Hug Jesus

It Is Written, Jeremiah 17: 7, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord"
Have you ever watched the movie like Jesus of Nazareth? It is Jesus who raises  Jairus daughter from the dead. As a little girl comes to life, she gives Jesus a big hug. It may sound silly, but when that happened, I got tears in my eyes, and envied the little girl because she was able to do that.
Every time the word says Jesus healed someone, I don't recall a time that it mentions the healed person hugging Him. As a matter of fact, there are only a couple of people who thanked Him.
It is easy for us to judge these people. How ungrateful, can they be? Well my friends, the sad truth is, most of us never thank God for all of our  blessings. I am sure that if we did, He would smile.
I like to think that if I had an encounter with Jesus, I would squeeze Him so hard, that He would ask me to ease up a little, so He could breathe. Since I cannot do that in person, I found the way in His word to feel like I am hugging Him. He said "whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me".
I will work hard to plant seeds of salvation, feed the poor, heal the sick, and reflect Jesus to everyone I meet. And when I see Him in person, I am going to give Him that hug. For Him, but especially for me. Praise the Lord.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

God's Plan And Faith

 It Is Written, James 1:3, " knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience".

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who live by what God says, and those who live by what the world says. I won't really get into the world person, except for a small comment. When you live by what the world says, you make all your own decisions, including where you will be in a couple of hundred years. Along with the world system, comes fear, chaos, and an unhappy life. That's all I will say about that.
Real Christians have other problems. These problems are of a different nature, and can be ended whenever the Christian says so.
Many Christians run around trying to follow God's plan. After many years I think I found the answer. The strategy I follow is simple. First thing every morning I ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance . Then I read the word. I go about my routine, checking with the Holy Spirit to help with all decisions.
I believe we are where we are supposed to be in God's plan. If we communicate with the Holy Spirit, He will put on our heart when it is time to do something else. Stick to it. Doors will open at the right time. The time before the doors open is preparation time for the next step. If we wait for the Holy Spirit, the change will be successful.
I believe regardless of what we do, no matter what kind of job, or where we go, it is for God's purpose. Your are probably there at that time, to meet someone that God has sent to you, to help them find Him.
I look at what I do, for instance with these messages, going out to eat, shopping, all as opportunities to plant seeds. God uses each one of us to be the contact for someone to come to Him. Don't look down on what you do, or envy someone else. God needs all of us. Just as a jumbo jet has thousands and thousands of parts in order to fly. Even if the tiniest most insignificant part was missing, it would not fly.
God's garden won't grow, unless we plant the seeds. That is what we are here for.

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."
Always remember;
Jesus Loves You

Fear Of Gods Will

it is written,1 Corinthians 1:18, "for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God".
Have you ever noticed the reaction of different people when you mention Jesus or God? The reactions range from total indifference, to absolute anger. It really is amazing the way emotions are stirred up.
Let's take a look at some examples. I use these examples because I witnessed them. If you read these examples, I think you'll agree that some of the reactions are a bit excessive.
I was taking insulin for type II diabetes. We prayed for healing, that is exactly what happened. I was healed. My wife and I were excited, and wanted to tell everyone. We told a close relative, and they dismissed the  healing as nothing. They attributed it to physical exercise or possibly diet change or whatever, which was not true of course. Other people looked at us as though we had three heads. Some said, "that's nice". Even a couple of Christians were skeptical.
When my wife and I get a good set of CDs, a book or a movie, that teaches us something about the word of God, we try to share them with others. We get extra copies to pass around. Usually after a month or so, we ask, how did you like it? Answer 9 times out of 10 is, I have been so busy I didn't have time to check it out.
People are so quick to pass things off, or ignore them. We are not trying to push Jesus down anyone's throat, but they sure act like it. I have come to the conclusion that a lot of these people ignore Jesus, or hate Him because they are either afraid that He will do something they don't like, or they don't want to be accountable for their actions. The old head in the sand thing.
It is like people are in a card game by choice, and they don't know what the stakes are. You cannot avoid a problem by not acknowledging it. Whether people believe the beginning verse or not, what it says, is what it is. The best thing you can do for yourself or someone else, is to pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten them.
When someone is saved, and you mention Jesus, you'll see smiles and excitement, and someone who wants to talk about Him.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Judging God

It Is Written, Matthew 7:1, " judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you".
Almost everyone you know, and that includes you and I, have judged God. We think we can do better, just by the statements we make. Most of us find fault with everything and everybody. We let our pride take over, by saying I would never do that. When we criticize God's creation, we are saying that God did not do as good a job as we would have done.
One of the most often used, and worn-out excuses, is a reference to the God of the Old Testament. How could a so-called loving God, slaughter women, children, and even their animals. This is the most often used excuse for rejecting God.
First of all, people who think this way, either didn't read the Bible, or didn't understand it. The God of the Old Testament is our God. From the beginning He wanted everyone to be saved.
God spoke to the patriarchs, Moses, the Prophets. The land was full of idol worshipers. They had God's for everything. They had no formal teachings to go by until Moses. The law that God gave Moses showed them how they really were.
When God rescued His chosen people from Egypt, I think it was like a fresh start for His people without destroying everyone again. He gave them the land that was inhabited by ungodly, sinful people. He told them to take the land and destroy everything and everyone, so the Israelites would not be led astray again.
Even after all of that, they still went back to idols. I guess if I was God,none of us would be here today. God's love and patience, is incredible, and His forgiveness goes beyond what anyone could possibly hope for.
God sent Jesus as Savior. Jesus was rejected by most people, in spite of His teaching and miracles. He was not just rejected, He was killed. Sent to save us, we destroyed Him, and spit in God's face.
Fast forward to today. Most of the world still hates Jesus. I don't understand how you can hate something or someone, you don't even know.
The world takes God and Jesus out of everything. In some places you can be killed for using Jesus name. All sorts of idols exist and are worshiped every day. Everything that can be an abomination to God is a part of everyday life.
When a disaster or some sort of terrible thing happens, everyone wants to know why God allowed it. If someone dies, the family wants to know why God let them die. Most of these people who question or blame God, have lived without God, and hate His son.
We have to conclude that God really does love us, because He has not destroyed us and is still willing to forgive us. If you and I must judge God, we must love Him for His love, mercy, and blessings in spite of how we are.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Prayer With Feeling

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

Those of us who grew up with memorized prayer, usually had no clue about what the prayers actually said, and faith was not connected with them in most cases. This often lead to problems down the road in our prayer lives. I believe the answer to this dilemma came to me by way of the Holy Spirit.

Before I tell you, I would like to explore a few things about prayer. I don't think I was the only one with questions. Patience please.

We have all heard about people feeling a warm sensation, and said they felt what they described as like a flow of electricity, and other various feelings like tingles or whatever. Some preachers with big-time healing ministries, have talked about feeling power in an arm, or a hand. And they would not even pray for someone to be healed until they felt that.

Now for us average folks. We pray for healing for someone, and we don't feel anything. Our brains have set us up for failure by comparing us to the people I mentioned. We did not feel what they did. As a result, deep in our hearts we did not expect the healing to happen.

You have probably felt as frustrated and disappointed as I did. So you try harder to build your faith, so you can be someone who feels something positive when you pray. It doesn't work that way. Read on.

The other day I was sitting in my car waiting for my wife. She was in a store for quite a while. I happen to notice an old couple coming to the store. She was struggling pushing a walker, and her husband was bent over, and having an equally hard time walking. I was wondering why they didn't park in a handicapped spot 10 feet from the door.

As this couple passed me, I blessed them in Jesus name, and asked Him to bring them salvation if they weren't saved already. I really hoped for a feeling that the prayer was answered. Human nature I guess.

Just then I felt that small voice in my heart. I am sure it was the Holy Spirit. He said to me, what makes you think that your prayer was not answered? God knows your heart. When you pray for someone, it is because I lead you to. Prayers always come from your spirit, and my power is connected to them. You just pray, I make it happen.

satan works on your brain all the time. If he can get you disappointed, because you didn't feel anything, he has created a block to that prayer. Your spirit can make your brain stop the negative stuff if you let it. Tune the brain out, and your spirit will do the rest.

When you pray, regardless of what your brain says, the spirit will always work. You don't have to feel anything, or do anything else. The Holy Spirit I believe led you to pray, so you do your part and He will do His.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

Spirit And Body

It Is Written, Job 33:4, the spirit of God has made me. And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
As most of us know by now, we are his spirit created in the image of God. We have a body through which the Holy Spirit can act. Simple, right?
Your spirit is in your heart. The spirit of God communicates to the spirit in your heart. If you make an effort to know the Holy Spirit, and listen spiritually, you can feel His message as though He were shouting in your ear. You have probably heard people say that God told them something. You may have thought they were a little wacko. Well maybe some of them were, but it is a real experience.
You can ask the Holy Spirit to pray with your spirit while you sleep. He does. A number of times I woke up in the middle of the night aware that I was praying. The spirit in you, is in direct communication with God through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give you advice, listen to you, and talk to you, if you ask Him to. 1 Corinthians 12:7 – 11 tells about the gifts and how they work through people. There are countless books about the Holy Spirit and who He is and what He does.
The Holy Spirit expects each of us to use our bodies to live as Jesus did. Your spirit, the one who is you, has direct communication with the Holy Spirit, and knows what is right in the sight of God.  Your brain which is  your soul, must join forces with the spirit to control the body. Your spirit is in charge. It must not be ignored. The spirit tells the soul, the soul directs the body. The spirit is designed by God with the plan to get you to heaven.
satan tries to get your body to rebel and follow him and the world his way. This is the pathway to destruction. You are a spirit. You are in charge. The body is a tool that you use. All of this of course is through the Holy Spirit. An example; A Carpenter uses a hammer to build a chair, the hammer does not say, I will build a bookcase instead. Praise the Lord.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Fear Not

It Is Written, Psalm 103:13, as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.

It is no secret that the world is up for grabs. Most of us old-timers, don't remember a time, when there was such violence and chaos all over the world. It seems as though the whole world has gone crazy.

There is so much corruption, including widespread corruption in governments everywhere. Leaders either don't know what to do, or they don't have the will to do it, either because of pressure from the world, or in some cases their own self-interest.

Preachers by the hundreds say we are in the last days, and many people panic or are in denial. They even have a TV show about doomsday preppers. These people expect to survive the final days through their own planning.

At this point in time, it is possible, but unlikely that the world can come back. The only possibility is through Jesus Christ. When the world took God out of everything that held it together, satan filled the void. People by their actions chose satan over God.

Times are so uncertain, that people come up with all kinds of things to worry about, including aliens and zombies. I am not a genius, but I have the answer for peace and not fear in your life. That answer is to be right with God.

If the Bible does not mention something that the world is preaching, the world is preaching wrong. The Bible is the plan of God. If we follow the Bible and what it teaches, we will have no fear.

Remember how the Hebrews were protected from all the plagues in Egypt? We have the same God my friends. Trust in Him, and He will take care of you. If I hear the news, I say if because I try to ignore it, I don't pay much attention to all the prophets of doom. I figure everything is in God's time and God's way. He takes care of His own. Just be right with God and cast your cares, for He cares for you. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

Wants And Blessings

It Is Written, Philippians 4:19, and my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

From the day of our birth, we all want something. Maybe a bottle, or a clean diaper, we want something from day one. As we start to grow, we have more wants. We also have more needs. Somewhere along the line, are wants become our needs.

If a child is raised properly, he is taught to say please and thank you. Sometimes they actually mean it. It becomes a habit with most to appease their parents.

When the children become adults, the vast majority of them stop saying please and thank you. They feel that since they are adults, why lower themselves to that child stuff. We all go through life doing pretty much what we feel like doing. We look at everything as, if something happens that is good it is like, and if there are problems, it is just unlucky.

I was much like I am describing. For years, good and bad was happening. Things I wanted, many times didn't work out. Things I did, failed quite often. Things that should have worked, didn't. Things that shouldn't have been, usually were. All in all pretty miserable.

Then one day at found the Lord. As I grew in the spirit, I began to see some unbelievable things. When I look back, I saw so many things that fell apart on me, were actually blessings. I saw where, if it had gone my way, it would've been a total disaster. When I say all things worked for my good, I say that with all my heart. I had blessings all my life, and didn't even realize it. I have often said, God protected me from myself, and led me, sometimes kicking and screaming, to salvation.

I have included a copy of a poem written by Margaret Fishback Powers, called Footprints In The Sand. If ever a poem described my life, and possibly yours, this would probably be it. If you read this poem and think back on your life, you will probably see a lot of what I described about myself.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

Foot Prints In The Sand

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

Poor And Homeless

It Is Written Proverbs 21:13, " whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard."

There our many poor and homeless people in this world. You don't have to look too far to find one of these unfortunates.

It is easy for most people who are doing well, to criticize or look down on them. Many people feel that homeless and poor means lazy with absolutely no ambition. In some cases this is probably true. Generally that does not tell the real story. The thing we must remember is, that no matter what their condition, they belong to God just as we do. It is His job to judge, not ours.

If you talk to some of these people, there are some genuine tragedies involved. Maybe someone lost a spouse, maybe their house, the job, or any number of things they haven't been able to deal with. Maybe if some of these people had someone to talk to the way most of us do, they would find their way.

Most of us who are reasonably well-off sometimes find it difficult to understand about poor or homeless. Most of us could get help, or, get some cash if we had to. For the most part they can't. I don't believe anybody would enjoy living on the street, unless they needed professional help. When someone hasn't got it, and can't get it, what are they supposed to do?

Some people say that God abandoned these people. I believe God sent someone to help them; you and me. It is written in Matthew 25:40 "assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me".

A lot of us, myself included, have struggled over how we can show God that we love Him, or even feel in our hearts that we truly love God. Well my friends, we have one of the answers as to how to do this. We follow His plan for our life, and part of that plan is for us to help the less fortunate. When we help those in need, we in effect are expressing our love for God. One thing I got in the habit of saying many years ago when I see one of these homeless people, is, there but for the grace of God go. I think about it. Praise the Lord.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

Jesus At Calvary

It Is Written,1 Corinthians 1:18, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Have you ever wondered what went through Jesus mind during holy week? Have you thought about how hard it was?
When Jesus rode that donkey, and all the people were cheering wildly, He could see that in a few short days, they would be yelling wildly for His crucifixion. He didn't let His anguish show. He continued to heal even those who would call for His blood.
Think how you feel before going to the dentist. That is nothing, compared to what Jesus felt, but you get the idea of what I mean by anticipation. At the Last Supper He was anticipating the most horrible death imaginable. He still washed the apostles feet, and carried on under tremendous stress.
He prayed in the garden, by Himself. His apostles didn't know what was going to happen, so they just slept while He was in anguish. Anyone else would have run away. When the soldiers came to get Him, they couldn't wait to abuse Him, so they beat Him all the way to the so-called trial. Was He thinking about himself? I doubt it. He was thinking about us, even though He knew so many would not come to Him.
As He was being scourged, and His skin was being ripped off, and His muscles cut to pieces, I imagine He was thinking about all of those who would be saved because of His suffering. Every time the whip hit He was thinking about another affliction healed. Every drop of blood, more sins were forgiven. He took it all for us, no shortcuts or easing of pain for Him. He hung on until all sins were forgiven, all sicknesses and infirmities healed.
When He was being crucified, He thought about His death and resurrection, and how through His resurrection, satan would be defeated, and we would gain salvation, by accepting what He did for us. In spite of all His suffering and pain, He probably felt some joy in what He was doing to win us back. All he went through was not in vain.
Isaiah 53, tells the story much better than I can. When I saw the passion of the Christ movie, I could not imagine the courage it took to go through that, especially when you figure how much people hated Him. The reality is, He did it all for you and for me.
To add to showing us how much He loved us, He asked His father to forgive them for they know not what they do. We can all show our love for Him, by following His teaching as much as possible, and as the Holy Spirit leads. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Guard Your Heart

It Is Written John 14:1 let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me.

For some reason, whenever something good or bad affects someone we love, we feel it in our hearts. I am no Dr., so I can't say for sure that there is no reaction physically in the heart. It could be that our conscious mind sends some kind of signal to the heart that tells us if we are expressing joy or sorrow.

This message is not meant to be a medical report on the heart. It is here just to set up the rest of the message.

When you are in church and you hear a hymn you really like, you might say it touches your soul. You feel something in your heart, and you may even weep. Another example of a different kind, is a loved one who was hurt or sick. You again feel like a pain in your heart and sadness in your mind.

Life is full of such incidents. How do we deal with them? The answer is, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Whenever you encounter one of these heart touching events, just say to yourself "let not your heart be troubled" you will have peace in your heart. After telling yourself for a week or two, you will find that your level of faith is higher. Guarding your heart is nothing more than repeating Jesus words to yourself. Let not your heart be troubled. Trust in me. Praise the Lord.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

Faith, or Giving Up

It Is Written, Hebrews 11:1, now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This may seem like a strange title, but it won't be after I explain.
We all know by this time that faith involves total trust in God. Many of us struggle with that idea, sometimes for years. The human mind has difficulty believing there is a God. Some people are so against the idea, that they totally ignore an overwhelming amount of common sense that proves the existence of God. Possibly this is out of fear.Given that fact, you now have to contend with the idea of what many call blind faith. They think you have to be a moron to believe that way.
Okay. Now let's look at a spirit filled Christian. Let's assume that this person prays, and believes to the point that he trusts God completely. He is exercising what some called blind faith. He leaves the outcome to God.
Now for the next question. Did this person exhibit faith in God, or did he just give up on his own efforts in default to God? Here's the reason for the question. Giving up because you are totally frustrated, and don't expect the answer to your prayer, is quite different than giving up, because you believe that God really will answer your prayer.
We all need to decide on the reason we give up, because that will determine the outcome. Make sure the reason you give up, is because you have faith. Faith is always rewarded. If you make trusting in God a major part of your life, you will never have to ask yourself that question again. Praise the Lord.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Come As You Are

It Is Written 2 Timothy 1:9, the power of God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

You have probably heard this phrase before. It is used by preachers, friends, and even relatives. The whole idea behind it is simple. Whenever you are invited, don't worry about how you were dressed, just come. No restrictions to stop you from coming.

God issues an invitation to us too. His invitation is something different though. God loves us and wants us to come to Him. God sends everyone that same invitation, come as you are.

Put simply, God has no favorites. When He says, come as you are, He is saying you don't have to earn salvation. Jesus died and rose again to give you that. Just accept what He did, and come.

Many people think they have sinned so much, and did so many horrible things, that they can't be forgiven. Guess what. We were all sinners, but what Jesus did for us, erased all of those sins. It is like they never happened. You are free to accept.

Some denominations feel that they area the only way to heaven. When God says, come as you are, he includes all people of every denomination, faith, color, race. We are all His children, and He loves us all. The invitation is to accept Jesus and what He did, repent, and invite Him into your heart.

So you see, it really is that simple. God is probably the only one, that says come as you are, and really means it no matter what your condition. Praise the Lord.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

Life Is What You Make Of It

It Is Written,1 Thessalonians 5:18, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
We all go through life some way. The way we do it, depends on us most of the time. What do I mean by that? Read on.
The first and most important thing, is our relationship with God. How much faith do we have? Do we try to follow Jesus example of love? Is God number one in our lives? You know the rest.
Some people you know, possibly a family member, or even you, are constantly negative and complaining without even realizing it. Every time they open their mouth, they seem to speak gloom and doom. Sometimes we dwell on the negative so much, that we can put ourselves into a state of depression. People that are like that are generally avoided by other people, because they don't want to get that way too.
Many Christians, as well as secular writers, have written about the power of the words you use. It has been said a number of times, if you want to know where you will be in five or 10 years, look at the words you speak today. Your subconscious will direct your mind and actions the way you think.
For the other side of the coin, count everything you have as a blessing, and be thankful. No matter what your situation, 90% of the world would love to trade places with you. Faith filled, positive words affect your mind in a different way. These words are good for you. You can speak prosperity, health, faith, countinued blessings, and just plain trusting in the Lord with all your heart. The words you use and the trust you have in the Lord, is what is meant by depending on yourself most of the time. You have control of your thoughts and words, the rest is up to the Lord.
Do yourself a favor, and check out how you think and talk. If you want to have a happy joyful life, and have people like to be around you, you can do it with a change of attitude. Remember, life itself is a blessing.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Steps In Life

It Is Written Proverbs 3:6 "In all my ways acknowledge Him and He directs my path."
Whenever we pray, most of us want an instant answer. I imagine that comes from the fact that we have become an instant society. I am pretty sure that God doesn't work that way.
Life and answers to prayers, are usually a series of steps over time. Remember that God does not operate on our time schedule.
You start out praying for something. Okay so you did the first step, you ask God, and put it in His hands. He acts in the first of what will probably be a number of steps. To a large extent, the number of steps is connected to your faith.
As time goes by, things happen. Some things are pleasant, and some not so much. Your faith is tested, sometimes to the point that you are ready to give up. You get angry with God and yourself. You are angry because you want to give up, but for some reason you can't.
While all of this is going on, you are still talking to God, and He is with you, but the steps keep coming. Having faith is sometimes a real struggle. You start to notice things happening for the good, that seem to come out of nowhere. Then you see the answer to your prayer.
As you look back, you begin to see how each step depended on the one before. God tested your faith to see if you could handle it. Remember, He knew where this was going, as well as the best way to get there. You become a better person in some way.
To sum it all up, when you pray, realize that the answer will probably come in steps. The more faith you have, and the fewer times you take back the problem, the fewer steps will be needed for the answer. Believe me when I tell you, I learned what I say the hard way. The sooner we learn to trust God completely, the happier and more prosperous we will be.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood has washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, and your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Charities

I am sure that all of us have been bombarded by countless charities. Most are legitimate, and unfortunately some are scams.
If you go online to Charity navigator, you can get the facts about many charities. Things like how much of every dollar actually gets used for what they say as well as administrative expenses are listed. I like to see my money being used for the reason I sent it.
Many people are out on the street collecting for homeless people, abused spouses, kids into drugs, and even for uniforms for a sports team. Most are unknown, and some are probably just plain old theft.
I have been approached at gas stations, parking lots, and on the street. Most of the time I have been moved to help. It's the same thing in front of stores. I just ask God to forgive them if they are not legitimate and forgive me if I don't give to someone who needed it.
Many times near a store like Walmart, or at an intersection, you see a healthy looking young person, or sometimes a raggedy looking, dirty looking older person is standing with a sign that says homeless. Most people pass these people up. I must confess that I did too at one time.
The Bible says we are not to judge, so I try not to. We keep some cash handy in our car, so that if we stop and one of these types is there, it is easy to give them some money before the light changes. When we hand them the money, we tell them God bless you.
We do not give a thought to whether they need it, or are lazy. It is not for us to judge. We figure we do it according to God's will, and if they are wrong in what they do, it is between God and them. After all He does say  love your neighbor, and this is part of it.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

The Holy Spirit

For those who don't know, the Holy Spirit is the powerful, get it done part of the Holy Trinity. When Jesus was on the earth, He could do no miracles until His baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:11 but of the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
That's right, the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. All of Jesus miracles were done by the Holy Spirit, and Jesus faith.
The Holy Spirit is the  helper that Jesus promised and sent to the apostles, and from them to us. In 1 Corinthians 12, the gifts of the Holy Spirit to us are listed. When we were baptized in the Holy Spirit all of these gifts became available to us.
Word of wisdom, and healings are 2 that I have been blessed with  personally, and in praying for other people. There are more, check them out. Many people teach that all of this stopped when the apostles died, but this is not true. All of this was passed down to us as Christians. Millions of people have been healed, and millions more experienced the other gifts.
My wife and I start every day asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom and everything we say and do that day. We ask Him to help us bless someone each day. He does.
We call on the Holy Spirit for everything. We thank Him for blessings and miracles. I tell you that since we started doing this, our life is full of grace, favor, blessings of all kinds, including a few miracles. We ask Him to guide everything we say and do, through a word of wisdom. He hasn't failed us yet.
The sad part is religion has kept Him a secret for the most part. I believe Christians are finally starting to realize the amazing things connected with the Holy Spirit through reading the Bible. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

What Some Christians Think

I have talked to a lot of people about what they believe in. For now I will talk about people who are supposed to be Christians.
I ask what they think about God. They all say that He created the world. Not too many have a good idea about how much he loves us.
Next, let's look at Jesus. Everyone mentions the Nativity and crucifixion. The problem is, the majority of these people do not understand the significance of these two events.
People generally can't tell you much about Jesus life, what He taught, or what He really did for us. They don't have any idea about how much He loves us. They basically know what others may have told them. The problem is they don't know if the information was correct or not.
Now we come to the least known part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Ask most people to name three functions of the Holy Spirit, and a lot of people can't give you one. Not surprising, since a lot of churches hardly mention anything about Him.
Here is a good question. If you're going somewhere for 10 years, and whatever you needed had to be prepared in advance, because you couldn't change a thing when you got there, or get anything that you forgot, how carefully would you plan? No matter what you forgot, there is no going back. Sound scary?
Well my friends, we are all going on a trip. This trip however, is forever. It is called eternity. Another tricky part is, we don't know when our trip starts. God the master planner, sent us a complete set of instructions, called the Bible. It contains all the information we need. If you follow the Bible, your trip will be glorious, and you don't have to worry about when you are going, or what will be there when you get there.
I don't say this to insult anyone. We all need to look at ourselves the way God sees us. Does He see a real Christian? If you confess your sins with your mouth, believe in Jesus death and resurrection, and ask Jesus to be your personal Savior, and live in your heart, you are. Remember, the Bible says Jesus is the only way to heaven! The Bible also contains all the answers for the questions above.
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Bible Attitudes

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time in the world. I believe Pilgrims progress is second.

These two facts are astounding to me. I know very few people who read the Bible. Well maybe they read just a little once in a while. I am the only one however that I know, who read Pilgrims progress. It makes you wonder why so many people buy these books every year.

I've taken an unofficial survey over the last few years, and the results are sad. The average person dismisses the Bible as a fairytale. Just a bunch of stories to scare people, or to confuse them. It is old-fashioned and hard to understand, and doesn't address itself to modern times. If you ask what in particular they are referring to, they can't give you an answer because most of them haven't read it.

Then of course you have the people that pick something that they say they do believe, and follow it up with something they don't believe. One person even said their church doesn't believe everything in the Bible. This last statement may or may not be true.

What all of these people have in common, is that they don't believe the Bible was inspired by God, and that the problem with the Bible is that we must adapt to it, rather than it adapt to us. You cannot pick and choose what you believe from God's word. It is all true.

Years ago, I heard an old-time preacher say that the Bible is so easy to understand, that a five-year-old could do it. I got so mad I yelled at the TV to show me that five-year-old. I thought the old preacher was a bit balmy.

The Holy Spirit moved me to get a New King James version study Bible, and to actually study it. All I can say after reading the Bible cover to cover six times, I have reached the point where I believe there just may be some five-year-olds that understand it just as the preacher said.

Don't pay attention to people that say negative things about the Bible. Make up your mind to study it, and to believe every bit of it. It is the word of God, given to us as instructions to get back to Him. People that make jokes about the Bible and talk about seeing their friends in hell, need our prayers, because they don't know what they're talking about. Think about it.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

Don't Block Prayer

All of us at one time or another, have experienced what we thought were unanswered prayers. As I have said in the past, sometimes our prayers are not answered the way we expect.

We all know by now the big reasons prayers are not answered. Fear, doubt, improper motive, and a heart that is not prepared for prayer.

Let us assume that you are right with God, and your motive, like praying for someone else is pure. There may be things that are blocking the manifestation of your prayer, that you are not even aware of.

We may not realize that fear has crept in to our minds, and like anything you think about for any length of time, it grows. Doubt is the same way. As the story goes, you know God can do anything, but will he do it for you? Yes! Worry is also a part of this team.

Another way we sometimes go wrong, is we put a time limit or deadline for an answer. God does not have one of our clocks, so answered prayer is according to His time. He sees everything, and He knows what is best for us, and when.

Now we get to a common problem, that most of us have probably experienced. We pray with all our heart for something, for instance a blessing for a family member. We tell the Holy Spirit that everything is in His hands. After a day or two, we start thinking about plan B. Whenever we do that we take the problem out of God's hands.

When we realize what we have just done, we confess our error, and give it back to God again. When we do that He has to start over. God has no Plan B, and we shouldn't either. His plan works, but the catch is, when we give it to Him, we must leave it with Him. He does not need our help, just our trust.

If we give our problem to God, and leave it with him no matter what, it will be answer to our best advantage. Remember, no time limit, and no Plan B.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

In Jesus Place

The other day I was reading a devotional that Kenneth Copeland wrote. In it he said that we are the only body Jesus has on this Earth at the present time. I heard the same thing a while back, but I never really thought about it.

The statement at this time, really started me thinking. We are His hands, His feet, and have His power through the Holy Spirit. We are His tool on this Earth. When He is our Savior, we in effect are just like Him. The Holy Spirit will do the same things with us that He did with Jesus when He was here.

So what does it mean? When Jesus gave the apostles the great commission, He gave them himself. We were created in God's image. We did not become Jesus when we were saved, but we became like Jesus, able to do what He did with the Holy Spirit as the power.

Since all of this is true, what do we do? The answer is given to us in part as the great commission. We are to go into the world and heal the sick, preach the gospel, cast out demons in His name.

If we are Jesus body on this Earth, and we are, we must reflect Him in every way. Help the poor and hungry, love the unlovable, have compassion on everyone. With the help of the Holy Spirit, be the kind of person that people want to be like. We must be as good a reflection of Jesus, that we can possibly be.

I realize that many people probably will not agree with what I have just said, but if you really think about it in terms of what Jesus said in the Bible, I think you'll get the idea. It would probably take a small book, to really explain how this is true.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Thank You

Amen

The Danger Of Judging

We have a tendency to judge others without even thinking about. Here arer a couple of examples of judging that I've been guilty of. Maybe you have been guilty to.
Someone parks in a handicapped spot, and appears to be a healthy man in his early 20s. You don't notice or even look for the handicapped sticker. Turns out he is a double amputee. 0h Oh.
Not learning a lesson, we continue to judge people parking in handicapped spots. A lot of them are obviously not handicapped. In our self-righteous indignation, we say, I would never do that.
Well my friends, every time you say that or something like that, you are guilty of judging someone else.  Your pride takes over and you begin to cast judgement.  You are probably even guilty of complaining. God hates pride and complaining. Who do you suppose is more guilty?
Another serious problem comes up when we judge other people by how they look. I was witness to an example of this years ago. I was at a Cadillac dealership. Two scruffy looking men came in, and one of the salesmen laughed and said to another salesman, look, two prospects for you. The second replied, more like suspects, and avoided them. I observed  probably a new salesman, who came up to these two scruffy looking guys, and asked if he could help them. To make the story short, both of these scruffy men each bought a brand-new car and had the cash with them. The two laughing guys lost out on several thousand dollars in commissions. This is a true story, a little extreme perhaps, but absolutely true. They learned the lesson the hard way. The one who did not judge profited.
Someone may look to you like an assassin and they are actually a pastor in a neighborhood that's not quite up to the normal standards that people have. I for one have learned my lesson. In case you were wondering, I was not any of the salesmen.
We may all slip once in a while, and our mouth says something that our brain didn't catch up with yet, but don't condemn yourself, just try harder next time.
It is written, Matthew 7:1 –3 , "do not judge, or you will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you".
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.