often have a problem with language. I have a difficult time understanding what they are saying, and they have trouble with me.

I used to pick up the phone with a totally negative attitude. I am sure the other person noticed, and probably got nervous. The increased nervousness probably made them forget half of what they knew. So in effect, I added to the problem. I don't think the person that I was talking to told her supervisor "please put me on the phone so I can be abused all day".

The bottom line is this. I now try to be more patient and understanding, and I thank God I am not that other person. I have finally come to realize that a lot of people don't do a bad job because they want to, it's just the pressures they have to deal with on a daily basis, that sometimes get overwhelming. The plus part is, when you act like a real Christian, it praises and pleases God.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Praise and Worship

Greetings My Friends

If you are anything like me, you probably couldn't tell the difference between those two words. I not only had a hard time with that, I didn't know exactly what or how. If you look up praise, it says worship. You look up worship, it says praise. What a dilemma.

I happen to be reading a book by a well-known pastor, and listening to his CDs. I finally got what I think is an acceptable answer. He started to explain it by saying that praise and worship music is just music by itself. It's how the people sing or play music that makes it worship. If it is in the heart to be praise, it is. It doesn't matter if it is old hymns or the new, noisier stuff.

Another thing we learned as a result of our fast was simply this. We knew that if we went to the Lord and thank him for all he has done for us, it was praise. The pastor I just referred to also said that if you go to the Lord acknowledging Jesus blood, and your righteousness through Him, it is praise and worship.

Another form of praise and worship, is when you trust and believe in Jesus, and witness to someone. Every time you pray for someone, do a kind thing, give to hurting people, etc. That is considered praise. When you live by Christ's example, or at least try very hard to, that is praise. Do it every chance you get. We all have countless reasons to praise and worship the Lord. Just acknowledging what He has done by saying a simple thank you Lord, is praise. We all have reason to do it often.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

A Spiritual Leader

Greetings My Friends

It is written that a man is the spiritual leader of his family. That is what God says. Let us look at the job of spiritual leader. By his example, he must show his family how to live. He should be honest, hard-working, caring, love his family and above all love God.

He must show his wife love and respect, the way God loves His church. He must work on the values that the family has. He must realize that he has the responsibility to train his children, so that they grow up to be responsible, God fearing adults. The people they eventually turn out to be is pretty much what was determined in their early years, by the instruction they received.

When going about the business of leader, he must make decisions. Hard decisions must be made not avoided. Compromise is a bad idea, it sends the wrong message. Caving into pressure from within or without is not acceptable. Outside circumstances cannot affect the family if he has any control of the situation. He must always care for and protect his family.

The entire family should spend time with the word. The leader must take time to answer questions. The spiritual leader must teach his family to pray every day, and the leader himself should pray before he makes a decision on anything that is out of the ordinary and routine. Things like what to wear.

If the spiritual leader puts complete trust in God, the Holy Spirit will guide him. Do all the things for your children that would've made you a better person if you knew. If you ever said if I knew then what I know now, don't let your children miss it. Remember that God made you the spiritual leader of your family, and with it he expects you to do the best you can, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You Lord

Honoring God

Greetings My Friends

I have been reading about and listening to CDs about Holy Communion. Almost everything I have studied, tells the same glorious story.

For some reason a lot of churches celebrate it once a month, while others do it every Sunday. The average person I have met and talked to, really doesn't give it much thought. It is like a ritual passed down in a family.

I am not judging these people, I just feel sorry for them. For some reason, very little is taught about this greatest of all events. If people knew the significance of communion, they would probably have a much better idea of how much Jesus loves them, and what they are missing out on.

Jesus blood washed away every sin in your entire life. By His stripes you were healed, spiritually, physically, and mentally. Because He died and rose again, we can have eternal life. Think about that for a minute. If you had billions, you could not buy which Jesus gave us free. It cost him plenty though. Would you have done that for people who hate you?

Contrary to what some religions say, you can have communion every day at home. It isn't complicated. I think about what Jesus did for me, how much He loves me, and continues to love me. I say a short prayer for someone, and it is finished. Everyone can spare five or 10 min. If you can't, you should probably revisit the priorities of your life. It is no crime if you don't do it every day, but it is good to do. When you stop to consider the significance of Holy Communion and the fact that it is a remembrance of everything Jesus did for us, do you still want to ignore it?

Besides the benefits, it honors and praises God. You will feel closer to Him, and your life will change for the better.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

A Must Read

Greetings My Friends

Many of us believe that we have faith. But do we? We study the Bible, look for verses to memorize, even take notes. We try very hard to have faith. We watch a number of preachers on TV, and read countless books, jot down any pearls of wisdom. Over a period of time we compile a large quantity of what we feel are answers leading to the prize. That prize is total faith in Jesus.

You probably have that picture in your head right now. Maybe you have done it. So now you pray. You bring out all the weapons you have gathered, and mention every surefire phrase you can think of. You pray with a clean heart. Pretty soon though you start to wonder if you missed something. For instance, did I include all the right phrases. Usually it seems like you wait and wait for your answer. Your faith starts to waver. Now what?

I wrote one time about fasting. The last one I did was one of Thanksgiving. Let me say, doing a fast to get God to do something, doesn't work. The fast I went on now was for the purpose of renewal of my mind and heart, and to get closer to God. My wife and I saturated ourselves with the word, CDs, and inspirational TV. The fast was three days, but things started to change the first day.

Now for the big thing we learned. You don't need to go through all of what I described. We realized that although we had a certain measure of faith, we were missing a lot. My wife and I had the same exact idea at the same exact time. It seemed to us to be confirmation of what we considered to be a revelation.

We now go to the Lord, and ask forgiveness. We put our request to Him with specific verses for the request. We ask for it, Jesus says it in His word, Jesus cannot lie. So by His own words, He is obligated to answer our prayer. Sounds simple, and it is. What do you do while you wait? Just believe, and keep believing. Trusting is easier when you know the other guy has no choice. I don't mean to seem flippant, but the fact is when we take God at His word and trust Him, it makes Him happy. God is good, loves us more than we can possibly imagine, and cannot wait to give us His best if we believe.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Suffering

Greetings My Friends

Suffering has bad connotations for many people. The average person pictures all kinds of horrible things. Sickness, accidents, job loss, death, family problems, and so on. While this certainly qualifies as suffering, and it is horrible, there are other sufferings that can be worse in some respects.

Let me start out by going against popular belief. God does not cause you to suffer, and in spite of what many people believe, he gets no glory for your suffering. He sometimes allows things to happen when someone's heart is not right with Him, or satan attacks.

Let's go on to another form of suffering. This occurs when someone prays for something, and waits, and waits. They think that their heart is pure, so it should happen immediately. They start to search for something bad that they did. Maybe they didn't pray right, maybe God doesn't love them, they go on thinking like this, and it gets worse and worse, so they get ready to give up. This self-inflicted suffering can get really bad.

You inflict more suffering on yourself, when you pray for something that is against the word of God. If your request does not line up with the word, you might as well forget it, and save yourself all that aggravation, agony, and just plain misery. Something else that will cause the same thing is when you pray for something that will result in harm to yourself or someone else.

If you want to avoid all the self-inflicted suffering, just get in the word, and pray according to the word. Keep your faith no matter what. Always remember Jesus loves you, wants to help you, wants the best for you, and He suffered so you wouldn't have to.

So it all boils down to this. Some suffering is allowed by God, some is caused by satan, and a good bit of it is of our own doing. Lack of total trust can be and is dangerous, because lack of trust is a sin in God's eyes. I don't know what you would call it, but I figure if you go through all of that, it qualifies as pure suffering.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

The Tongue Is A Gun

Greetings My Friends

Let me ask you a question. Before you say I am nuts, think about it. Would you aim a gun at your child and pull the trigger? Okay, now consider this. When you speak words like “you are stupid”, “you never do anything right”, and so on, you can destroy that child for life. This is a proven fact, and it hurts so much more, because in some cases, the hurt lasts a lifetime.

There are many studies, that have found out, that if you tell your child something like, you never do anything right, it sticks. You can tell that child, 100 positive things, and it won't erase a fraction of the negative that you put in his head.

This applies to everyone you deal with to some extent. Marital problems, no friends, trouble with coworkers? Listen to what and how you say things. If you are honest, I think you will figure it out pretty quick.

Take a look at your childhood. Did you hear negative, hurtful things when you were a child? If you doubt about the long-term damage caused by such things, take a look at your hurt, and what you are passing down to your kids and spouse.

The positive words and actions result in happy, well-balanced people. What is in your mouth? Darkness and an evil tongue, or light and an uplifting spirit? If you are honest, that is a start. The Bible tells you how evil a tongue can be. Just read, James 3:1 – 12

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Father, I repent of all my sins. I know that Jesus suffered and died to forgive those sins. By His stripes I was healed. By His death and resurrection, He made salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart, and be my personal Savior. Help me to live according to your plan. Thank you Lord.

Topical Bible Versus

Greetings My Friends
The average person doesn't have a clue where to find Bible verses. You have probably heard someone on TV  say that if you are praying for finances, find all of the verses in the Bible on that subject, and meditate on them.
Easier said then done for most people. Well, I am about to make that a little easier. Even people that read the Bible once in a while, don't know that there is a concordance in the back of most Bibles. This lists subjects, and some verses that apply to that subject.
There is a very large book that is called Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. It lists everything you can think of. If it isn't in this book, it probably isn't in the Bible.
There are topical Bibles. I like these for most things. They not only have hundreds of topics, they also name the book and verse, and even write out the verse. While this makes it easy, you should still read a verses before and after from the Bible to be sure you get it in the right context.
You can also Google topical Bible verses, and you will get as much as you would with strong's . Thousands of words listed by letter. The beauty of it is you can click on a word for instance, you can print out all the verses that use that word. Each verse is written out.
One last thing. If you have a computer, tablet, etc. You can go to Olive tree.com and download a few Bible translations such as the KGV, NKJV, NIV, absolutely free.
So you see, you don't have to try very hard to have what it takes to study God's Word. I hope this is helped. When I started finding this stuff, you would think I just saw Jesus.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Father, I repent of all my sins. I know that Jesus suffered and died to forgive those sins. I know that by His stripes I was healed. By His death and resurrection He made salvation possible. I ask you Jesus, to come into my life, and be my personal Savior. Help me to live according to your plan. Thank you Lord.

The Value of Devotionals

Greetings My Friends

We have all seen dozens of devotionals on bookstore shelves. Most of them are written by people you have heard of if you watch preachers at all.

Most of the preachers have a place on their websites, that you can download to any device. Your I Phone is a handy place to get your devotionals.

There are two popular forms of daily devotionals. One type is a Bible verse for the day, and the other is a Bible verse, a paragraph or two, basically helping you to understand what the verse is about. A lot of them finish with a short prayer about the explanation, and even related Bible references are given.

If you look some of these devotionals over, you will find that you will have preferences. Well Bible verses cannot be changed, the explanations very in their ability to explain. You will probably lean toward two or three authors that you like the best. Good teachers aren't always good writers, and vice versa.

Devotionals were never meant to replace the Bible. They were meant to add some clarity, and to give the reader an idea of how to meditate. I think it will help the average person. It sure helped me. I read two different devotionals every day. Kenneth Copeland is my favorite, but I find that most are pretty good. Find the one you like, then I think you'll see what I mean.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Father I repent of all my sins. I know that Jesus suffered and died to forgive those sins. By His stripes I was healed. By His death and resurrection He made salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart, and be my personal Savior. Help me to live according to your plan. Thank you Lord.

Fear or Unbelief

Greetings My Friends

Ask that question and you will probably get quite a few answers that are not true. It isn't that the people you ask are lying, but the fact is that many don't realize it.

One of the big requirements for answered prayer is faith. It seems simple enough. Just have faith in the name of Jesus to have your prayer answered. The Bible says so, so it must be true. What is going on when it doesn't seem to work that way?

One of the things you hear from people, whether they are on TV, or in person, is that they need more faith. People in the Bible asked for more faith, and even asked for help with unbelief.

In order to get an answer to a problem, you have to know what the problem is. If you don't understand the problem, you are not likely to get the correct answer.

To show you what I mean, let's start with one that causes problems for a lot of people. I am talking about giving. It is a tough subject for most people, but it is great for this example. The Bible says dozens of times that if we give with the right attitude, it will be multiplied and given back to us. It is the word of God. So why don't we give like other people do? Is it unbelief, or lack of faith that makes us dislike giving? Maybe it is just plain old fear that we will suffer a loss if we don't get it multiplied back to us. So which is it, unbelief, fear, or both? We won't make any progress until we are totally honest with ourselves.

That was just a simple example, but it applies to every problem or unanswered prayer. We ask God for something, and we are sincere about it. Then we start to figure that God is taking too long, or we get anxiety over not having control, so we take it back. When the problem gets worse, we give back to God. This process may take place most of our lives.

James 1:8 talks about a double minded man. The description of double minded is that the person doesn't fully trust God, so the problem goes back and forth, and is never resolved. I heard an expression that says it all. When we rest, God works. When we work God rests. When we keep taking a problem back, we go back to square one every time.

Figure out which one it is, unbelief or fear. Remember, God's plan and the answer is always better than yours. Relax and let God do it. When you figure out what your problem is, just ask Him in Jesus name to help you get over it. Then just relax and let God do it. It gets easier to relax when you see God working, and you will.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Father I repent of all my sins. I know that Jesus suffered and died to forgive those sins. I know that by His stripes I was healed. I know He rose again from the dead to make salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart and be my personal Savior. Help me to live according to your plan. Thank you Lord.

Do It The Smart Way

Greetings My Friends

A while back, I wrote a brief description of what I believe was an encounter with Jesus in October of 1972. At that time I really was not aware of how to pursue that incredible experience. I was absorbed by raising my sons, being a husband, and a provider. Unfortunately that happens to most of us. We feel we must love, protect, and provide for our families in order for them to have the best life possible.

I did it my way. There were various struggles over the years with health issues and money mostly. We survived. I developed the idea that I was someone who could always face a challenge and do what it takes. This went on up until a few years ago.

I am not sure when I rediscovered the Lord. It happened gradually. I slowly began to search out the Lord. I found that I had peace in my heart most of the time. I started hearing him in my heart. Of course in the beginning, I thought it was some kind of sixth sense .

I wondered why it seemed that my life didn't change. I started the old regret thing. If I had known then, I would have become a preacher, I would've raised my family with God. My job would've been better. Sound familiar? Instead of a pity party, let's look at some facts.

First of all ,those lies are only are satan trying to condemn us. He wants us to think that God let us down. He wants us to think that God imposed His will on us. Again, more lies.

When I look back now, I see a couple of things without even looking. God loved me so much that he took the chance that I would reject Him, in order for Him to help me.

I always had free will. I did my thing, and He helped me by stopping my bad decisions from putting us under. He always tried to communicate, but I either didn't know, or I ignored Him. It was so gentle that I didn't realize it was happening.

God will let you do it your way if you insist, but you would be much better off to do it His way. He helps you to see what is important in life. Salvation was bought and paid for by Jesus. God wants to adopt you, and goes out of His way to show you. He has a plan for your life, which is much better than anything you can plan. With this short story, I hope you will find peace that only God can give, and avoid 40 years learning the lessons. When you get closer to God, He gets closer to you. I had a lot in common with people Moses led. Open your heart, get rid of the pride, and see what Jesus did for you, and is doing for you. Now I sincerely ask for guidance before I do anything.

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 those sins. By His stripes I was healed. He died and rose again to make salvation possible. I ask you Jesus to come into my heart and be my personal Savior. Help me to live according to your plan. Thank you Lord.