Surviving This World

Romans 12:2, Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

As we all know by now, life can be tough, and this world is in turmoil. Many ask, where is God? How can God allow all of the pain and suffering?

There is an answer, but most people refuse to accept it. Our world, including our country, has rejected God. God has been taken out of our daily lives. What people can consider good, is actually against what the Bible says.

Is it any wonder why God allows what is going on? An important fact about God is, He will not force Himself on anyone. He even allows each of us to decide where we will spend eternity. He said, anytime we decide to repent and call on the name of Jesus for salvation, He will accept us and blot out our past.

When we accept Jesus as our savior, the Holy Spirit will guide us in God's Will. By seeking God with all of our hearts, we get closer to Him, and hear His voice in our heart.

Many people wrestle with trying to figure out what God's will is. One day while I was asking the Holy Spirit, He gave me the answer. When you meditate on the word of God, and ask Him to show you what His will is, He usually answers by putting a desire in your heart. Keep praying about the desire and wait on God.

From experience, I can tell you, eventually things will start to happen that will confirm or deny. If confirmed, the plan will come together and go smoothly. If not, you will know that too.

God had a plan for each of us before creation. He knew what each of us would do. Since He cannot go against His gift of free will, He must allow each persons life to play out as they choose. Each person who is condemned at the final judgment, will know they deserve it.

So you see it really is simple. If we focus on God and His word,and ignore the evil in the world, we can find peace in our lives. We are not living in denial, we are trusting in our God to take care of us. A couple of extra versus to help you along those lines.

Proverbs 3 5 - 6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

1  John 2: 16 – 17, for all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's possessions is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with it's lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

Proverbs 19:21  Many plans are in a person's heart, but the Lord's decree will prevail.

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

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

The Key To The Kingdom

 Matthew 6:33, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Suppose you had someone living in your house who was the most brilliant person in the world. They literally knew everything about everything. This person had every morsel of knowledge locked in their brain.

Suppose that every morning you had coffee with that person. As your conversation goes on, you mention a problem you are having. This person quietly says to you, I can help. You say , that's okay, I can deal with it. Is it wise to ignore the perfect solution to your problem?

Believe it or not, most of us do that very thing. Maybe we don't have that person, but we have his words. Those words are in the Holy Bible, the inspired word of God.

Matthew 4: 4 He answered, it is written: man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Luke 11: 28, He said, rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.

People who read the Bible, usually just read it. They are missing out big time. When you read the Bible, don't worry about how many pages you read. Read a verse, think about it, and let it talk to you.

The Bible talks to all who will listen. Don't forget. God created each of us to have a blessed, fulfilled life. He also gave us His word to help us. The Bible literally is the key to the kingdom. God tells us how to live according to His will, and at the same time receive blessing upon blessing.

When you listen and act according to God's word, The Impossible becomes possible.

James 1:22,  But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Once you see how the Bible works in your life, you will realize that if one thing is true, they must all be true. It is simple, but it can be hard to do. Just believe, and trust. It all leads to the Kingdom of our God. 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

Words Of Salvation

2 Timothy 3:16-17, All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

When we read the Bible, we must accept the fact that the whole Bible is the inspired Word of God. If we start to pick out what we believe, and reject what we don't agree with, we are missing out on unbelievable blessings and power.

Consider this. In order to pray according to God's will, we must know what His will is. Almighty God tells us what His will is through His word. When you become familiar with His word, you realize God Himself is talking to you.

1  John 5: 14 - 15, And this is the confidence that we have toward 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 we have the request that we have asked of Him.

If you don't know the Word, you probably don't know that all believers have access to the power of the Holy Spirit. You must know the Holy Spirit, what He does, and why Jesus sent Him to us. 

Romans 8:26, Likewise the spirit helps us in our weaknesses. for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

John 14: 26, But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I have said to you.

If you don't know how to pray, tell the Holy Spirit what is in your heart. Whether it is a prayer for yourself or someone else, for healing, or for a closer relationship with God, ask the Holy Spirit to present your prayers to God. The Holy Spirit will take your words and present them to our Father as a perfect prayer.

Another important fact. When we pray in Jesus' name, it is as if Jesus Himself asked your father.

John 14 :13 - 14, whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

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

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Waiting

Psalm 27:14, Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage;  wait for the Lord!

It seems to be human nature, for people to depend on themselves, and want to control everything in their lives. Not a good idea.

Psalm 37 :7, Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 

Most Believers on the other hand, say a short prayer and plunge ahead. Some ask to follow the Will of God, and still end up with problems. What goes on here?

Micah 7:7, But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

The key to following God's Will is simple. Ask the Holy Spirit in Jesus name, to follow God's Will. Of course you must know what God's Will is, as it is spelled out in the Bible.

If you follow our messages, you probably know we use analogies, and real experiences to help explain what we are saying. I will tell you of an experience we had in the last month.

My wife and I were faced with a life-changing decision. As usual we prayed for guidance. After a couple of weeks, we made a decision. It blew up in our faces. We realized that in this instance we made an emotional decision. That just doesn't work. So we started over. We prayed every day to make the right decision. After a few days, I was led to find specific scriptures, and discussed them with my wife. It seemed to reinforce our original decision, but we waited on the Lord.

After about two weeks and continuing to pray, another person stepped into the picture, and it became clear, without a doubt, that the decision we followed was the correct answer.

The answer we got was the same decision we made in the beginning. The difference was the timing. By waiting on the Lord, another person stepped in and made the opposite decision. It was our answer, as well as theirs. No doubt at all in our minds. The Lord came through again. Just wait, no matter how long it takes, and the answer will be clear. And I mean clear. God bless you and your family.

Praise The Lord

Philippians 4: 13, I can do all things through him who strengthens 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

Abolish Problems

It Is Written, 1 Peter 5:7, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

If you could abolish all of your problems in an instant, would that make you happy? What if everything that was a problem, got results for your best, would you be happy?

There is a way to deal with problems, that will make them go away. That way, is to give them to the Lord. Does that sound too easy, or too hard? Let's look at it from both sides.

When you give all of your cares to the Lord, it is because you know Him and trust Him. You probably consider Him of much more value and trust, than anything in this world. You know He will do it, because He says so, in the Bible.

Reasons for not casting your cares on the Lord. You don't trust Him to do it, or you think He can't do it. Maybe the things of this world mean more to you than salvation. The things of this world may have become your God, without you even realizing it. Another possibility is, you are afraid God will not do it your way.

We have a free will. The Bible says God only wants our good, and that can only be if we let Him do it. satan uses the things of the world like a nose ring on nonbelievers. He is pulling all of his followers to hell with him.

Some of this may seem harsh, but truth is truth, and the choice is yours. 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

You Can Do It

It Is Written, John 6:63, it is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

It is pretty common for a person to do only what they must do. It is after all very pleasant to relax, be a couch potato, and watch TV for hours at a time.

A majority of these people do not realize that they have become prisoners of their own making. They find it difficult, if not impossible to lead a better, healthier, physical and spiritual life.

So the big question is how do you change the situation? It isn't that difficult if you really want to change. As usual, I tell about my battle with lazy, and how I won. I do not say any of my experiences in a boastful way, I just try to give people the benefit of my mistakes so they won't do the same thing.

The first thing you must realize is that the battle is spiritual as well as physical. satan wants you to be lazy and helpless to do anything. He wants you that way, so he can condemn you relentlessly.

If you want to win, start out by not listening to satan. You are a spirit that has a soul [mind] to control the body you live in. You must tell your mind and body that you will no longer tolerate their behavior, and get up and do something. Do it regularly, and your mind and body will get the idea, and you will no longer live in the prison you created.

As you probably know by now, the Holy Spirit will help you be successful if you ask Him, and believe. I speak often of the Holy Spirit and how He helps, because it is absolutely true to anyone who will accept the idea. 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.

Thank You Lord

 Amen

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Any Good People Left 

Matthew 5:16, In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.

As you undoubtedly noticed, the title of this message is a loaded question. Before you can answer this question, what standards are you using? Gods or man's.

Romans 3:23, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Luke 6:37, DO not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

So you see how it is. Judgement is reserved for our Creator to exercise, not us. We are the ones to be judged. How do we measure up in God's eyes? He gave us the Bible to guide us, and the Holy Spirit to help us.

We live in a world filled with other humans. Judging others is inescapable. If you have authority, you must judge those under you. We are judged by the laws of man. Do not, is an often-used term.

Don't forget that we judge others by our decisions on how we interact with them. Store owners, neighbors, friends, and the list goes on. It is impossible to live in this world without judging. So what is the answer? 

1 Corinthians 15:33, Do not be deceived. Bad Company corrupts good morals.

John 7:24, Stop judging according to out word appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgement.

If you start out by looking for behavior that reflects what God thinks, you are going in the right direction. Read and use Galatians 5 22 - 23, as a guideline. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control.

2 Timothy 3:16-17, All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

When you look for behavior that reflects what the Bible says, you will see that there are plenty of good, God-fearing people in the world. Actions speak louder than words. Good people live a lifestyle that identifies most of them as Christians. God-fearing people, acting according to God's Word, can change the world.

John 3:16, for God so loved the world in this way. He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Almighty God gave  His son Jesus, and Jesus gave His life so that we would be saved. do not let those sacrifices for you, be in vain. 20 minutes with God's Word every day is a tiny price to pay in order to live a life according to God's will. 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

Living In Fear

Philippians 4:6-7  Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The world is engulfed in a pandemic right now with covid - 19 everywhere. There is a second pandemic that is even worse, and it is also happening now. Most people do not even recognize it as such. That second pandemic is fear.

Psalm  56:3,  When I am afraid I will trust in you.

There are many things going on right now that put fuel on the fire. People in government agencies, either don't know what they are dealing with, or they are lying. Misinformation rules today. Every day the story the public gets is changed.

Tin pot dictators have disguised themselves as Governors, dictating draconian rules and regulations. These dictates they come up with seem more like a power grab, and an excuse for control, then helping our people. The vast majority of these pronouncements make no sense to anyone with half a brain.

Lamentations 3: 57, You came near whenever I called You; You said, do not be afraid.

As a result of this stuff, many people live in great fear of covid, and their government. Look around you, open your eyes, forget politics, and see what is going on.

Hebrews 13:17, Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

This is probably one of the hardest verses to follow. It is God's will, and His plan. We must get out of the way.

2  Chronicles 7: 14, If my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from Heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Prayer with faith and trust in God, can overcome any situation. The Bible tells of many different occasions, when God's people repented, and cried out to him, and he saved them.

The God of the Bible is alive and well today. He's waiting to hear from us. If we ignore this wake-up call, the next one will be louder. 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

Some Observations

1  Peter 5 : 7, Casting all your cares on Him, because He cares about you.

Everyone on this earth has problems. There are big problems, and small problems. Some of these problems can be life-threatening, such as a disease, or just trifles. Just because someone is a Christian, does not mean they will be free of these trials in life.

I have had many days when satan tried to make me question my faith. Generally he tries to take something that is going on in your life, and blow it way out of proportion. He tries to plant doubt that God even hears you, let alone acts in your life to help you.

Let's look at some facts. The Word of God tells us that if we ask in Jesus' name, He will answer. While this is absolutely true, it does not mean it will happen exactly as you think it will, or happen exactly when you think it should. This is a time that satan will try to trip you up.

John 15:7, If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 

If you read the Bible, you will discover over a period of time, that your trust in God, and your knowledge of how much He loves you will grow. You will also learn that God  operates according to His time, not ours. Waiting on the Lord does not mean no. You could read many books about God's timing and still miss something.

Keep this in mind always. God loves us, and His will is pretty clear in His Word, the Bible. When we act according to His will, He always hears.

Psalm 37:4, Take Delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desires.

1 John 5:14-15, This is the confidence we have before Him; if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we ask of Him.

God not only takes care of our problems, He will also give us the desires of our hearts , because He puts those desires that will do the most good for us in our hearts.

Another benefit of knowing God's Word, you will know His Will. The Holy Spirit will lead you down the right path, and will help you if you listen for His voice in your heart. The more you grow, the easier it is to hear His voice.

Proverbs 3 5 - 6, trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your path straight. 

So if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with life, and / or satan is attacking you, find a quiet spot, relax, and read this entire message, especially the verses.  satan cannot be in the place where God is, your heart.

Romans 8:28, We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.

Philippians 4 6 - 7, don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and Minds in Christ Jesus.

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

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Time

1  Thessalonians 4:16 - 18, For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the archangels' voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

The Rapture is a subject of heated debate. Many people do not believe in it, and others argue about whether it will be before, during, or after the Great Tribulation.

For those who are not familiar with what the Rapture is,, this is a somewhat brief explanation. There will come a time when God will say, enough is enough. At that time, God will take all of the believers in Jesus from the earth, and bring them to Himself. No one knows the time for this event except God Almighty Himself. We must be ready at all times.

Revelation 3 :10, Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole earth to test those who live on the earth. 

People don't realize how important it is to be ready. Let me make this analogy to help everyone understand. Any breath you take, could be your last. You feel great, you inhale, and when you exhale you are in eternity. Yes it will happen that quick.

Every day, thousands, maybe millions of people die suddenly, unexpectedly. Everything they were planning to do at some point, is cancelled by Death.

I am not trying to scare anyone, I am just pointing out facts. The time to repent and ask Jesus to be your savior is now. 10 seconds from now might be too late. You don't get a do-over when you miss it.

Matthew 24: 36, concerning that day and hour, no one knows - neither the angels of Heaven nor the Son - except the Father alone.

Luke 21:36, But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son Of Man. 

The one thing we must all understand is absolutely critical. Even if the Rapture does not happen in our lifetime, death is just as swift and just as final. Eternity is forever, and that is a length of time we cannot wrap our heads around. Spend it in glorious life with Jesus, or unimaginable torment with satan. It's up to you. Your decision.

Choose Wisely, it's your choice, before it's too late.

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

The Right Path

It Is Written, Matthew 7:14, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

John 14:6, Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me.

Proverbs 16:25, there is a way that seems right to a man but it's end is the way of death.

As most of us know by now, we have a free will. That is a good thing for some, and a really bad thing for others. We must make choices, hundreds of times a day, and usually don't recognize the significance of each one in our lives.

God knew it would be hard for us to find our way back to Him, so He has a plan for each of us. Let us call it a path, or road.

If you follow any road, you must know where it goes, and have a map. You know that if you don't follow the directions carefully, and make changes,  there will be consequences for those changes.

God's plan is in your heart. He speaks to everyone's heart, but most don't listen. If you ignore the inner voice often enough, it gets quieter and quieter, until it goes away.

If you ask God to guide you, the Holy Spirit will tell you how to go step-by-step. If you stray because you got distracted, you will suffer needlessly in some way. Remember though, that the Holy Spirit will guide you back to the right road if you listen.

Rent the movie Pilgrims progress, or read the book by John Bunyan. It is a great example of a Christian following the narrow path, or not. 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. 

Thank You Lord

Amen