A Possible Bright Spot

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

After living on this earth many, many years, I sometimes remember when I was much younger. Many people call it the good old days. I will try to make an honest comparison with today, just the facts, and nothing but the facts.

When I was in high school, the number one crime committed by a student was smoking tobacco.  If a person was real delinquent, he drank beer behind the school, or in a secluded spot outside of school.

If a girl or woman got pregnant and was not married, it was a disgrace that stuck with her for life.  If she was foolish enough to get an abortion, she literally took her life in her own hands. Abortion was illegal, and performed by people who were more like butchers.

Homosexuality was not only illegal, it was a disgrace. Transgender people were pretty much unknown, and there was no such thing as gay marriage. Marriage was between a man and a woman. No one questioned their gender.

The media and regular people, couldn't help but lie, so we were taught that you can't believe what you hear or read.  Today it is mostly hate, and fear that you see and hear. The goal seems to be to destroy other people in every way, and if possible destroy the country. I guess you can see what I am getting at. The country and the world keep looking for and finding ways to reject Jesus and slap Him in the face.

Now for the possible bright spot. If enough good people get sick and tired of all this evil, they will start and stay with our opening verse until it happens. One last thing whether people believe in God, Heaven, or hell, it is what God thinks that counts. We are warned in the Bible, he who has ears let him hear, he who has eyes, let him see..  God bless you and your family. 

Praise The Lord!

Isaiah 5:20, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for better!

2 Timothy 3:1-5, For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power and from such people turn away.

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

Lord Jesus, please forgive all of my sin, and come into my heart as my personal savior. I want to serve only you.  

Praise The Lord!

Amen

Prophecy

Revelation 1:3, Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.

The average person is concerned about the future. As far back in human history as you look, you'll find people who look for what we would call a fortune teller. Whether it was looking at bones, organs of animals, the stars, tarot cards, or ouija boards, or who knows what, their search was for knowing the future.

2  Peter 1:21, No prophecy ever came by the will of man, instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The real truth about the future can only be found in the Bible. It is the inspired Word of God, and it follows ancient texts, by the prophets, even eyewitnesses. The future is right there for anyone who really wants to know.

As we read the Bible, we learn what God considers good or bad. By knowing what God thinks, we know pretty much what to expect by our actions, good or bad.

Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Prayer is the key to it all. People generally think prayer is a waste of time. For most people it is because they aren't sincere in their prayers, or they are not in a respectful, believing mode, or they are not in the will of God.

Psalm 145:18, The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity.

What I am going to say now, is not biblical. I speak from my own experiences, including what I believe I heard from the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:26-27,In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

First I would like to say, I have total faith in prayer, as the answer to everything. As far as I am concerned, if Jesus said it, it is, period. I pay no attention to skeptics or unbelievers.

I believe we are led to Pray by and according to God's will. If we pray with that knowledge, it is easy to believe when we feel that we are led to pray about something. In a way it is a prophecy the way I look at it, because when I pray for something I know it will happen. Here is an example. You pray for someone to be healed, because Jesus said heal the sick in my name. At that point you pronounce him healed in Jesus name, and he is. By Faith in Jesus Words.

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. Amen. 

Praise The Lord.! 

Amen

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Feed The Spirit Man

John 6:53-59, So Jesus said to them. Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live, because of Me.

Every living thing, man and animal alike, knows that they require food to live. Without an adequate supply of food or the right kind of food, nothing can survive.

Just as the natural body requires food, the spiritual man requires spiritual food. That spiritual food is the Word of God. Without a steady diet of the Word of God, our spiritual self will start to deteriorate. If we don't have the spiritual food, we will slowly Drift from God, and His Voice gets smaller and smaller until we no longer hear it.

Consider this truth: if our spirit man does not take in spiritual food, it is susceptible to satan's junk food. That junk food is the evil we face every day in the world. 

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. 

Matthew 6:11,Give us today our daily bread.

Many of us grew up reciting the Lord's Prayer, or as some call it the Our Father. Jesus taught that prayer to His disciples when they asked Him how to pray. One of the phrases in the prayer is to “give us this day our daily bread”. Many people do not connect that with Jesus' pronouncement that He is the bread of life.

1 Peter 2:2, Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the Word, so that you may grow up into your salvation.

Consider what happens when you take communion. The bread is associated with Jesus' broken body at the crucifixion. The Bible tells us the lashes on Jesus back and the horrible beating according to Isaiah chapter 53, by his stripes we are healed. It means what it says. I know from personal experience the healing is true.

Jesus' blood was spilled to wash away our sins, past, present, and future. The spirit man requires a steady diet of spiritual food. Holy Communion can be received even if you are alone. Read Jesus' words at the Last Supper when He broke the bread, and drank the wine. Yes it is legitimate communion.

John 4: 34,  My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work Jesus told them.

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

Why Read the Bible

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.

Many people say they don't read the Bible because they don't have time, or they don't understand. The real reason many of them don't read it, is because they were never taught what it is, and how it impacts our lives. The fact is where you spend eternity hinges on what the Bible tells you.

Many people were taught, and truly believe, that if they lead a good life, according to what they consider good, they will get to Heaven.  Well, that is false. There are countless so-called good people in hell, and just as many or more will go there. How can that be?

Ephesians 2:8-9, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

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

Acts 4:12, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

As you can see from these verses, they do not say anything about being good, or earning salvation. If you didn't read it in the Bible, you would not be saved. The Bible is God's instructions for us to get to Heaven. The Bible tells us what God thinks, and expects. We can live our way, but the end result will be following satan, and the world to our destruction. It is that simple. Give this message some thought before you dismiss it as something you're not interested in. God bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer of Salvation

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

Praise The Lord!

Amen

Purpose Of Life

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing whether good or evil.

If you read the book of Ecclesiastes, you will see a man called Solomon. He was the son of David, a man after the Lord’s Heart.

Solomon was the wisest person in the world. He was the richest, had an overabundance of everything, including over 1,000 women. There was nothing he could not have or do.  Nothing satisfied him. Solomon was  very unhappy. One line that he used often was, “there is nothing new under the sun”.

Solomon even forsook the God of Israel quite a few times and followed the gods of his wives. He was always looking at what he considered the insanity and repetition of things. He did it all, and could not find the answer.

Ecclesiastes 9:11, Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather time and chance happen to all of them. 

So you see in our title verse , he finally got the idea. Fortunately we don't have to spend a lifetime finding the answer. 

Colossians 3: 23-24, Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people. Knowing that you will receive the reward  of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

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.

If we pursue the Lord Jesus, the way we pursue other things, and make Him number one in our lives, we will be rewarded. If we pay attention to these verses, and trust in the Lord with all our hearts, we will be serving the Lord. After all my friends, we are here to serve the Lord by loving and serving others. That is our purpose in life. Move as the Holy Spirit leads you and you will be serving 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

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Interfering With God

Matthew 16:23, Jesus turned and told Peter; get behind me, satan! You are a hindrance to me because you are not thinking about God's concerns but human concerns. 

It may seem strange to most of us, why Jesus said that to Peter. It may come as a surprise, but the truth is, we all do it almost every day. What is it we do

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

Everything that goes on in this world is allowed by God, because it is all a part of His plan for His creation. When We complain or criticize our leaders, we are saying God picked the wrong people. Yes, just as in the Old Testament, God picked kings, as well as all others in authority, in order to fulfill His plan.

One good thing to remember is, each person is doing his part in God's perfect plan. We are all free to do God's way or not. Even that is part of His plan.

Job 42:2, Then Job reply to the Lord: I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted.

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.

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. 

Keeping our 2 cents out of it is a pretty hard thing to do, but we have God's promise that things will work out for our good. If we follow God's lead, we can feel safe even in major storms that come our way.

Proverbs 18:3-4, Commit your activities to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has prepared everything for His purpose even the wicked for the day of disaster. 

One more thought that really helped me. Read about the people in the Old Testament. See how they interacted with God. Look at the world we live in, and see the similarities. Amazing or not? One other thing. When you read the Old Testament, when the armies of Israel went into battle without consulting the Lord first, they always ended up in disaster for Israel, but when they did it God's way, they succeeded no matter how big the odds were against them.

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

Time For Prayer

Acts 26:18, To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

2 Chronicles 7:14, If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Prayer is talking to God about our problems, wants, and whatever else is on our minds. Prayer is also about thanking and praising God for all of His blessings in our lives. It is an intimate time with our Lord.

Prayer is not just for us, it is our duty to pray for others as well. Everyone cannot preach to millions of people about Jesus. We can however, ask God to open hearts and minds of people everywhere. Prayer for others is one of the most powerful of prayers because we are not just thinking about ourselves.

As you probably know, there are hundreds of millions of lost people in the world. They do not know Jesus, and don't want to know Him. They are currently living in darkness. By praying for these people, many will come into the light of Jesus, and be saved.

People in power, especially many of those in government and the media, abuse their power through hate speech, lies, and corruption. They practice evil, and lead others to do the same. Their goal seems to be to block God out of our lives. They don't seem to realize that they have that power from God. They will be held responsible for everything they do.

The verses we started with are the words of God, and like all of God's word they are absolutely true. You and I have a responsibility to pray and set an example for others. We are supposed to reflect Jesus light in this dark world.

Remember this, no amount of darkness can put out the light of a single match. Jesus always prayed to His Father. Through acceptance of Jesus as our Savior, His Father becomes our Father too. I would like to add one more thing. When Jesus spoke to His Father about anything, the Holy Spirit manifested whatever Jesus wanted. A classic example is when Jesus spoke to His Father just before He raised Lazarus from the dead. 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

Function Of Our Will

Proverbs 16:9, A person's heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.

It is true that God gave each of us a free will. God knew that free will could mean someone loves Him, and someone else would hate Him. God was forced to grant free will to his creation, because He wanted real love, not love by mandate.

For thousands of years, God has been teaching His people how to live, in order to be with Him. There were ancient texts,  and prophets who were killed teaching what God said. Finally, God's only son was sent to rescue people. Jesus spoke and lived what He taught, as a perfect example for man to follow.

1 Corinthians 2:14, But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually. 

When Jesus rose from the dead, He told His disciples to continue His work in His name. He also promised to send the Holy Spirit to help, teach, and guide all who would listen. God also inspired the writers of the Bible. As we know, the Bible is an instruction manual to Salvation and eternal life. 

Mark 8:34, Calling the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them. “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me”

When Jesus gave the message of this verse, He knew it would be hard, and many would not succeed. Once again the Holy Spirit and the Word of God encourage us. If we study the Bible, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us, He will. If we are sincere about seeking God, we will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit as He works with us. We must decide what we will do.

John 8:31-32, Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “if you continue in My Word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”.

It all boils down to this my friends. Like most things in life, you receive in proportion to your effort. the difference is the rewards cannot be compared, and you can take with you everything you earned when God calls you home 

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

What's This

Isaiah 26:3, You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you. 

Most of the media is pushing fear, anxiety, division, 24 hours a day. Half the country is scared out of their minds about climate change and the virus. All over the world it's the same story. Half the world's population thinks the world will end in a couple of years if we don't change anything about carbon emissions. The other half doesn't give it much thought.

It really is amazing how many people do not realize that decisions of any kind  made out of fear, end up in a very bad place. It is time to take a deep breath, and look at the facts. 

Psalm 112:7, He will not fear bad news, his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord.

Some people don't seem to have the same fears. Do they know something you don't know, or are they just living with mental problems? Time to talk to some of these people. When you do, you will probably find out that most of them are believing Christians. 

Think about the verse in the title. To get to that peace, you must be willing to read the Bible to see who guarantees that peace, and learn what your part is. The New Testament is a good place to start. In the Bible you meet the Creator of all things, seen and unseen. The Book of Revelation explains exactly what happens and why it happens. As you study God's word the Bible, you'll see that God didn't just create the world, He controls it. 

Matthew 6:33–34, But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Basically what this means is if you focus on God, whatever happens is immaterial. 

Isaiah 45:5-7, I am the lord, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know Me. So that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but Me. I am the lord, and there is no other; I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster, I am the Lord who does all these things. 

God allows what is going on, because it is part of His plan to separate good and evil. His plan also includes taking care of those who love Him, consequently they have peace in their hearts. 

Proverbs 16:4, The Lord has prepared everything for His purpose-even the wicked for the day of disaster.

Since everything that is going on is allowed by God, we must realize that complaining or criticizing God's plan, is the same as telling God his plan is no good. I don't know about you but I think telling God his plan is no good is not the smartest thing any of us could do. Now for the really hard part for most of us, check out the next verse.

Romans 13: 1-2, let everyone submit to the governing authorities since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God so then the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.

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

Lying

Proverbs 12:22,, lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.

I think it is pretty plain how God feels about lying. The Bible is full of examples of what God has to say about it. One of the biggest reasons for the condition of the world today, is lying. It is a way of  life for most people, just like breathing, they don't even have to think about it, they just lie because to them it seems like the truth.

A lie is a lie. There are no white lies, or big lies, or anywhere in between. In God's eyes they are all lies. They aren't funny as some people think, they are serious business, and they usually end up hurting someone, especially the one who is doing the lying. Eventually it will catch up with them and they will be found out.

Deceit, is deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth. Deception is a version of lying, but worse, because it is intended to deceive.

Lying is speaking falsely, and conveys a false impression or thought.

Dishonesty is another example of untruth.

As you can see lying in all of its forms can destroy people's lives in many ways. People are in jail, have all kinds of problems, and lead a life that is not what it could have been, because of lies. A final example would be, if you and your family where in a  life or death situation. Someone says that they can save you, if you listen to them. Would you base your decision on a lie or would you want the truth?

We make decisions many times every day. We make decisions most often on what we hear other people say, whether they heard it on TV, in a newspaper, or people they know. Think about the many decisions you made, and how they turned out. You can probably figure out that the good decisions you made,, were based on truth. By the same token, most of your bad decisions were made based on bad information or out and out lies.

Whenever you speak to anyone about anything, remember that our Creator wants us to speak the truth. God loves and blesses the truth. 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

Closer To God

Hebrews 11:1, Now Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 

Many people are disappointed in prayer. They pray and nothing happens. At this point someone will say “I tried it and it didn't work”. So what went wrong? 

Matthew 21:22, And if you believe you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. 

Let's take a look at the big picture, by looking at the facts. Prayer is not magic. Prayer is talking to God. The first step is to believe that.

It is almost impossible to believe someone you don't know. You can't really believe in someone just because a friend says someone can be trusted. That could be disastrous. It stands to reason that if you are to put all of your trust in God to answer prayer, you have to know Him. I didn't say you know He exists, I said actually know Him.

Romans 10:17, So faith comes by hearing and hearing comes through the word of God. 

John 15:7, If you abide in Me, and My word abides in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

1 John 5:14, And this is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

If you put everything, we have looked at together, we come up with one inescapable conclusion. We must know who God is, and we must know His will. There is one unmistakable answer to both of those questions. We must read the Bible. It is the written word of God.

Talk to God. Ask Him to help you in your search for Him and His will. If you are sincere, He will help you. After you know God, you can find verses on any subject in your concordance. Most good Bibles have one in the back. And as you are reading, you will also discover the power of Jesus' name, and the Holy Spirit as helper, guide, and teacher for you.

Don't miss another day of the awesome power of 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

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Our Savior

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. 

The definition of Savior is someone who saves another from danger. A rescuer, a liberator.

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

Many people are disturbed and even angry about the claim that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Lets see some background leading to that statement, and ask some questions.

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.

1 John 4:14, And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent His Son as the world's savior.

Most religions give you some kind of writings to explain where and who started what they follow. Since many religions teach their followers how to get to their version of Heaven, why is it wrong for Christians to tell their story?

Romans 5:8, But God proves his own Love For Us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Let's face one fact. It takes faith even to believe in nothing. Faith is what we believe, and why we believe it. If we don't decide what we believe by looking at what a religion stands for, how can we be sure of anything? Do we take a friend's opinion about which religion is right? Religions have very different ideas of how to live. Can all of them be right? Logic says no.

Is there a serial killer with no religion going to Heaven just like a person who is kind and helpful to everyone his whole life? Is that fair? Okay let's so let's say the bad people can earn forgiveness. How can they earn it? What do they do? For how long? What if they die right after their sin? Who decides which sin is forgiven and how much good works or whatever you believe will take away sin. Are all sins equal?

1 Timothy 2: 3-4, This is good and it pleases God, our Savior , who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

So you see, the answers are impossible unless you put Jesus Christ in the picture. You don't have to be angry that Christians believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven, believe what you will, no one will get angry with you. No one is forcing their belief on you.

Romans 3:23-25, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood, received through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.

Do yourself a big favor. Google each religion and see what they believe and why. Eternity is forever. You decide where you will spend it. Think long and hard, because when the time comes, there will be no do-over, or excuse. 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