The Holy Spirit Our Teacher

It Is Written, Isaiah 30:21, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying; this is the way, walk in it. Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
Today's message is about the Holy Spirit again. The Holy Spirit is constantly on my mind, because I need Him so much. I feel I can talk to Him, and He talks to me. The fact is, anyone can talk to the Holy Spirit, and He will talk to them. You just have to ask Him, and then listen.
The verse above is absolutely true. The Bible has hundreds of verses about the Holy Spirit. They tell who He is and what He does. Remember, He was sent to us by Jesus to help us in every way. I believe when we have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, we have it all. Most of us don't realize what part He plays in our daily life.
It is written,1 Corinthians 2:9 – 10, 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 through His spirit. For the spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
If you think about that verse, without the Holy Spirit, how could you know God's plan for you? How would salvation be possible without the help you receive from the Holy Spirit? Many of us don't even realize that.
I will give you an example of a real problem many people have, even when they have the Holy Spirit. To start with, recognize this fact. God wants us to know how much we need Him. He wants us to have faith and trust in Him. When we do, it praises Him.
We are all human, and we need to feel we are in control. I guess you could call it pride. We get a high from figuring things out. The old saying "let go and let God" is something that most people describe  as an excuse for doing nothing. We can't help it, most of us were raised that way.
When you confront any problem in life, it usually comes with stress and the problems that that causes. You struggle with it, and look to solve it, but roadblocks keep popping up adding to the frustration. It may or may not work out. If it does, you pat yourself on the back and think how smart you are. If it doesn't work out, you look for excuses. That is a common trait most of us share at times.
It took me a long time to understand and let go. I won't bore you with specific stories, just the method. This proved itself to be true, no matter what.
No matter if it is as simple as fixing a lawnmower, or buying a house. Talk to the Holy Spirit about it. This is the hard part at first. Then forget about it and wait for Him to speak. It could be 5 min. or five weeks. You will get an answer when you least expect. If you have peace in your heart do what He says, but if there is no peace from the beginning, don't do it.
Trust, follow the peace, and it will all happen for the best according to God's plan. Even if problems come up, rest easy, the Holy Spirit will handle it. With the Holy Spirit, there is no reason to fear anything. Have a blessed day. 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

Whose Faith?

It Is Written, Ephesians 2:8, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
In Romans 12:3, it states that God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
As you can see, faith is not really a product of your mind. God gave each of us a measure of faith. It is the same amount of faith to each person, and it is more than enough for each of us to fulfill His plan for our lives. You don't get more, and you don't get any less.
Consider your faith as something that must be developed. It is no different than building muscles, or skills. The more you work on it the more it develops. You don't want a couch potato kind of faith, you want to have a superhero kind of faith.
People you see on TV, such as preachers, maybe even some people you know, they seem to have more faith than you do. The fact is that the same amount of faith manifests as dozens of levels of faith. The only difference is the amount of effort spent on development. Many people disagree with that, but it is a fact.
Before the world existed, God knew each of us and what we would do in our lives. He does not practice partiality, so He gives us a plan for our lives that is custom-designed for us. He makes all kinds of gifts available for each of us, including salvation. Everyone has the same access to the same things. It is up to us as to what we do in life.
Since God makes Himself known to each person, we can call on Him at any time and receive salvation. At that point He sends the Holy Spirit to teach us, help us, guide us, give us wisdom. As with all of God's gifts, we decide if we want them or not. All of this put together works to determine the kind of life you lead, everything by faith.
If on the other hand, you choose to ignore God and do it your way, He will allow you to do that. Your helper will show up too. Only this guy is not from God. This helper is probably the devil. His job and mission in life is to keep as many people as possible from accepting salvation and all the other gifts God has for you. The devil wants your destruction. When you follow him, you're showing your faith in what he says. It all started out with the same amount of faith. Which path will you choose? Have a blessed day. 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 the Bible Relevant for Today?

It Is Written, John 8:51, most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death.
In the world today, an overwhelming number of people believe the Bible is out of date, and it should be brought up to modern times. They claim that it may have been good 2000 years ago, but that was then and this is now. To prove a point, many people like to twist things around a little bit. For instance, they say abortion is not forbidden in the Bible. It is true abortion is not mentioned in the Bible, but murder is. Homosexuality is not mentioned, but sex between males is. I even heard it said on a TV show that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of hospitality issues.  Really?
When we read about the Exodus, we see that the Israelites were given the promised land. The only thing they had to do was go in and take it. They didn't believe, and were too busy complaining about everything to do anything about it. They had a comfort zone that was actually a slave mentality. All the original people that left Egypt except Joshua and Caleb died without entering the promised land. They just wandered for 40 years because they did not believe God.
 Okay so let's compare them to us. Our being saved  is the equivalent of leaving bondage in Egypt. I compare the promises God made to them, to the promises God made to us when we were saved. We have to take our promises too, only we do it by faith and the knowledge of Jesus. Just like them we have to take God's word for it and do it. As you can see so far there are some pretty good parallels between then and now.
Just a few more examples for you to think about. Jesus taught using parables in many cases. If you read the parables and think about each one the way, Jesus explained them, you can easily put yourself into each one of them. Believe me, if you open your heart to the Holy Spirit and ask Him He will bring understanding to you and at that point it will be really easy to see yourself, I know it was for me.
Just a couple of the parables that you may want to take a look at and see for yourself. You have the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24 – 27, and the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3 to 23.
There are many more, but these will give you the idea of what I'm talking about. If you think about everything in this message with an open mind, even if you aren't saved yet, I think you'll agree, the word is just as relevant  today as it was then. There are so many easy comparisons, that I believe it would be hard argue otherwise. Have a very blessed day. 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 Idea of Prayer

It Is Written, Matthew 6:7, when you pray, do not use vain repetition as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
This verse can best be explained as God prefers quality not quantity. Prayer is powerful communication from us to God. He prefers a few words from a sincere loving heart, rather than thoughtless words. This is a father, child conversation.
 We can pray for anything that is in keeping with God's word, and expect it to be answered. He hears all sincere prayer, and answers. I believe that God has the idea from what I have read, that the most powerful prayer is when we pray for someone else. When you sincerely pray for someone else, you are fulfilling God's command to love one another. This doesn't mean you shouldn't pray for yourself.
In God's system it is simple. You pray for other people. Other people pray for you. You are blessing others, it is pleasing to God, and you are being  blessed. So if you don't pray for yourself, don't be concerned about it, because there are other people praying for you .
As I said before there is nothing you cannot pray for. But be advised, it cannot conflict with God's word. Prayers are powerful. Pray for family, friends, strangers, those running our government, other governments, peace in the world, and anything else you can think of. If enough people pray, prayer can change anything. Have a blessed day. 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

Our Home Is in Heaven

It Is Written, Matthew 5:12, rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Most of us have not grasped the idea of heaven and what it is like, or how long eternity is for that matter. Since we have nothing to compare it to, we have a difficult time. People are visual, and unless they see something, it is very difficult to imagine what something is really like, if it is out of the ordinary.
Just as hard as it is to visualize the glory of heaven, the horrors of hell cannot be visualized either. In this message however we will concern ourselves with heaven.
I think we need to start out with the basic fact that God is in heaven. He is our father and loves us beyond what we can understand. He created us with the idea that we would spend eternity with Him. With these facts, we can paint a partial picture of heaven.
God is there, so we won't have to be concerned with sin, violence, sickness, sadness, and all of  the other problems that this broken world that we currently live in confronts us with.
I believe that since Jesus will be totally accessible to us, we can see Him anytime we want. Maybe have coffee with Him in the morning, or just talk. If we want to, we can give Him a hug and He will probably hug us back, only hugs in heaven will be much better than hugs here on earth.
Since heaven is filled with the glory of God, we will be filled with it too. Our joy will be beyond measure. As far as the rest of it, I believe it will be a new kind of total excitement and joy. I cannot even speculate on anything else.
All of the people that say they visited heaven, or heavenly beings visited them, paint pretty much the same picture. They don't say much, and what they do say is pretty much like each other. I'm not saying they didn't visit heaven or have a vision or a dream. Regardless of what it was, it is very comforting to many people. I wouldn't mind that kind of vision myself.
I take comfort in knowing God loves me. I know I was created to enjoy heaven with him for eternity, and I will be happy beyond measure. Join us. Your ticket to heaven is salvation through Jesus Christ. Have a blessed day. 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

Biblical Hope

It Is Written, Psalm 33:18, behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, and those who hope in His mercy.
If you are familiar with the word Hope in an English dictionary, you know it is described as believing something may happen, or a desire for something to happen.
If you go to a concordance at the back of your Bible, and look at the word hope, you will find a number of verses dealing with hope. If you follow the English definition of hope, most of the verses you see will not be very comforting.
If you look at a Strongs Dictionary of Bible Words, you get a different perspective. You look up the word in English, and you get reference numbers to the Hebrew and Greek sections, with the meaning in English. Sometimes there are several meanings for the same word, and the context tells you which one applies.
Here is an example. Hope-the Hebrew and Greek meanings. Confident, sure, trust, wait patiently, assurance, expectation. Now look at the verse in it is written. I believe you will feel better about hope, in this and many other verses you read.
A few years ago, while listening to a preacher, I heard him define a word from the Greek which gave it an entirely exciting meaning in the context it was used. Shortly after that I heard a couple of other preachers refer to the Greek or original Hebrew. At that point I decided that the only way to get the true meaning out of a lot of the verses in the Bible, was to be able to look up the words in a biblical dictionary. The best thing I ever did. Well maybe not the best but close, the best was accepting Jesus as my Savior.
The power in the Greek and Hebrew words, makes quite a bit of what you read in the Bible exciting and powerful. It seems to open a whole new world in Bible reading. Check one out online or maybe at the library, and I think you'll see what I mean. In the meantime have a blessed day. 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

Are You Willing?

It Is Written, Isaiah 1:19, if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.
I have read Isaiah at least a dozen times, and never really paid attention to this verse. I think a lot of us just think about verses that are familiar to us, and kind of ignore the rest. Some of us ignore the Old Testament itself, because in our minds it is not relevant to today, or it is too difficult or boring in many places.
I found out how much I was missing by accident. Instead of reading five or six verses, scratching your head, and saying what is that all about, go back and read and think about each verse. The Old Testament is not just directed at the ancient Hebrews, it applies to us too, if we open our hearts and let the Holy Spirit reveal it to us.
For instance, today's verse. You can come up with all kinds of situations that apply, if you listen. I'll just mention a couple of things that I thought of for starters.
Let us assume this verse is not about food. Food in this case can mean any good thing. Suppose you are out of a job. You ask God to help you find a job. Most of us realize that now we must go out and look for a job.
Before you go to an interview, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, and give you wisdom. Then listen to His voice, and keep your mind open. God may lead you to a lesser job for right now, that in fact is training for a much better job later. He knows the plan for you, and He will get you to where you are supposed to be, but you must be willing to do it His way.
If we want what is best in our lives for us and our families, we must do that God's way too. It really doesn't make any sense to ask God for help for anything, and then do it our way. We must be willing, have faith, and trust in Him.
Remember this. Paul was the number one persecutor of Christians. He didn't just wake up one morning and say "I think I'll start being a Christian today". Paul was not doing what God's plan was for him. God woke him up on the road to Damascus. Paul then started his training a step at a time. Paul was willing to take the steps necessary, and became one of the greatest apostles in history, writing a major part of the New Testament.
You may not agree with my interpretation, but it works for me. Sometimes you need to meditate on a verse before it talks to you. Try 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

The Meaning of Jesus Temptations

It Is Written,1 John 2:15, 16, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him, for all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the father but is of the world.
The other day as I started to read Matthew, I saw the temptations of Jesus in the desert in chapter 4. I immediately felt that I received a true interpretation of what it meant from the Holy Spirit. I emphasize that the following is what I believe, and is not intended to convince anyone of anything.
When Jesus was tempted, He was a man, so He felt the way a man does, and His responses to satan were an example of how we should react to things of this world.
When Jesus said "man does not live by bread alone" He was indicating there is more to life than the physical. The spiritual life providing real and eternal life is what counted more than anything else.
When satan twisted Scripture and told Jesus to throw Himself down, and His Angels would catch Him if He was the son of God, Jesus refused. Jesus did not let His pride takeover. I believe there is another part that Jesus was saying to us. You cannot throw yourself into sin just because you are a child of God and He will forgive you. A true child would not intentionally do that.
When satan shows Jesus the kingdoms and riches of the world, again Jesus refused to give in to satan, and by doing so sends us the message that we should put God as number one in our lives. Nothing should come before God, and we should reject anything in our lives that can possibly take His place in our hearts.
I have often heard it said, that if you spend your whole life reading the Bible hours every day, you never learn everything that is in there. There is always something new and exciting, that presents itself to you. I believe this is one example of what I am talking about. It is short but to the point. If you seek revelation from the Holy Spirit before you read your Bible, you will be amazed at how clear things can become.
If we seek the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit, He will make us aware of many things in our daily lives, as well as open the Bible to 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

Brain Versus Faith

It Is Written, Proverbs 16:9, a man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
It Is Written, Psalm 37:23, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.
Man was created with a brain so that he could take care of himself, by deciding what was beneficial or not. At first we may not realize what is involved in that.
The brain is quite capable of deciding many things. For instance likes and dislikes. Where to live, and how to make a living. We are used to trying to figure out life's problems, how we interact with other people, and so on. Another big one is how to get things we want, like a new car for instance.
Some people use their brains more than others, and generally have more success. The one thing that most of us have to figure out at some point in our lives, is how to get rid of the emptiness we sometimes feel, no matter how successful we appear to be.
God makes himself known to each person in some way. He does it every day in many different ways. Since He gave us free will, we have to figure out how we feel about Him, and whether we acknowledge the need for Him in our lives. The heart and the brain both play a big part in this.
Some people reject Him immediately. They don't want to think anyone is better than them. They don't recognize creation either, because they want their own way, and to guide their own lives in the way that they feel is best. Their way usually causes them grief and unhappiness, no matter how much they have of what they wanted. They don't realize that in following world opinion they are following the evil one.
The people that acknowledge the creator, work at finding out what they can from God's word, and from people who know Him. They find out what God expects from them, and what they can expect from God. It is relationship building.
The brain sometimes has a problem taking everything in, so the heart takes over. Eventually the brain will recognize the needs of the heart, and they will work together.
Believing in someone you can't see takes faith. Praying takes faith. The average person initially finds God when they are in trouble, and they desperately ask for help. The first thing the brain tries to say that when the help comes is, it is a coincidence, but the heart knows better.
Faith means you believe and trust with all your heart, no matter how impossible something looks, just tell yourself, if God says it is, it is, even if I don't understand right now.
The best way is to tell the Holy Spirit what you want to do. Then quietly wait for an answer. When you feel good about it, take the first step. If this is from Him, doors will open. Keep your brain out of it. Sometimes there are many steps to get to the one you want. Keep your faith, and if no answer comes when you pray, it probably means no or not at this time.
The whole secret to the Holy Spirit working in your life, is to have complete faith and keep your two cents out of it. You and the Holy Spirit cannot work on the same problem at the same time. You just get in the way, besides He knows better. Have a blessed day. 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

Self Delusion

It Is Written, Proverbs 14:12, there is a way that seems right to a man, but it's end is the way of death.
The dictionary defines delusion as a belief maintained, despite being contradicted by reality. Delusion of grandeur is a common one. A false impression of one's own importance.
Many people are victims of this without even realizing it. It is probably more common among more educated people, people with professions, executives, and so on.
It is fairly easy to look at yourself and get that way. Most successful people worked very hard to get where they are. Most made big sacrifices that the average person wouldn't even consider. I am not criticizing or condemning these people. I am just posting warning signs, in the form of the following examples.
In this world, especially if you are a believer, there are many pitfalls. If you compare yourself to someone less successful, you may inadvertently overemphasize your talent and minimize theirs. Pride is deadly and may enter in, so you must be very careful.
Whenever you say, "I would never do that", you are puffing yourself up(pride) and condemning them(judging). I think most of us would have to plead guilty on that item. It seems to be human nature, and that is what we have to avoid.
When we give to charity, or do something kind for someone, did we have the right motivation? Do we say to ourselves, that we give or do more than other people? We can start acting like Pharisees without even realizing it, and that is very dangerous ground. Keep in mind we have high standards to live up to, and we must always be aware of what we are doing and saying.
In your life, especially if you are successful by the world standards, you must decide who or what is your God. Do you feel that you didn't need God before and you certainly don't need him now? If that is the way you feel, you may need to start rethinking what you're doing.
When we believe we did it, and not God, we are believing satan and opening the door to sins and idolatry. Even if we don't recognize God yet, He recognizes us and helps us. If you really feel God does not fit in your life, you have nothing, even if the world says you are great.
All of us fail in many ways, but our loving father forgives us. It is up to us to do our best. Don't be one of those people who gets all irritated because they think salvation has a catch. What they call a catch is the fact that when you are saved you are supposed to avoid sin as much as possible and change your life.
As I said earlier no condemnation, just a few warnings. satan always tries to distort the facts in order to try to catch us, so beware. Have a blessed day, and 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 Is In A Title?

It Is Written, Ephesians 4:11, and He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.
You have probably heard the old expression "you can't judge a book by its cover". Have you ever thought about what it really means? I am not trying to insult anyone, but that saying doesn't just apply to books. It applies to many things. Here are just a few to get you started.
Let's start with a simple question. How did you decide to read this message? Was it the title? Was it because you are familiar with this ministry? Can you decide if a message is meaningful that way? Are you being fair to yourself?
A few more examples. 20 or so years ago, a friend of mine was selling new Cadillacs. He was experienced and successful. One day two scruffy looking black men came in, and one of my friends fellow salesman said look, a couple of prospects, and they both laughed and decided to let the new guy take care of them.
To make a long story short, the new guy treated both of the prospects like real customers. A half-hour later each prospect gave a very large cash down payment, and drove away in their own cars. The new guy made several thousand dollars in commissions, and my friend and his buddy got humble pie.
Just because someone acts nice, doesn't mean they are nice. You may see people at church that know all the right words, profess to be Christians, and make a show of giving. Is that who they really are? If you follow them around for a week without them knowing, would they pass the real Christian test?
Let's look at another example. This time let's look at a pastor and his church. I am not talking about the building, or how many people belong to it. Unfortunately though, that is how many people evaluate a church. A church or pastor should be evaluated by what they are actually teaching, and how they are living. If it isn't according to the Bible, you should consider somewhere else.
Remember this. In nature, gems look like rocks or pebbles. Valuable minerals like gold are usually hidden in a rock. Don't be too quick to dismiss, or accept anything at first glance. It is common knowledge that many things are not what they seem. 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

A New Man in Christ

It Is Written, Isaiah 53:5, but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
When preachers talk about divine healing, this is usually the first verse they quote as proof of healing. Many religions do not believe in divine healing, but there are plenty of people that were healed, that wouldn't agree with them.
The cross and what Jesus did, is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Salvation, forgiveness of sin, divine healing, are all linked to the cross.
We are told that we receive all of these things and more by faith. The parts of that statement that are difficult for some people to accept, are forgiveness and healing. Forgiveneess beause they feel they have sinned  too much for God to forgive them. And many look at healing as having died with the apostles. We do not have the choice to pick out what we like, and discard the rest. The Bible is God's word, every bit of it.
I have heard a couple of preachers say, that you have to put your afflictions on Jesus on the cross, in order to be healed. I have also heard that the old man must be crucified with Christ, spiritually.
I believed what they were saying, but I wrestled with how you do it. I didn't know, so I put that idea on the shelf as they say. Then one morning a week or so ago, I was in my prayer time. I was thinking about what I just mentioned, and suddenly in my mind, I saw myself throwing afflictions at Jesus, and saying "Lord you take this, I can't handle it." I also saw someone that looked like me, going up to Jesus body on the cross. At that point, the one that looked like me, seem to be absorbed by Jesus body. All of this probably took about 10 seconds.
I literally could feel changes in my spirit. I actually experienced joy, and understanding like never before. If you seek, you will find. It is God's promise. Every morning, find a quiet place for 15 min. Talk to the Lord. Close your eyes and visualize giving a sickness or other problem to Jesus. When you give it to Jesus, it is no longer yours.
Next picture yourself , melting into Jesus body on the cross. At that point you are spiritually crucified with Him. You will never be the same. Have faith and patience, and do it every day until it happens. 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

Believe The Word

It Is Written2 Corinthians 5:7, for we walk by faith and not by sight.
It Is Written, Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The Bible is the greatest book of answers ever written. The real author is the creator of all things, so He sure ought to know how it all works. To take advantage of the power in this book, we have to meditate on what it says, and believe what it says. Our God wrote it for our good. If we don't read it, how can we know the blessings He has for us?
I am sure we have all experienced unanswered prayer at one time or another. I believe we have all experienced disappointment when we thought our prayers weren't answered. I have found that there are ways to help belief, causing prayers to be answered.
First of all ask the Holy Spirit to help you read and understand the Bible, in order to reveal its truth to your open heart. Pray and make up your mind to follow what it says and believe. Believing is a choice. How many times have you heard something that was said, or something you saw, and casually said, "I can't believe that". There is negative power in those words. You end up having what you see, and not seeing the answer to your prayer. Get in the habit of using faith filled, positive words in all things, in order to get positive results.
The world is the biggest faith killer. When you see evil all around, all the time, it is difficult to see a loving God. However He is there for those whose heart is set on Him. Your friends may make fun of you and tell you that you are a fool for believing. The fact is they are the foolish ones for not believing. If you are a true believer, you take pleasure in believing the seemingly impossible or plain ridiculous, and seeing it happen. Knowing that nothing is beyond God's power, gives you more faith than you thought  possible.
Our God loves us and wants the best for us. He sent the Holy Spirit and His word to keep us as His child. satan hates us, and wants revenge on God. He uses the world to entice us to go against God, by making things look like something they aren't. You must choose life or death, believe in a living God, or a living devil, your choice. As I said in previous messages, you must have faith as a little child according to Jesus. As ridiculous as that may sound, it really is pretty easy if you just make up your mind, and don't pay attention to anything anyone else says.
One last thing. God always answers prayer right away. People get disappointed when they don't see instant results, and there faith starts going downhill. Look and believe with your heart, not your eyes. If you haven't had the manifestation of your prayer after a week or so, ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is blocking it. Many times, prayer manifestation is delayed a while, because there are a number of other people and events that are in the process of taking place in order to manifest what you pray for. Follow your heart, not not your head. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit, and it is your heart that starts out telling your head what to believe. The important thing is, believe no matter what, and keep on believing. 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

Are lies Dangerous?

It Is Written, revelation 21:8, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
In the next week or so, I will briefly discuss the ways we lie. Sometimes we may not even realize we are lying. These messages, as well as all the messages from this ministry, are written to enlighten or warn, not condemn.
Regular lies, as most people understand lies, happen all the time. Some of us lie so much it becomes who we are. By the way, as far as God is concerned, there is no such thing as a small lie. They are all destructive, ruin your reputation, and produce very bad results.
When you lie to anyone, it is disrespect to that person. Who and what you are lying about, varies in its destructiveness. If you lie to a loved one, it usually stays with you for years in the form of guilt. Lies destroy relationships. If it involves a loved one, they may never trust you again. You cannot take back that kind of destruction.
In the work place, lies can destroy coworkers. Decisions made by people on top could be based in part on lies that were passed down to them as the truth. Anyone along the way can affect you and your family. The next time you're tempted to lie, put yourself in the position of the one lied to, or lied about.
Many crimes go unsolved or unpunished because of lies. If you know something and don't make the truth known, or say you don't know, but in fact you do know, you are bearing false witness. An innocent person could end up paying for something he didn't do. What if it was you?
I have seen accidents in a factory setting. It is very rare for someone to tell the truth about what they saw. God does not believe in a code of silence. Two things generally happen as a result of silence or lies. The safety of all the workers is jeopardized because the proper action cannot be taken, or the accident is falsely blamed on something else.
I could go on and on about the destructiveness of lies, but I think you get the idea. If you are saved, your past lies and all other sins are forgiven, but that does not give you a blank check for sins. The best way to keep from lying, is to not put yourself in the position where you feel that you have to lie. As I said earlier, I will go into other forms of lying that you may not have even thought about. Till then, 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 Holy Spirit, A Tour Guide

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 spirit. For the spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
Suppose you wanted to go on a trip to a place you had never been. You would probably get a travel agent to take care of the details. Not only transportation, but hotels, meals, a tour group, everything. They would even handle the return trip. Because they are professionals you trust that they will do a good job.
You might still check the reputation of the people doing the planning because, after all you are trusting them for everything. They promise to do their best to make your trip enjoyable, but there is always the unforeseen.
They cannot promise you perfect weather every day, or that the plane trip won't hit turbulence. Maybe there won't be enough hot water at the hotel. Maybe the food won't measure up. The tour guid may not be very knowledgeable. Point is the trip is not without problems, and that is to be expected.
Chances are if you are not happy with the trip, the next time you will find a different agent, and once again you will trust them to do a better job. The fact is you must continue to trust people to do what they promise.
Now let's look at the trip we call life. When we are young, we don't appreciate just what is involved. Our hoped-for destination is heaven eventually. We don't know that yet. We trust our parents to teach us what we need to know. Many times that turns out to be a disaster. As we get older we learn from friends, who are usually no better off than we are.
If you go to college, you get the world system jammed down your throat. The world system and its values will destroy most people. As a result you end up in old age asking yourself, what was life all about? Why do you feel empty?
Now we come to the ultimate life guide, the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent Him to guide us through life, and to get us to our destination, heaven. If you had no direction along those lines from parents, there is still hope. God promises to make Himself known to every single person. The Holy Spirit talks to each person continually. Some recognize His voice, and take the trip through life as He laid it out. The rest reject Him and plan their own trip.
The trip the Holy Spirit plans is not without problems, but He helps you through them to a good life and your final destination. When you follow your way, with satan as a helper, you have plenty of big problems and no help. A miserable trip that can end up where you don't want to go.
I realize this is a simplified version, but to go into greater detail at this time would probably not be a good idea. I think you get the point though.
Who is planning your trip? 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

Your Past Can Be Helpful

It Is Written,1 Peter 2:24, Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed.
We all know that when we asked Jesus to come into our hearts, we became a new person. Our past sins were as if they never happened.
As we live our new lives, we grow in faith and blessings, by pursuing the kingdom first. You notice a real difference, and it really makes you thankful and happy. At that point, satan will try to bring up things that he thinks will cause you to have regrets. If he can make you start regretting, he hopes you will open the door to let him back into your life.
People will tell you that the past is the past, and you can't change it. There is no arguing with that logic. What most people don't realize is, that the past can help you make a better future.
When satan brings up something you regret, don't panic. You have already been forgiven. If you pray about the regret in a positive way, it can turn to sort of a blessing. Let's take a look at what I mean.
As we all know, words have great power for good or for bad. Suppose you really hurt someone you love years ago. Good cause for regret, but handle it this way. Say Lord, you forgave me for hurting so and so. I ask you to help me to avoid that kind of thing from now on, in Jesus name. If you do this with each regret, you are making satan's actions worthless to him, and you are telling God you were serious about your repentance.
Missed opportunities because of fear, can be golden opportunities with faith. Try to live each day, trusting in God, and making decisions that you have asked God about, and feel peace in your heart with. It really is better to get it right the first time. You can do that with anything. Take the word regret out of your vocabulary, and replace it with opportunity. So the bottom line is, you can frustrate satan by not acknowledging him, and honor God by your new faith and trust. Remember, past mistakes are a learning tool, not a condemnation tool if you trust God. 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

Despair

It Is Written, Psalm 42:11, why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him. The help of my countenance and my God.
A lot of people have the impression that preachers are hardly ever troubled by satan, and never get depressed. They just tell everyone to rebuke satan, and they go on with their happy insulated lives.
I write these messages regularly, and I try to cover things that can be helpful, and I believe help people to know God because I feel I am led by the Holy Spirit.  I don't say anything just because it is my opinion. It is fact as I understand it.
When I woke up this morning, I was totally depressed. I had an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness. A big dark, heavy cloud seemed to be over me. And everything in my life suddenly became sickeningly oppressive. I didn't want to get out of bed.
I asked the Lord, what is going on? Why do I feel this way? I said help me Lord. I felt I could not write a message today. I was hardly ever depressed even a little, so you can imagine how I felt. I decided the best thing I could do was talk to the Lord in my office, and read the word. I know from experience that satan cannot hang around where the word is written or spoken.
When I got to my office(in my house) I spoke to the Lord about how I felt, and I asked Him what I am supposed to do today, and then sat quietly waiting for an answer.
As I waited, the depression started to lift. I felt the message from the Lord in my heart. He said. I have just shown you a little bit of what countless people feel all of the time. I wanted you to feel their pain, so that you would understand totally how people suffer because they don't know I love them. Tell them that I am waiting for them to come to me, because I cannot help them unless they ask.
At that point I said to the Holy Spirit, okay Holy Spirit let's do it. The devil is real, and he does attack everyone that doesn't belong to him. He can't get you if you don't let him. Don't get to rebuking him constantly, because it usually indicates fear, and he feeds on that list. Just say help me Jesus. If you mention Jesus name, or read a verse or two and meditate on them, or if you are able to pray in tongues, you are shifting your focus from satan to Jesus.
Jesus loves all of us, and wants us to be happy and healthy. God created each of us to be perfect. When sin came along, satan was able to afflict man with all sorts of things. satan wants to keep people under his thumb,  and put so much pressure on us that we forget what God gave us to protect us from all evil.
God himself loved us so much, He sent Jesus to save us, and Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit and His power with the authority of Jesus name to make  right what satan stole.
God is above all. We are His children and He loves us. If we cling to Jesus, satan wouldn't have the chance of a snowball on the sun. If you are happy knowing that you are a child of God, the depression satan tries to put on you would not have a chance. Keep your mind and heart on Jesus. It may be difficult at first, but Jesus is the answer to all of your problems.
As I always say, 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 Exists

It Is Written, Job 5:8 – 9, but as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause, who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.
Many people have a tendency to reject creation and all other miracles, because they look at them with human, prideful eyes. They search for answers in science. They explain many things away as coincidence, or the world creating itself.
I saw a TV show where scientists tried to explain the plagues of Egypt from Exodus. It amazes me that so-called educated people could come up with the total nonsense that they were spouting. One ridiculous explanation after another. A reasonably intelligent 10-year-old would laugh at what they were saying. It is obvious that their God of science had to be defended against the real God.
I am not judging, but I wonder sometimes if some of these people were actually smart enough to get a degree, or they were awarded a degree by people of limited intelligence. With all the rubbish taught in schools today, it is not surprising that everyone is so misled.
In order to accept creation, you must accept that there is a supreme being. Maybe it's pride or maybe it's fear, that won't let them do that. They look for endless proofs for creation, but at the same time they preach the theory of evolution, which has no proofs, it is a theory.
When you look at all the trillions and trillions of cells in each thing, how likely is it for all of these trillions to function together perfectly, with each group having its own function. All of these cells depending on each other, in order for even the tiniest thing to operate properly. It seems to me and some other people that the only answer to these miracles is creation.
When the largest man-made machine, can gather all materials needed from around the world, and assemble itself to function perfectly, then there may be something to evolution. If creation makes no sense, the idea of evolution is even many times more ridiculous.
So you see, we cannot judge God or think of the things He did, going by our human brains. All things are possible with God, and no amount of denial on our part will change that. The only answer for all the questions in the universe, is the existence of a supreme being. I don't know about you, but I prefer to think that a master builder made me, not some clump of slime or piece of dust. 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

About The Heart

It Is Written, Proverbs 23:7, for as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
We are all familiar with the workings of the heart on an emotional level. If you suffer loss of a loved one, you actually feel pain in your heart. The heart sets up sadness in your mind, and controls the functions  of your body. When something good happens, your heart feels like it is all charged up. Your mind gets happy, and your body feels great. I believe your heart controls your brain most of the time and the health of your body all of the time.
As you can tell, your heart controls who you are, and how you treat others. God felt the heart was so important, that it was mentioned in dozens of verses in the Bible.
When you see someone in need, you have two choices. You can have compassion(heart) and it tells your brain to help, or your heart is not compassionate, and it tells your brain to find an excuse for not helping.
Jesus spoke in the Bible about worthless sacrifices, and how he hated them. He spoke that way because He knew their hearts. Going through the ritual of animal sacrifice for instance, without a repentant heart is totally meaningless.
When you ask God for forgiveness of your sins, if you are sincere in your heart, He is quick to forgive even the worst sinner. How do you know if you are sincere? I don't speak for anyone else, but I feel an actual ache in my heart, and an anxious feeling in my brain when I have sin on my conscience. A total sense of peace follows the confession.
Think about how you feel when you know for sure that your spouse really loves you. Think about the opposite. When you love someone with all your heart, no sacrifice is too great. If you don't love them, you aren't likely to sacrifice much.
When you pray for someone from your heart, your prayer is heard and will be answered. If you are just saying words, don't waste your time. If you help the poor because of compassion, you will be blessed. However, if you give in order to be noticed, or you give grudgingly, save your money, God isn't impressed.
We could go on and on with examples, but there is no reason to do that right now. The Bible is a great source of wisdom, that is why God inspired it, and Jesus lived it. If you ever wondered about how to improve your life, read God's word. He is the greatest giver, with the biggest heart, ever. It is not called the good news for nothing. 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 Money Guys

It Is Written, Proverbs 23:7, for as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
Many people look for excuses to criticize preachers because they think all preachers are only after their money. In their minds that is a very good reason for rejecting what they hear, and are thereby rejecting God.
There are a few people on TV, that act like they are promoting a get rich quick scheme to desperate or uninformed people. They take advantage of fears and even greed that some people have.
The Lord God wants us to help the poor, by giving from the heart. He rewards us for the love and compassion we show to others. If you read the Bible, you will find that God condemns tainted sacrifices. Tainted meaning not giving our best from our hearts. Jesus always talked about helping the poor.
We receive everything we have from the Lord. We are to use it to help others. As we give His money to those in need, He replenishes what we gave and more. That Is the Way, God intended. God is all about the heart.
Before you give $1000 to someone because they say by doing that, you will be able to pay off all your bills, or even your mortgage, think and pray about it. Giving is not let's make a deal with God. If it is not God's way, don't do it.
I am not condemning these people on TV. They belong to God just as we do. I am saying however, don't let anything but love guide your giving. Remember God does not honor insincere giveing. Don't let people like this, be an excuse for not doing what we are commanded to do by 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

Spiritual And Physical Self

It Is Written, Ecclesiastes 7:29, truly, this only I have found: that God made man was upright, but they have sought out  many schemes.
We were created in God's image. Since God is a spirit, so are we. He gave us these physical bodies in order to live on Earth, until we decide if we want to be with Him. He also gave each of us a job to do while we are here. The most important job, is to help each other get back to Him.
It isn't as simple as it could be, because now we throw satan into the mix. satan is a spirit too, but he is evil. We all know what he did, and his destination at the end. He wants to get even with God, by stealing God's people.
I don't have to tell you that life on Earth is a constant battle between our spirit self, and our human self. satan is so evil, because he knows everything there is to know about sin. After all, he invented sin. He knows what pleasures to tempt each one of us with.
satan likes to tell us how enjoyable something is, and then tries to work on our minds, to make us think that there is nothing wrong with doing it. He is creative and relentless when it comes to sin. He even distorts the word of God. He causes people to do evil things, , and makes them believe that what they do is alright.
Don't despair. Our spirit selves can keep us from falling into his traps. If we are believers, we have a direct line to the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is ask, and then listen. God did not put us here defenseless. I will write about the armor of God in more detail in a later message. In the meantime read Ephesians 6:13 – 18.
As believers we are more than able to conquer satan through Christ who strengthens us. We have the word of God Himself to help us know the truth, and the path to follow. Another thing to remember, is that God never allows more than what  we are able to handle.
One last point. When Jesus was here, He wasn't here on vacation. He had a job to do, and that job was to save us. He came in a body like ours so that He could know what we go through. The Gospels tell of His temptations in the desert and His victory over satan. As you know He quoted the word back to satan. Even satan's clever distortions were rebuked.
Jesus was a man like us. He had to eat, sleep, take a bath, clean His clothes, etc., just like us. His body did not get special treatment. He defeated satan by talking to, and listening to His father. As I said we can also talk to God, but then we must listen with open hearts, and read His word to get answers. 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

Stretch Your Faith Muscles

It Is Written, Mark 9:23, Jesus said to him, "if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes".
It Is Written,2 Corinthians 5:7, for we walk by faith, not by sight.
As we all know, there are countless verses about faith. Did you know that faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit? Did you know that God is praised every time we exercise faith? It is like a gift back to God when we trust in Him.
If you read the Bible, you will find that many people did small things through faith, as well as great things by faith. All of these people were just average men and women until they believed. Many people will tell you that if they lived in Bible times and met Jesus, they would have faith too. Really?
The Holy Spirit talks to everyone. Whether they listen or not is up to them. We probably know Jesus better than people He talked to back them. Other people, such as the prophets, heard from God himself in their hearts. So you see, we are much better off today, because all of us have God's word, the Bible. His word spells it all out to those who love Him.
Sometimes you will hear someone say that they don't want to bother God with little things. That is usually just an excuse for little or no faith. God does not look at our requests as big or little, they are all big to Him, because they are big to us.
When we need something, we ask God in Jesus name. We aren't bothering  Him if we ask in faith. We are giving Him praise by trusting in Jesus name, and exercising faith.
God also gets the largest amount of praise when we pray for others, with love and compassion in our hearts. You can never ask too much. You are His child, and His love for you, and His supply, is limitless.
Now a brief explanation of the title of this message. As an example, you can use any profession. Mother, Dr., sports star, and so on. The ability of these people is determined by how hard they work at it. For this example we won't go into the faith aspect.
Each of these people start out small, and build up from there. It  makes no difference if it is brains, or muscles, they must be exercised in order to grow. If you don't keep stretching your physical muscles, or your brain, it will level off and you will not progress.
Faith is the same way. Learn the instructions (the Bible). Start out asking for simple things, like making a headache go away. As you see results, you naturally expand your prayers for bigger things. Answered prayer also requires patience which again is a way of building faith.
One last thing if you concentrate on prayers for others through love and compassion in your heart, they will be blessed, God will be praised, and your wants and desires will be given to you without you even asking. Remember you grow in proportion to your exercise. 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

Martyrs

It Is Written, Revelation 20:4, and I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus, and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.
Note. Scholars believe these are tribulation martyrs, and the 1000 years is the millennial reign of Jesus.
A Martyr is a person who is killed because of their religious beliefs.
I cannot imagine there is any place on earth, except maybe a jungle, where people have not heard about Christians being slaughtered because they believe in Jesus and will not renounce Him.
Those who are doing the killing are fulfilling prophecy, written in the very Bible that they hate. satan really has them in his grasp. He has them doing his work, while the people they are killing, are doing Almighty God's work.
Our Lord Jesus came to earth to redeem us because He loved us. He spent His brief time on Earth teaching and living love. He commands us to love one another and to help one another. Compassion and mercy are an important part of what love means.
These modern-day mass murderers claim they are killing in the name of their faith, and their God. They believe they will be rewarded for these atrocities. They have a god that does not believe in love, if you look at their faith the way they do. They believe their god wants them to kill, in order to advance the faith.
The argument has been brought up that Christians did the same thing to non-Christians hundreds of years ago. That is true. However you must look at all the facts. Then as well as now, the vast majority of believers are not like that. They do not pervert their faith for personal reasons, or as an excuse that they are serving their god.
When we look at the whole situation today, the normal human response is, to kill every one of these murderers. The big problem is that our God,who is God, tells us to love and forgive. "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord". God will settle this issue in His time.
 I am suggesting something that a lot of people will moan and groan about, or even get angry about. We have the ultimate weapon over evil of every kind. What is that weapon you may ask? Prayer. Only God can straighten out this satan ruled world.
Pray for those being persecuted to remain faithful to Jesus. Pray for the killers to have visions of what really awaits them, if they don't stop killing. Pray for the Holy Spirit to protect the righteous in Jesus.
Our God is a loving God, and has a plan for each person. Even a killer can turn to God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and keep trusting. God is the only answer. 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