The Exciting Holy Spirit

It Is Written,1 Corinthians 2:9 – 10, but as it is written:"eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him" but God has revealed them to us through His Holy Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God.
I have written many messages so far. As I have said many times, I believe I was led by the Holy Spirit. Everything I wrote about was true as far as I know it.
A short time ago, the thought came to me that I was missing out on a lot of blessings. I inquired of the Holy Spirit, and just that quick He told me the problem was that I did not ask for His wisdom or help. He said He listens and helps with even the smallest thing 24/7.
That same day I was fixing something, and after getting nowhere for a couple of hours, I finally smartened up and asked for His help. A tiny little voice told me what to do, and 10 min. later it was done. As days and weeks went by I began to ask for His help before I did anything. Even if I knew how to do something I still asked for His help. It got to the point where I started saying to Him okay Holy Spirit, what should we do, or how should we do this?
I can only tell you this. The Holy Spirit answered every time within minutes. It was always right. I'm so convinced of His faithfulness, that I have total faith in the outcome when I listen. I have seen the impossible happen and I'm so excited about Him in my life, that words can't express it.
If you saw Him do what I have seen him do, you would never doubt if you live to be 100.  As a byproduct, I feel I finally have a real relationship with God.
Ask the Holy Spirit about something you aren't sure about. Then choose to see the result you want, and it will happen.
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

Another Thanksgiving

It Is Written, Ephesians 5:20, give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving, as we all know by now, is a traditional day of thanks to the Lord. I would like to put the following thoughts out there for all to think about. First of all I suggest thanking God every day. We ask Him for something every day, yet most of us thank Him once a year. What is wrong with that picture? Think about this. If your family asks you for something every day, and thank you once a year, and still complained that you weren't fast enough in giving them what they want, how would you feel? By the grace of God, he is not like most of us.
Second. We all have our traditional list of things we thank God for. It is a list of things we don't have to think about. Sound sincere? How about we give thanks to God for what He does for us every day. Most good does not happen to us because we are clever. When you take a breath, is it your effort, or God's grace? Get the idea?
Third. Have you ever thought about thanking God for what didn't happen?For instance an argument with your spouse that didn't get ugly. How about an accident that didn't happen, or a sickness you didn' get. You didn't lose your job, things like that.
This last group takes a little time to figure out because the facts are unknown. When something bad or unpleasant happens to someone, remember it could've been you.An expression I use quite often when I see someone who appears to be unfortunate, such as a homeless person, I say to myself, but for the grace of God there go I.
God has a job for each one of us. If you happen to get a good job, live in a peaceful place, don't look down on someone else. That other person's life could have been yours. We each play a part, according to God's plan. He decides, and gives us a part for His reasons, not because we are so good are so bad. God is the creator, He gets to decide.
So put your heart into your thanks, and do it every day, it really doesn't hurt. 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

If God Said It, It Is True

It Is Written, Joshua 21:45, not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel.
Most homes have a Bible. Some have a big family Bible. Most of the time, it is used to record births, deaths, and marriages. A lot of times, it is just like the nick nacks and lays on a table.
A lot of times, even people that occasionally read it, don't understand its true significance. They often say that they don't have time to read it, and pass it off as just another storybook. They usually take some incident in it to question the fairness of God. Usually all of the killing in the Old Testament is used as their chief argument. The problem is they took something out of context, and never read the reasons.
Then you have the other group of people, who again take things out of context, and will tell you about everything they cannot accept about what they read, even though Jesus may have said it. They usually try to explain what they feel God was thinking, or what He really meant.
The Bible is the Word of God, period. He knew what He was saying, and He meant what He said. The Bible is not open to opinions. You must believe it all. You don't get to create your own version. If you study it with a good study Bible, you will find yourself understanding it, and possibly even keeping your opinion out of what is said.
After reading the Bible a number of times, I see how much God loves me by what is in the Word. As you study you begin to see God's plan. I believe if a person started young, and lived by what the Bible teaches, he or she would live a very contented, productive life, because they would more than likely have a true relationship with God.
Believing the whole Bible is a choice. I made up my mind that I believe everything the Bible says, even though my human brain sometimes tries not to accept certain things. I admit there are a few things I will ask Jesus to explain to me. You must forget your pride and believe as a little child just the way it is written in the Bible. The big thing you must always remember is if God said it, it is, regardless of what anyone says. Do not be misled by people you think might be smarter than you. Trust God.
The Bible was written to help us get back to heaven. God's word is not foolish. Life is made up of rules for everything we do. Just as in a game, if you don't follow the rules, you lose. The Bible is one set of rules, that none of us can afford to ignore. 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

Signs Of The Times

It Is Written, 2 Timothy 2:12, if we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
It Is Written Matthew 24:13 but he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Both of these verses are good to keep in the back of your mind, because times are tough and getting tougher. I start this message by saying I am not a gloom and doom person. I also want to make it clear that I am not predicting the future or when the end times will begin.
The other day I was watching a couple of news programs. I don't normally do that, because the news makes me angry at times. In a nutshell, innocent people at prayer were hacked to pieces. Then they showed people dancing in the street to celebrate this horrific occurrence. One of the people proclaimed that the murderers are heros, and are in heaven.
A bit later, another network showed tapes of speeches made by the top government guy, containing dozens of out right lies. Another key individual on a number of occasions proclaimed that the voters are stupid . He came right out and said people could not handle the truth, so they had to be lied to for their own good.
The next video showed a person that is in Congress, as well as a few others, making inflammatory speaches that amounted to inciting violence. The rule of law, and the entire justice system, as well as the Constitution, are all being trampled on, by the very people who are supposed to ensure law and justice.
So by now if you are still reading, you are probably wondering what this is all about. satan thought that by killing Jesus, that he would be higher than God. He was wrong.
If you look at the world today, all you see is chaos and unbelievable violence. satan seems to be trying again. He just might be making another gigantic mistake. People generally like to leave God on a shelf somewhere out of sight. There is something pretty predictable about humans. When things get really bad, and are getting worse, the survival instinct kicks in, and they call out to God. Even self-proclaimed atheists have been known to do that.
It seems logical to me that satan really messed up again. Because of all the turmoil, there is a good possibility that more and more people are turning to God.  Somehow that is a comforting thought. One thing we must all keep in mind, is that the story has already been written, and satan loses. All we have to do is trust God, and hang in there. 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 life as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

The Holy Spirit And Us

It Is Written,1 John 4:13, by this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

The average person seems to be unaware of who the Holy Spirit is, or what He does. The idea of the Trinity baffles a lot of people. They have a tendency to ignore, or not believe in something they don't understand. Faith is strange and even foolish to most of them.

When Jesus was on this Earth, He worked many miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said He only did what His father said, and He could do no miracles on His own. Don't forget that Jesus time on this Earth was as a man. His faith is what the Holy Spirit acted on.

When Jesus rose from the dead, it was the Holy Spirit that made Him rise. Before Jesus went back to heaven, He told the apostles that they were to do everything He did and more in His name. He also said He would send the same Holy Spirit that was helping Him. The Holy Spirit would guide, teach, and give them wisdom and power to do what Jesus did.

Through the years, all of that was passed down to us. Everything Jesus and the apostles were able to do, we can do. We have the same Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit talks to everyone, to bring them to God. Many people don't hear His tiny voice, or they ignore it. With the passing of time that little voice gets quieter and eventually goes away, when it is ignored. If however one of these people eventually seeks Jesus, the Holy Spirit will act.

Many times people will talk about a feeling, or what they call intuition. That is probably the Holy Spirit trying to help them. When you listen and act on that voice, you will see amazing things. You avoid trouble, you make good decisions, and sometimes it will even save your life. The Holy Spirit is always with you. If you have to make a decision, ask Him for wisdom. He will tell you, and you will have peace in your heart.

Believe me when I tell you that what I said is true. I lived every day. Put so-called common sense away and go with Holy Spirit sense. 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

Wake Up Christians Revised

My Friends:
Yesterdays post had a typo in it.  This is the revised post.
The highlighted part is the revision.
My apologies for the problem.


I'm not in the habit of writing editorials, and I certainly am not a politician. I'm just an ordinary Christian that thinks it is time to wake up Christians everywhere.
Every day people all over world, including the USA, live in societies that condone murder, accept violence, and persecution just to name a few of these outrages.
Ungodly people run everything from countries, to schools. Courts designed to protect citizens, forget what justice is. Instead of interpreting a constitution, they rewrite laws to fit the way they think. People in charge of various things take care of themselves, not the people who elected them.
It doesn't stop there. God and Jesus have become extinct in some places and endangered in other's. Even the USA, founded on biblical principles,has  forgotten God, and has headed down, like other godless countries. Now for instance good is bad, and bad is good. The moral decline is outstanding.
People have gone to jail or have been killed for saying Jesus name in many countries. Chaplains in the military have been ordered not to use Jesus name when they pray. To get even more ridiculous if that's possible, a cemetery refused to allow the name of Jesus from being inscribed on a new tombstone. The reason? Someone might be offended. Well thank God they finally gave in this after a lot of pressure.
Well fellow Christians, I could go on and on. I don't know about anyone else, but I am offended we are treated this way. My initial thoughts were anger when I heard things like this. Now I see it in a new light.
Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. That is the answer. With all of the Christians in this world, our combined, sincere, constant prayer, can change the world.
When elections come, find out what people's records say about them. Talk is cheap. Vote according to Biblical principles. If you don't act, don't complain. If things get worse, and they will, don't be surprised. If you didn't make your voice heard for God, you deserve it. I heard it said not too long ago, that we all get the leadership we deserve. I think we all need to put ourselves in the position, that deserves better. 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

Wake Up Christians

I'm not in the habit of writing editorials, and I certainly am not a politician. I'm just an ordinary Christian that thinks it is time to wake up Christians everywhere.
Every day people all over world, including the USA, live in societies that condone murder, accept violence, and persecution just to name a few of these outrages.
Ungodly people run everything from countries, to schools. Courts designed to protect citizens, forget what justice is. Instead of interpreting a constitution, they rewrite laws to fit the way they think. People in charge of various things take care of themselves, not the people who elected them.
It doesn't stop there. God and Jesus have become extinct in some places and endangered in other's. Even the USA, founded on biblical principles,has  forgotten God, and has headed down, like other godless countries. Now for instance good is bad, and that is good. The moral decline is outstanding.
People have gone to jail or have been killed for saying Jesus name in many countries. Chaplains in the military have been ordered not to use Jesus name when they pray. To get even more ridiculous if that's possible, a cemetery refused to allow the name of Jesus from being inscribed on a new tombstone. The reason? Someone might be offended. Well thank God they finally gave in after a lot of pressure.
Well fellow Christians, I could go on and on. I don't know about anyone else, but I am offended that we are treated this way. My initial thoughts were anger when I heard things like this. Now I see it in a new light.
Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. That is the answer. With all of the Christians in this world, our combined, sincere, constant prayer, can change the world.
When elections come, find out what people's records say about them. Talk is cheap. Vote according to Biblical principles. If you don't act, don't complain. If things get worse, and they will, don't be surprised. If you didn't make your voice heard for God, you deserve it. I heard it said not too long ago, that we all get the leadership we deserve. I think we all need to put ourselves in the position, that we deserve better. 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 Idea Of Sin

It Is Written, James 4:17, therefore, to him who goes to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
It Is Written, Matthew 15:19, for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornifications, thefts , false witness, blasphemies.
People have known about the 10 Commandments from the time they were very young. Most people do not realize there were over 600, not just 10.
Even today, if you ask the average person if they keep the Commandments, you'll get a yes answer. You will even get this answer from the great number of people who can't even name three of them.
God gave the law to show men that they were unable to keep the law. The general idea up until then was, no law equals no sin. When Moses presented the people with the law, they all said they could keep it.
The fact is, no one could keep it. The people judged their behavior by their standards, not God's. Since no one could keep the law God sent a Savior to the people, Jesus Christ His son.
Things are no different today. We cannot keep any of the laws either. By God's grace in Jesus death and resurrection we are saved. We became righteous because of Jesus. Gods standards really are impossible for us to keep. As Jesus said, if you break one commandment you broke them all. If for instance you lust in your heart, you are guilty just as though you physically did it. As far as God is concerned, if you hate someone, it is the equivalent of murder.
The fact of the matter is, you cannot judge whether or not you are keeping a commandment, by what you do physically. Perhaps what is in your heart is what you really need to pay attention to. Many times people look to find out if what they are doing is a sin, so they check the Bible. They feel that if the Bible doesn't say it's a sin exactly, such as abortion, then it is no sin. As it says in the other verse James 4:17, you can also add, that if the Holy Spirit is telling you something that you are doing is wrong, if you persist in doing it, then it is a sin.
I think it is obvious to the average person, that with these impossible standards, salvation through Jesus grace is the only way we can be saved. Praise the Lord, He forgave all our sins on the cross, and when we occasionally slip, we are forgiven.
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

A Measure Of Faith

It Is Written, Romans 12:3, for I say, through the grace given to Me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

God gives each man a measure of faith. Each person has the same size measure to begin with, but some people appear to have more. How come?

Let me start out with an example to set up what this message is about. Suppose two people were given an identical saw and hammer. After a while, a couple of months or even years, you would normally find that one person makes simple boxes, and the other makes furniture.

There is an obvious difference that cannot be accounted for by the tools. If you examine further, you would probably discover other reasons for the big difference. Perhaps imagination, or effort.

Faith is basically the same way. Jesus told the parable of the sower. A perfect way to explain the process. Faith given to the believers, even though both are saved, the results are different.

My personal belief is that the amount of faith perceived by a person, is directly associated to the time and effort spent seeking God. I am not talking about works. They are both still saved, but one has a relationship with God, and knows Him intimately. The other knows about God, but doesn't have much of a relationship.

With the relationship, comes more trust and dependence on God. The result is more blessings. I guess this is where the idea of a larger portion of grace, or faith came from. If you want to be more like a preacher you have seen, you must be prepared to do what he did. Most people can't. If you can't, don't condemn yourself, because the Holy Spirit probably wants you to do something else. Everyone has the same measure of faith, but each of us uses it differently.

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

Forgiveness

It Is Written, Matthew 6:14, "for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you".
In today's world there is a lot of pressure on everyone. The news is generally bad. You read about it, you hear about it, and you see it all around you.
Injustice is commonplace. People do strange things, or have no regard for the law or each other. You run into crabby people, who take out their frustrations on everyone they meet. It seems like everything you buy doesn't work, or is just plain junk. You can't get any help, because people just don't seem to care about what they do. Throw in satan, and you have a real recipe for disaster.
Does any of this sound familiar? It sure does to me. Under these conditions many people turn to God in desperation, or they are looking for a bit of magic or something to straighten it all out. The real answer presents a real dilemma to many people, because they are uncomfortable accepting it.
Well my friends, God is the only answer, but when someone has so much trouble, the last thing most want to hear about is God. Whether you believe it or not doesn't change the truth. Call on the name of Jesus and mean it. If you think there is no good news, you haven't read the Bible, the word of God.
Try this. Stop dwelling on bad news. Don't even listen to a weather report. Read the Bible every day, for the same amount of time you used to spend on the bad news. Study it. Meditate on it. Believe it.
When you accept Jesus in your heart, and live according to biblical ways as defined by Jesus, He will work in your life. He does however, require you to trust in Him, and makes it mandatory for you to forgive everyone for what you think they did to you. When you forgive others, God will forgive you. Don't judge anyone, and you won't be judged.
When you dwell on things of God, instead of the world, God will never let you down. Forgive others and don't judge, and God will hear your prayers. I'm not saying you should walk around in a stupor and not recognize what is happening, I am just saying when you hear the bad news, or suffer some type of injustice, realize that you must forgive, and know in your heart that God has things under control.
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.

God Does Not Abandon

It Is Written, Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor forsake you"
Many times in our lives, we experience times that we do not feel as close to God as we would like. Sometimes we feel sorry for ourselves. We may go through periods of real depression. If you read the Bible, you'll find many famous characters that went through the same things. Read Lamentations if you don't feel like finding them all. Many think it was written by Jeremiah the prophet, "the weeping prophet". David was another good example. In our times, there are many preachers that go through even more.
We go through this stuff because of attacks by satan. As we all know satan is always condemning us and trying to pull us away from God. In his hopeless situation he wants us to feel hopeless too. He hates God and wants to hurt him by using us.The closer we get to God, the harder satan tries.
 You may think I am wacko, or have been in the sun too long, but read on anyway, and think about it.
The closer you get to God, the harder satan tries. That tells me that I am on the right track.
If you realize that God will never abandon you, you know that even a very rough patch is okay, because you have the ultimate prize in your future.
God allows problems in order to help our faith grow. However He does not allow more than we can handle.
God is always with us. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding".
God does not want us to go by how we feel, He wants us to trust Him always, no matter what.
If you really meditate on what I just said, I think you'll find out as I did, that maybe things aren't as bad as they look, and you really can count on God to help 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

Power From God

It Is Written, Mark 16:17–18, "and these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."
Today we will try to explain what being a conduit of God's love and power means.
In order for the apostles, or any Christian to perform the works that Jesus did, they had to believe that He gave them that power. Being simple people, they probably just believed, and didn't give it another thought. If you asked them to explain how it worked, they probably couldn't explain.
We've all heard it explained in various ways. A wire from a plug carries power to a radio, for instance. Then you have an example of the policeman having the power of the law behind him.
If you have ever managed people, you have a good idea of how it works. The company says that you are the boss of the department for instance. When the company does that, they are telling everyone in the department that you represent the company. When you speak, you are taking the place of the company. The people you speak to understand that, so they do as you direct. Failure to do so, invites consequences. This goes for all levels of management.
Okay, so where does that leave us? There are some important differences between working for a company and working for Jesus.
When you are Christian, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are in your heart. You are dealing directly with the top guys. No layers of people between you and the top. You have immediate access to everything you need immediately.
When you are the boss, you speak the words to someone. You have to come up with the answer in the first place, and follow through to make sure it was done correctly. If a problem comes up, you have to figure it out.
When you work for Jesus, you have the greatest, most rewarding job there is. Jesus and the Holy Spirit know everything. You are taking Jesus place on earth. He tells you what to do. For instance" lay hands on that person and pronounce them healed in My name".
Pretty simple. He gives you the easy part. You say it and your job is done, He makes it happen. What was pronounced in Jesus name, has no choice, it must be. The power comes from Jesus who is living in your heart, and makes that short trip, through you to the person you are praying for. I think you'll agree, that exercising the power from Jesus, is much easier, with no fear of failure. 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

Is It Fear

It Is Written, Isaiah 54:14, " in righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you."
We all know what fear is. Each of us in our lifetime has more than likely experienced what we will call paralyzing fear. Paralyzing fear can actually cause you to be unable to make any kind of a move whether physical or mental.
Each of us has decisions to make every day. Sometimes we may ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, and sometimes we don't. Normally we hear a small voice in our hearts, telling us what to do. The typical person, usually starts to wonder, is what I feel the right answer?
As you keep asking yourself that question, you usually get more confused. You can confuse yourself so much, that you are totally unable to make a decision.
Two questions usually pop up. Are you afraid of the possible outcome of your decision, or as in the case of a Christian, are you afraid God will not answer? Either way, fear is not  good. When a non believer faces such a decision, common knowledge tells them to go with their "instinct" or the first thing they thought of, because delay will usually make things worse.
The normal believer, goes about it another way. He prays about it first. He asks the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance. He waits for an answer, and most of the times he gets it instantly. Next he makes sure that what he wants lines up with the Word of God. Does the answer line up? If it does, he ignores any other voice or feeling, and waits for the manifestation.
Depending on where you are in life, believer or unbeliever, it will either make sense, or be foolishness. If the believer really believes in his heart, he shall have what he asks. Jesus said so. Remember that fear or doubt will block prayers and answers. Prepare yourself with the Word of God to believe, and step out like the winner He has made 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.
Thank You
Amen

God First

It Is Written, Luke 12:20 – 21, concerning a rich man, "God said to him,  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will all those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God".
Jesus spoke many parables to the apostles. Many of them concerned rich people. Many people look for excuses for their wealth. Some come right out and say, that Jesus basically wanted everyone to give away what they have worked for. They missed the whole point of the parable.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon tells of the conclusions he has reached regarding his lifetime. He had everything he ever thought he needed. There is practically nothing worldly you can name that he didn't have. However, later in life, when he was King he abused the super wisdom God gave him, by using it to gratify his pride, and even allowed idols, and use the excuse that it was important for him to learn about other gods. But that is another story.
The whole point of these parables was what could happen if money, wisdom, power, or many other things became an idol to you. Riches have deluded many people. They count on themselves and what they have rather than God. All of us need to search your hearts, because it is easy to get caught up in wrong things.
It is written, Lamentations 3:40, "let us search out and examine our ways, and turned back to the Lord".
There is nothing wrong with money, possessions, the finer things in life. They become bad when God is replaced by them. When we have security in what we have, instead of God being our security.
When we are told to seek the kingdom first, it does not mean that you should read the Bible day and night, or giveaway absolutely everything you have. It simply means living as Jesus taught, with God as number one. God is the source for everything, and so are unlimited blessings.
Remember this. Earthly possessions including money, are passed on to someone else at some point. We can only take our love for God, and especially His love for us. 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

Ambassadors For Christ

It Is Written,1 Corinthians 6:17, but he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
You may be asking yourself what this is all about. It is simple. I have a theory that is not mentioned in the Bible as far as I know. Don't think I am trying to rewrite the Bible, I am not.
I think we were all spirits with God from the same time God was. He was God, and we were us. Everyone that came to earth before Jesus, didn't know what to do.
God sent his only son to the earth to save it, and bring people back to him. Jesus showed us the way. After Jesus ultimate sacrifice, He went back to heaven and left ambassadors to represent heaven and the father. These were the apostles and new Christians.
We came from that line of ambassadors. Just as ambassadors for countries represent their countries to the rest of the world, we are to represent heaven and God's policies to all we meet. To help us get God's, instructions right, we have the Holy Spirit to help and to guide us.
Just as a worldly ambassador has to do his best for his home country, we have to follow the first ambassador to mankind, Jesus Christ. We are to be a reflection of Him.
Just as worldly ambassadors try to maintain peace and harmony to avoid making enemies, we must represent God according to what He tells us. We are here to recruit new citizens for heaven.
Maybe this is a simple idea, but I like to think that I am one of the ambassadors. Our actions on this Earth, must at all times, reflect what Jesus did for everyone. We all have that responsibility. 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

The Most Ignored Person

It Is Written,1 Corinthians 12:6, and there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
The average person has heard about God and Jesus many times, in many ways. They hardly ever hear about the Holy Spirit, and if they have, they usually aren't aware of who He is or what He does.
When a person is saved, the Holy Spirit enters their heart. All believers have heard this, but once again even the average Christian hardly gives it a thought. Most do not know how important the baptism in the Holy Spirit is, or that there even is such a thing.
Some time ago, I heard a preacher talking about praying before you do something important, and letting the Holy Spirit guide you and help you. I started to do that, and when I let Him do it, I was never disappointed. It became a habit that grew.
As time went on, I began to realize a few interesting ideas. It is written, that Jesus came to save us, not to condemn us. If this is true, and it is, it stands to reason that God had all people in mind. So that presents a very interesting idea.
When I look back at my life, I now see what really happened. I have heard the Holy Spirit's voice for most of my life. The only time I didn't, is the years I totally ignored God.
Every time something good happened, I thought it was my doing, intuition, or just plain luck. I couldn't explain the fact that my life was literally saved several times, except by exceptional luck. When I went against the voice, I didn't pay the price I deserved.
What I didn't realize was that the Holy Spirit was working to bring me to God. I got chance after chance. As I drifted further and further away from God, the voice became less and less, till it stopped. After a few years I called on God in desperation, and He heard me.
I think that everyone has had similar experiences. The one we didn't know, or care about, tries to lead us to Christ. It is our decision to listen or not. Call on the name of Jesus, He will answer.
I must tell you this because it really made me see how much He, the Holy Spirit does care. Two days ago I took my lawnmower out. It didn't even try to start. It was making all kinds of clunky clanking noises when I was pushing it so I figured this sucker isn't going to work. I let it sit a while, then I tried again. It still wouldn't start. Went through the same routine two more times. My wife came out and asked me if I had asked the Holy Spirit to make the lawnmower run. Boy was I dumb for not even thinking about that. So my wife and I held hands and asked the Holy Spirit to make it start. I pulled the cord, and it started like a brand-new mower. It ran the rest of the day like there was no problem at all. I guess that will teach me to always remember to talk to the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord!
What have you got to lose, try 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

Take Up Your Cross

It Is Written, Matthew 10:38, "and he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me."
If you are like a lot of people, you have heard this verse many times. Chances are you probably didn't stop and think about it. You may not have even known what it referred to.
I think the best way to describe our cross, is by comparing it to the world. The world is a pretty heavy cross. A look at some of what we are referring to.
Let's start out with what to me is a heartbreaking part of our cross. The United States was founded as a republic, built on Godly principles. Our laws were written by what was in the Bible. Our founding fathers were God-fearing men. This country was blessed.
After the second world war, we started to go downhill morally. Little by little, God was taken out. As a matter of fact it seems like God is a dirty word now. Good has become bad, and bad has become good. Murder has become legal, and the traditional family as described in the Bible is in jeopardy. What is called free speech has gotten so ridiculous it is positively sickening. Christian values are under attack daily.
It is become very difficult to teach your children God's way, when so many teachers, especially at college-level, are atheists preaching there is no God. They preach the theory of evolution, with no regard to the absolute nonsense and impossibility of it.
It is hard to teach your children ethics, when they see politicians who are in some cases as bad or worse than some of the people in prison. When you read the Bible about the end times, it is like reading your daily newspaper.
Rather than belaboring the point, because I think we all know what the world is really like, I will only say this. Jesus showed us the way. All we have to do is what Jesus did. Pray to our father in heaven and do what he tells us to do. He will never leave us or forsake us. Never forsake him. We need to give it all back to the Lord. 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 all my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Live As Jesus Did

It Is Written, John 6:38, "for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me".
This verse really gives us a guideline to life. If you take a good look at what it says, and meditate on it, it really applies to us too. Let's examine what I just said.
Jesus was sent by His father to rescue a fallen world. God gave His only son to teach people how to live. If God didn't love us so much, He wouldn't have sent His only son. God the father could have taken the easy way, and just destroyed the whole world. He could destroy the world as often as He wanted to, until He got what He wanted. He didn't because He loves us.
Jesus spent his life on this Earth in the body of a man. He felt all of the same things we feel. satan tried anger, greed, lust, selfishness, and all the rest. Jesus however did not fall for any of this, because He was focused on His father. Being a man He knew what pain and hunger was like.
Jesus spent His life serving others. He taught them the way to salvation. He healed the sick, cast out demons, worked miracles. Finally He died for us, so we could be saved. He rose again conquering death and satan. He gave the apostles the great commission, before He went back to heaven.
So let's see where we are at this point. Whether you believe each person is a spirit with God from the beginning, or created in our normal human birth, it is immaterial. The fact is that God the father sent us just as He sent His son. The mission we have is the same one Jesus had. Salvation gave us the same father Jesus had. We received the same Holy Spirit that was the power behind Jesus miracles, and resurrection.
Jesus and his father knew exactly what we would face, because Jesus did it. In the great commission, Jesus told the apostles and us to do what He did, and greater. He gave us His helper, the same Holy Spirit. We received the same amount of faith Jesus had.
It seems pretty clear to me, that we really were created in His image in all aspects. As we exercise our commission, and seek the kingdom, we will be more like Jesus. We have everything He had. Faith is the key. The more we believe, the stronger the faith. 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 all my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

God Is In You

It Is Written,1 Thessalonians 5:9, for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is written,1 Timothy 2:4 God speaking, He desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
One of the comments that you hear quite often is that God picks who He wants to be saved. He is arbitrary in His decisions, and is totally unfair. Another is, that many people have never heard of God, so again He is unfair.
Here are a few points to ponder. People living before the patriarchs, worshiped a God they didn't have a name for. Many of these people believed in "he who has no name". They had no use for idols, and lived their lives according to what they felt was right or wrong. How can that be, you may ask. They followed what was in their heart. What was in their hearts was a seed from God.
Every person has that little seed of God in their heart to begin with. This  seed  allows them to see themselves and the world as a creation of an Almighty. They may not start out knowing God, but they certainly knew of Him.
People today have that same seed in their heart. The problem is, many people choose to ignore an Almighty who created them and everything else. If they recognized God, they would have to obey Him. Most cannot do that. They want to do what they want to do.
They choose not to recognize God, heaven, or hell, in an attempt to avoid responsibility for their actions. They hide their heads in the sand so to speak. They want God out of everything, because they don't want to be reminded of Him.
I believe that many of these people are in a real dilemma. Some of them still have that little voice inside, battling satan and the world in their lives.
The good part is that God is fair and loves everyone. I believe that He is so loving and just, that He takes everything into account. No matter when people lived, or where, or what their circumstances with the knowledge of God, is totally just, and considers all the facts.
Since God is the creator, He gets to decide. We all have the same chance to be saved. There are no options to what His word teaches. 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 all my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

Grace or Works

It Is Written, Romans 11:6, and if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
Many of us try to do our best when it comes to being what we consider a good Christian. We make up our minds that we need to do certain things in order to accomplish that. Many of us compare ourselves to other people. If they seem to us like they have the answer, chances are we will try to do the same thing.
If we don't measure up to them, we feel like a failure. The Bible is a good example. Some people read the Bible for a couple of hours at a time. When we can't seem to do that, we condemn ourselves. At that point satan steps in to tell you how weak you are, and what a bad Christian you are.
This can happen with giving, being kind, praying, any number of things. satan will use them all to convince you that you aren't good enough and God is disappointed in you. This is an Old Testament works attitude.
We must always remember that we are righteous through Jesus grace. Jesus did it all, and freed us from works which were never good enough. Since Jesus did it all, we no longer have to worry about earning salvation or anything else.
Because of grace, the things we do should honor God, and thank Him. We should try to imitate Jesus as much as possible, and reflect Him to everyone we meet. If we don't measure up once in a while, we just start over and do our best. It is okay. God still loves us.
If we do everything out of love and Thanksgiving for God's grace, satan is wasting his time. We are under grace and not the law. 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 all my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen

On Your Way

It Is Written,1 John 2:25, and this is the promise that he has promised us, eternal life.
There are a number of what I will call new Christians out there. Many of these people are not sure of some things. They sometimes do not understand the next step. They aren't sure what God expects. I have listed the following hints to get started.
When you accept Jesus as your Savior, all of your sins, past, present, and future have been forgiven, by the grace of God, and Jesus crucifixion. With grace, you don't want to sin. We all do from time to time, and even though they are forgiven, we should acknowledge the sin before God.
The 10 Commandments are a start. We must realize that there were over 600 Commandments. As far as I know, there is no list of these Commandments in order. Even if we could just read them all, we probably wouldn't remember them all.
So you wonder, what do I do? Should I worry about losing salvation? Positively not! The answer is simple, and at the same time very difficult for a lot of people. For some reason, many people cannot accept the idea that the answers to everything, are in the Bible.
The Bible is the word of God. All of the Commandments are sprinkled through it. Don't expect each one to have a number in front of it. The common excuses for not reading the Bible are, I don't have time, or it is too hard to understand. If someone handed us 1000 page book, written in a foreign language, and told us that the location of $1 billion is contained in that book, would you find a way to read it?
The Bible is the key to the will of God, and eternity with Him. Much more valuable than just money. A study Bible takes the mystery out of it. What the Bible says, is what it means. We cannot pick out what we believe or not. We cannot decide what God really meant. He said what He really meant. If you bake a cake, play a game, or whatever else, if you don't follow the instructions, you will not have a good result.
If you are a person who cares about other people, give your time and/or money to help someone, recognizes your blessings and thanks God, forgives other people, you are well on your way. The Holy Spirit put all that into your heart. He is that little voice that talks to most of us. You are pleasing God, and He is calling you because He loves you.
The greatest treasure ever, is in that book. The word of God, 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