Tough Times

Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth-praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.

It is the dream of most people, to have a secure, stress-free life. The thought of a warm cozy life is so appealing, that it becomes our number one goal. Some of us spend most of our lives on the roller coaster of life. You know what I mean. You work hard with a goal in mind, but something happens to mess up what you are working on.

Most of us were brought up with the “if at first you don't succeed” idea, so we look for a new plan. Most of us go through many plans, but the ultimate goal, still eludes us. Frustration and despair are the usual result. What can I do?

The first thing we must realize is that God is in control, we aren't. God does not cause our decisions to fail or create hardship, but he does allow it. He allows it, because he is trying to get our attention.

When the Israelites left Egypt, it was supposed to be about an 11 day trip to the promised land. As we all know, it took 40 years. God allowed them to keep going in circles around that mountain until they woke up.

We are on a trip too. Our promised land is heaven. Just like the children of Israel, we have basically the same problems to overcome. They complained most of the time about almost everything. That angered God, so he let them live in their misery until they asked for help and forgiveness. When everything got better they ignored God.

So what is the point of this message? Simply this. When we are warm, cozy, and comfortable, we congratulate ourselves for being smart and clever for all of our accomplishments. God is out of our lives for all intents and purposes. On the other hand, every person can get desperate enough to ask God for help. It takes more for some than others to get to that point, but it will happen unless they already belong to satan.

God is in control. He loves you, and wants the best for you, including eternity with him. He will guide you safely, but you must listen and do. If you really know him, it will be a joy to follow him. If you're having problems of any kind, take them to God, and don't complain, because it is probably a wake-up call. Ask God what you are doing wrong, and ask for help. He won't let you down.

All of us need a wake-up call once in a while. When it happens, thank God for loving you so much, he is showing you that you are heading off the path, and he wants to help you get back on. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

Nothing Is Impossible

Matthew 19:26

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.


There are dozens and dozens of verses that tell us that our God, is the God of the impossible. I for one heard most of them, at least I think I did, but I never really gave them much thought. It isn't that I didn't believe it, I just never thought about it.

If I recorded all of the miracles God has done in my life, you would literally get tired of reading them. While God was doing all of these miraculous things in my life, I hardly noticed, and never gave Him credit. Believe me, it is possible to be that unaware.

Not too many years ago, something happened that almost killed me. I don't remember who it was at the time, but they told me that it was a miracle that I wasn't killed. What saved me was impossible. All I said was, yeah, I guess you are right..

After that incident, I slowly started noticing big and small incidents that worked out for my good that were improbable or impossible. They didn't happen every day as far as I know, but at least a dozen or more times something like that did happen. All kinds of little things and big things. God just did it, without me even asking, because he loves me. He loves you too by the way.

Remember what I just said. God loves you. Start noticing the little impossible things that happen in your life, and be grateful and realize that he is always with you and will never leave you or forsake you. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

Protection

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

It is a tough world out there. Anarchy in the streets, corruption in government, viruses and all sorts of calamities. A world gone nuts with hate and violence.

Is it any wonder that so many people want to hide under their beds? That is no exaggeration. I personally know a number of people who are living in constant fear. They won't even go out into their own yard.

It does not have to be that way. I am not talking about living in denial. I am talking about living with trust in God. He is aware of everything that is going on, and allows it for his reasons. Read Revelation in the NLT, and you'll get the idea.

God loves those who love him, and he will always be with, and protect His. One thing that I do during my private time with the Lord, is to read Psalm 91 out loud. It gives me total peace, because I know what it says is true. He said he would never leave us nor forsake us. I have attached a copy of Psalm 91 in case you would like to get started putting the protection of the good Lord on your side. It works for you and everyone you prayed it for. Just believe and relax and trust in the Lord. You have that choice. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

Head Off Unhappiness

It Is Written, Philippians 4:6, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
It is pretty common for people to go through times of unhappiness. At the time we are going through it, it almost never dawns on us, that  unhappiness is usually avoidable. There is a way of combating this problem.
When we are unhappy, it is usually because things, or situations that we choose to worry about, or feel unsatisfied about. Sometimes we even feel God doesn't love us. That is satan talking, so stop listening.
If you think someone has it better than you, realize that for each person that has it better than you, nine are much worse off than you.
I thought I was thankful to God most of the time. Then the Holy Spirit showed me the truth, I found out just how thankful I should be. I came to realize just how well-off I am, when I watched the news, and several documentaries that were on TV in the last few weeks.
Most of us have not had the misfortune of living in the middle of war, going without food, water, or shelter. Most of us are not among the tens of millions who are in fact slaves of one kind or another. We all knew slavery always was and is  horrible beyond imagination. That, but for the grace of God could be you and me.
We must always think about how blessed we are. When you think about how things could be, thank God most of us have tiny problems. God bless you and your family. 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 Lord
Amen

A Day to Treasure

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.

We have a small patio in front of our house. About 6 AM this morning, I went outside to have my coffee. I thought about this verse, because every day before I get out of bed, my wife and I both say it.

My wife of many years joined me. There was a pleasant breeze, birds were singing. We talked about how good the sound of the birds was, because we both feel that when birds sing, all is well with the world.

As we sat there, my wife commented about what good neighbors we have. That led to thanking God for them, and the town we live in. Well when we get started, we realize just how much God has blessed us. He really does supply all of our needs. We aren't rich  with money, and have been on a modest income over 18 years, and I can honestly say we have lacked nothing.

Think about every breath you take, everything you see, hear, and feel. Start realizing the blessings all around you. Appreciate them, and realize that God is always there, even when times seem hard.

I have had a triple bypass, a heart valve replacement, and half of my liver taken out because of cancer, to name a few things that have happened to me. My wife has had knee replacement and hip replacement. The really funny thing is, because we trusted God before these problems, we had peace in our hearts. As a result of God's love and the power of the Holy Spirit, today my heart is good, my cancer is gone, and I feel great. My wife gets around like she hadn't done in years. I would like to add that these medical problems came up in our middle and late 70s.

Maybe you'll think I'm a little bit wacky, but we think everything in our lives has been a blessing. It is during hard times, that we see and appreciate how much God loves us, and takes care of us. I tell you all of these things in order to help you in your life. Prayer does work my friends. The Holy Spirit still works incredible miracles. Jesus still loves you and will never let you down. The only regret we have is that we are human and we can't love God the way He loves us. It is not possible in the flesh so we will have to do it when we see Him in the future in our spirits. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord's
Amen

The Bible And Miracles

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I have known many people that think of the Bible and as just a bunch of stories. Others say it is too hard to understand. Still others talk about things like the parting of the Red Sea, and other major miracles as impossible.

If you really know Jesus, not just about Him, you would probably have an open mind about the Bible. Let's look at it in a different way. Start out by believing in miracles. Start out with the ones you think are possible. Believe what the Bible describes as Jesus the person. Really meditate on what Jesus did and why He did it.

Fast-forward 2000 years. Jesus is alive and well. The Holy Spirit still works miracles in Jesus name. Now bring that same Jesus  and Holy Spirit into your life. If you aren't a believer yet, realize that Jesus came for sinners and unbelievers.

Take a little time, and think about things from your life that you called luck. How impossible for most of those incidents? How about the so-called bad luck. When you look back at those, do you see any good that came later because of the initial bad luck.

Give it a try. Put yourself in Bible times. They took many of the same problems you have, to Jesus. He never said no to them, and He will not say no to you. Misinformed people say you cannot fight destiny and things are what they are. I take issue with that idea, because I know when you follow Jesus, it changes your life and your destiny. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

Occasional Weakness

It Is Written, Psalm 34:19, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Weakness is something believers and nonbelievers have experienced. Most of the time, fear and weakness in faith, kind of sneak up on us. How we handle it is what counts. satan tries to plant doubt in each of us, for one of two reasons. Let's look at each of them.
When a believer experiences an attack, usually they start to feel guilty about something. They feel guilty because they had the seed of doubt planted by satan.
When we experience evil thoughts, doubt, fear, and such, we must realize that they are satan's thoughts and not ours. We have no control over what he tries to put in our heads, but we can reject his ideas. It is not a sin, unless we take ownership of those thoughts. As long as we live, satan will try to get us away from God. Always remember though, that Jesus died for our sins, and we can turn to Him for reassurance.
Nonbelievers who are attacked by satan, usually don't know any better, so fear, doubt, and guilt grow. If they think about God at all, they wrongly figure that God will not forgive them. This is also satan's attempt to keep people from God.
The truth is, that all of us are forgiven because of Jesus death and resurrection. All we have to do is accept Jesus and repent. No sins are beyond God's mercy. God bless you and your family. 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 Lord
Amen

End of Days

Revelation 1:3

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.

The idea that there will be an end to time and this earth, is scoffed at, and ridiculed by a majority of people

Daniel, Joel, and Ezekiel, and many others spoke of the end times in the Old Testament. Daniel is usually the one that most people refer to when they talk about the end of time. The writings of Daniel closely match the writings in Revelation according to most scholars.

Then we have the New Testament. It has hundreds of referrals to the end times Jesus Himself talked about it to His disciples. A large number of Bible experts, cite all the prophecies that have been fulfilled. Many of these prophecies were written hundreds of years before the fact. Most of them agree that everything that was supposed to happen before the rapture, or as the Bible says “the great taking away”, have already happened.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-18

But I do not want you to be ignorant brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an Archangel, and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Look around at everything that is happening in this world. It was all foretold in the Bible. The Bible is like reading yesterday's newspaper, except for the fact that the Bible is true.

A wise person would have to ask themselves this question. If the Bible is 100% accurate about prophecy over 2000 years, and many writers, what are the chances the rest of it will happen?

This message is not meant to scare anyone. It is meant to shine a light on the truths of God's Word. Each person is given a choice as to where they fit in the story. Anyone who asks Jesus to forgive all of their sins, to accept that Jesus is their Savior, Jesus died and rose again, will be saved. There is only one catch. You must mean it in your heart.

There are many good things about salvation. That is for another time. At this time, I can tell you that what most people fear, death, will not frighten you anymore. Plus you'll have the peace of the Lord in your heart, because you know what your destination is. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

Petition or Complaint

Philippians 2:13-15

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing. That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among home you shine as lights in the world.

It is common among the people who pray, to turn it into a complaining session. I suspect most of them don't even know they are complaining. Most people don't realize how God feels about it.

Numbers 11:1

Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.

When we go to God to pray, and start telling Him about everything we think is wrong in our lives, we are in fact telling God that He messed up. We are telling Him that we could do better.

1Thessalonians 5:18

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We live according to God's plan. He knows what is best for us, and tries to lead us back to Him. He knows what we feel, what we need, and what we want. He not only knows but He determines the best time to act. I learned a long time ago, I prosper in anything I do, when I listen to Him.

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Mark 11:24

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Prayer is a special conversation with God. Do it in a quiet, special place, regularly if possible, at a special time. Tell Him every day what is in your heart. He wants to say yes. When you pray, if you believe it is as good as done, and thank Him immediately, you will have what you ask, at the best time and way for you. Most of the time God blesses you with more than you asked for. Just remember the fact that He loves you and is always with you and wants for you to come back to Him someday. So when you pray, leave the how and when to Him. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!.

Remember Jesus loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

Reality In The Flesh

Matthew 6:19-21

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In the last couple of months, most people's lives have come crashing down. Everything people relied on for security, has suddenly showed how insecure it all is.

Businesses are greatly diminished, and in many cases no longer exist. Jobs have disappeared in record numbers. Many jobs that paid good, will no longer exist. Everything is upside down.

We live in a country where most people felt secure, and really bad things couldn't happen here. We are in unprecedented times. Our freedoms have been put on hold, arbitrary rules and regulations are everywhere. No one born in this country has ever experienced anything like it.

So-called experts and media have preached so much doom and gloom, as well as a good helping of lies and twisted facts, that most people are just about too afraid to get out of bed.

For some people, all of this stuff is just an inconvenience. They are going through hard times too, but they have an advantage, they trust in God. When you trust in God, you feel peace in your heart, not fear or worry. They know the truth about what is important in life. They know God loves them, and will take care of them. Jesus is knocking, open the door to Him and real security.

Hebrews 13:5-6

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say; the Lord is my helper; I will not fear, what can man do to me?

Remember Jesus loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

A Long Road

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him.

I write this message, because I believe there are many people who were, or are like me. I spent most of my life like the majority of people. I went about doing what I had to do. I almost never thought about God. I was too busy taking care of my family and making a living.

One day, back in 1972, I was coming home from  work after a tough day. Between that and a few other things, I was so desperate that I thought about God. And like we all do, run to Him when we have a problem that overwhelms us. I do remember it though like it was this afternoon. I said, God if you are real, show me.

The day was dark and cloudy, but my eyes were blinded by the brightest light I've ever seen. That moment I knew it was God.  I wept uncontrollably. When I pulled myself together I realized that all my cares had left me I felt such total peace I can't describe it.

Everyone I knew was asking my wife what happened to me, because I was acting so different. We started trying to take the next step. All we knew was Catholic, and we didn't follow that, so after a couple of weeks, we gave up. Can you believe that? I must've been a nut.

My mother-in-law loved Jesus. She always talked about how much she loved Him. I must say, and she didn't just talk, she lived it. She wanted everybody to know how great Jesus was, and how much He loved them. Well one day she offered a book to me. I guess no one else wanted it, so I thought I would humor her.  I took the book and thanked her. The title of the book was praise the Lord anyway. I believe it was written by Francis Gardner.

 Well, it was actually years later when I started to read that book. I can't even tell you why I started to read it because I don't know why I started to read it ,except I was led by the Holy Spirit. That is the only thing that makes sense.  The fact is I not only started to read it, I started to follow what I was reading.

Well sometime after that, I felt, in my heart that I should try to help others find Jesus, by telling them what I learned by writing blogs. It was about eight years ago.

As time went on I kept trying to learn as much as I could so I could pass it on to others. I really believe the Holy Spirit inspired me. In trying to help others, I have grown. The Lord said give and it shall be given to you. My faith has returned a hundredfold to me. I reached the point ,that I have no doubt when I pray in Jesus name that it is done. The Holy Spirit never lets me down.

The whole point of this little story is that it's never too late, and even if you screw up along the way the Lord is always there to catch you. He patiently waits for you to come back so if you're not there yet, don't give up. Just ask Him to come into your heart, and relax about it, because believe me when your time comes there's no escaping, it you will know in your heart just as I found out in my life. So praise the Lord He is a good Lord and I can understand totally, how my mother-in-law came to love Jesus so much. I do too. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior.I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

Spiritual Junk Food

Spiritual Junk Food
It Is Written, Psalm 66:18, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.
It is no secret that exercise and a good diet, makes for a healthy body. Fast food, and no exercise, all of the time will make for an unhealthy body. The same is true for your spirit. The junk food in this case however, falls into a couple of categories.
A. Media, news channels, and  newspapers. Most are full of lies, omissions, twisting of the truth, and just plain hate.
B. Friends and coworkers who gossip, complain, and are usually negative about everything.
C. People you see in public, doing things that may cause you to judge, complain, or do something that will develop unforgiveness in your heart.
D. Pick the wrong people to associate with. Many people will do things with a group that they would not do on their own. Being with the wrong people in the wrong place can bring about a mob mentality.
At first glance you may think it is impossible to avoid all this. Here is the answer to success. Feed your spirit with God's Word every morning. Meditate on a verse that strikes you, it really helps.
In our prayers, we must approach God with a clean heart to get our requests. As you feed on the things of God, you will eventually get there. God bless you and your family. 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 Lord
Amen

Pray And Trust

Philippians 4:6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

If you are reading this message, you probably had occasion to pray at some point in your life. What happened then? You are not alone. It is pretty hard to have faith in prayer, especially in the beginning.

1John 5:14-15

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

The first thing you must do, is to find out what God's will is. It stands to reason that if you know His will, you can pray in agreement with God. How can a prayer that agrees with God, be rejected by God? Answer, it can't. God's will can be found in His Word, the Bible. After you pray, start thanking God for the result regardless of how you feel.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Once you pray, and thank God, don't keep checking to see if it physically happened yet. It is however okay to remind God of your prayer.

Remember this important fact. Worrying is a faith killer, and a prayer killer. Start with things you can believe for. Your faith will grow to the point you will be able to believe for absolutely anything. One more thing. When you pray, don't make it a complaint session. God knows your problems, and He wants to help you. So get on with your requests and leave the complaints in the dustbin of life. After you prayed the important thing to remember is, let God do it, and get out of the way.
God bless you and your family.
Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen

Prayer Works

Romans 8:25-27

But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groaning s which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Ask any believer if God can do the impossible, and they will probably say that they believe He can. The amazing thing is, they do not realize what that really means. I know, because it used to be me.

When the average person prays, they limit God. They do that because they really don't know any better. The spirit of God mentioned in Genesis, is the Holy Spirit. God spoke the Word, and the Holy Spirit fulfilled that which was spoken.

Isaiah 55:11

So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

The same Holy Spirit is still available today. He is here to help, teach, and guide believers. John 14:26 states that nothing is impossible to those who believe. Mark 9:23 tells us if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. 

Mark 16:17-18 tells us he who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. 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.

When you put all of these truths from God's Word together you get a logical answer. The Holy Spirit was from the time of creation, working on this earth. The Holy Spirit was the power behind all of Jesus miracles.

God the Father gave the presence of the same Holy Spirit to us when we accepted Jesus. Jesus passes His mission on to us, to do what He did and more. Holy Spirit was the power behind Jesus works. When Jesus went back to heaven after His resurrection He passed all of that on to us.

Since all of this is true, whatever we pronounce according to God's will, in Jesus name, will be. God bless you and your family. Praise the Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sins, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.
Praise the Lord!
Amen