It Is Written, John 3:16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I must tell you about an incredible experience on Jesus birthday. I was relaxing and listening to a Christmas album I have. The usual, silent night, come all ye faithful, O holy night, etc. Then of course you can throw in Handel's Messiah. I sat there and cried like a schoolgirl at an Elvis concert in the 60s. The music touched my heart so much.
It was a combination of realizing what Jesus did for me, and the words of the hymns that tore me up. The words can really get to you if you pay attention. I feel touched even as I write this.
Now to get to the point. As we, myself included, go about our daily lives, we have a tendency to take our salvation and blessings, and the price Jesus paid for them, for granted. Oh we think about it sometimes, but the heart, even though it is thankful, doesn't quite have the same level of joy it once had. We can meditate on a verse or two, and feel some joy, but not quite the tear provoking kind.
I have a suggestion for you, and I give you this suggestion because I am going to follow my own advice. I think you'll see for yourself what I mean. On the first of every month, I'm going to sit quietly for an hour or so, and listen to Christmas music that mentions the Lord.
Sound corny? I believe it will give you a boost just as it makes me feel better. It really is a great reminder, and helps you put things in perspective. I guess we need this sort of thing because we are human, and we still have faults even when we are saved. I pray that everyone who reads these messages has a blessed year in every sense of the word. 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
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
God's Greatest Gift
It Is Written,1 Thessalonians 5:9, for God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
You may talk to someone who will try to tell you that God has particular people He has chosen for salvation, and everyone else does not have a chance. You and I know that that idea is nonsense. It just shows they don't read the Bible.
There are many verses of Scripture that give you the way to obtain salvation. There are countless verses concerning forgiveness, and the love of God. If someone doesn't believe what God promised in His word, they probably don't accept the reality of hell. My own opinion is, if that's the case, why are they concerned about what God does or thinks? For instance, why does an atheist fight so hard against the God he believes doesn't exist?
Another quick point. If you mention the name of Jesus, and someone gets upset, angry, or doesn't want to hear about Him, who made that decision other than the one that did want to hear about it?
I think that the underlying problem concerning Jesus and salvation, is accountability. People look at accepting Jesus as a hindrance to their lifestyle.
Many people don't understand, that just because you refuse to accept a truth, it does not eliminate that truth. We live in a world were very few people accept responsibility for their actions. Placing blame on someone else is a way of life for many people. They use the excuse that since God has already picked people for salvation, why should they worry about how they live or what they do, because they won't be saved anyway.
Another problem that is very big with a lot of people, is that they have led such a sinful life, that they can't believe that they can be forgiven. That again is nonsense.
It is written, Galatians 1:4, referring to Jesus who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present age, according to the will of God and father.
Again it is written, Romans 10:9, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. I believe, as I said earlier, that there are many many verses in the Bible that refutes the argument that only God's favorites have salvation. 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
You may talk to someone who will try to tell you that God has particular people He has chosen for salvation, and everyone else does not have a chance. You and I know that that idea is nonsense. It just shows they don't read the Bible.
There are many verses of Scripture that give you the way to obtain salvation. There are countless verses concerning forgiveness, and the love of God. If someone doesn't believe what God promised in His word, they probably don't accept the reality of hell. My own opinion is, if that's the case, why are they concerned about what God does or thinks? For instance, why does an atheist fight so hard against the God he believes doesn't exist?
Another quick point. If you mention the name of Jesus, and someone gets upset, angry, or doesn't want to hear about Him, who made that decision other than the one that did want to hear about it?
I think that the underlying problem concerning Jesus and salvation, is accountability. People look at accepting Jesus as a hindrance to their lifestyle.
Many people don't understand, that just because you refuse to accept a truth, it does not eliminate that truth. We live in a world were very few people accept responsibility for their actions. Placing blame on someone else is a way of life for many people. They use the excuse that since God has already picked people for salvation, why should they worry about how they live or what they do, because they won't be saved anyway.
Another problem that is very big with a lot of people, is that they have led such a sinful life, that they can't believe that they can be forgiven. That again is nonsense.
It is written, Galatians 1:4, referring to Jesus who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present age, according to the will of God and father.
Again it is written, Romans 10:9, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. I believe, as I said earlier, that there are many many verses in the Bible that refutes the argument that only God's favorites have salvation. 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
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Your Calling
It Is Written, Proverbs 20:24, a man's steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?
Jesus birthday is over now, and we look forward to a new beginning with the coming of the new year. People start listing what we call new year resolutions. We do it, even if we have failed every year that we tried. We have misplaced faith in our own abilities.
In this message we will look at it from the eyes of a believer. As I often do, I will use myself as an example for two reasons. I have had many setbacks and disappointments in the past, and second, many people have gone through similar times.
When I became a Christian, I wanted to do great things for God. I didn't know what or how, but I wanted it. I saw preachers on TV, read their books, and lamented the fact that age and circumstances prevented my bringing people to Jesus, or so I thought.
I heard many times that God has a perfect plan for each of us. So I started to pray about that plan, but I still had my own idea of how it would go. I don't need to tell you what happened, because you probably can guess, but I'll tell you anyway.
Every time something started to happen, I rejected it. So here you have me praying for God's plan, He starts to work, and I reject it. You can't get any dumber than I was. So it is no surprise that I failed, time after time.
After what seemed like years and years of this type of thing the Holy Spirit put the basic truth on my heart. Choose to believe what He is doing, and to keep my opinions out of it. Well, little by little, things got better. The Holy Spirit put more and more on my heart, and I listened more and more.
So the short version is that He taught me plenty. Each of us is given a job to do, and a set of circumstances to deal with, all for our good and His glory if we listen.
The lowliest person in the world can be one of the greatest in God's eyes. God has different standards. The fact is, you and I might be on this Earth just to say a couple of words to someone that will eventually open their hearts to Jesus and salvation. And that could be our whole purpose here.
I am at the point that I just do what I am led to do, and don't concern myself with anything else. We pray, follow the plan as we are led, and the Holy Spirit does the work.
No believer who puts his trust in God is insignificant. The greatest evangelist is no better than someone who loves and trusts God. So embrace what God asks you to do. Be thankful and joyful because He chose you to do 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
Jesus birthday is over now, and we look forward to a new beginning with the coming of the new year. People start listing what we call new year resolutions. We do it, even if we have failed every year that we tried. We have misplaced faith in our own abilities.
In this message we will look at it from the eyes of a believer. As I often do, I will use myself as an example for two reasons. I have had many setbacks and disappointments in the past, and second, many people have gone through similar times.
When I became a Christian, I wanted to do great things for God. I didn't know what or how, but I wanted it. I saw preachers on TV, read their books, and lamented the fact that age and circumstances prevented my bringing people to Jesus, or so I thought.
I heard many times that God has a perfect plan for each of us. So I started to pray about that plan, but I still had my own idea of how it would go. I don't need to tell you what happened, because you probably can guess, but I'll tell you anyway.
Every time something started to happen, I rejected it. So here you have me praying for God's plan, He starts to work, and I reject it. You can't get any dumber than I was. So it is no surprise that I failed, time after time.
After what seemed like years and years of this type of thing the Holy Spirit put the basic truth on my heart. Choose to believe what He is doing, and to keep my opinions out of it. Well, little by little, things got better. The Holy Spirit put more and more on my heart, and I listened more and more.
So the short version is that He taught me plenty. Each of us is given a job to do, and a set of circumstances to deal with, all for our good and His glory if we listen.
The lowliest person in the world can be one of the greatest in God's eyes. God has different standards. The fact is, you and I might be on this Earth just to say a couple of words to someone that will eventually open their hearts to Jesus and salvation. And that could be our whole purpose here.
I am at the point that I just do what I am led to do, and don't concern myself with anything else. We pray, follow the plan as we are led, and the Holy Spirit does the work.
No believer who puts his trust in God is insignificant. The greatest evangelist is no better than someone who loves and trusts God. So embrace what God asks you to do. Be thankful and joyful because He chose you to do 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
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Prayer Answers Manifested
It Is Written, Psalm 91:15, he shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
Many people pray on a fairly regular basis. They pray for themselves or someone they love in most cases. Some pray in desperation. Whatever the reason or circumstance, they all hope for the answer they want.
In order to get answers to prayers, there are some do's and don'ts. There is no magic prayer that always moves God to do your bidding. You can't make deals with God. You cannot make Him do anything. Even begging doesn't work, neither does looking for sympathy.
So how do you get prayers answered? There our some things God looks with favor on. Prayer with a clean heart. No anger or unforgiveness. Prayer from the heart, backing it up with what is written in the word concerning what you are praying for. Claim the answer, receive the answer, and believe completely. Remember doubt or fear no matter how little, are prayer blockers. Make sure that your definition of doubt or fear, is the same definition the Lord goes by. I say that because sometimes we are in denial about it.
I believe that after a sincere prayer, you must thank God for the answer. You don't need to keep asking. If you truly believe, just give thanks that He heard your prayer and has given you the answer. Once really is enough when praying for something. After all, if you have something, do you keep asking?
Another thing the Holy Spirit put on my heart is planting a seed of thanksgiving. Ask the Holy Spirit to tell you what kind of seed, money, service, fasting. Do what He puts in your heart.
This is important. The seed is showing faith and thanksgiving for something that may not even be manifested yet. One more thing to remember, God cannot be bribed, so don't plant the seed to get an answer.
Prayers from a believer are always heard and answered in some way. 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
Many people pray on a fairly regular basis. They pray for themselves or someone they love in most cases. Some pray in desperation. Whatever the reason or circumstance, they all hope for the answer they want.
In order to get answers to prayers, there are some do's and don'ts. There is no magic prayer that always moves God to do your bidding. You can't make deals with God. You cannot make Him do anything. Even begging doesn't work, neither does looking for sympathy.
So how do you get prayers answered? There our some things God looks with favor on. Prayer with a clean heart. No anger or unforgiveness. Prayer from the heart, backing it up with what is written in the word concerning what you are praying for. Claim the answer, receive the answer, and believe completely. Remember doubt or fear no matter how little, are prayer blockers. Make sure that your definition of doubt or fear, is the same definition the Lord goes by. I say that because sometimes we are in denial about it.
I believe that after a sincere prayer, you must thank God for the answer. You don't need to keep asking. If you truly believe, just give thanks that He heard your prayer and has given you the answer. Once really is enough when praying for something. After all, if you have something, do you keep asking?
Another thing the Holy Spirit put on my heart is planting a seed of thanksgiving. Ask the Holy Spirit to tell you what kind of seed, money, service, fasting. Do what He puts in your heart.
This is important. The seed is showing faith and thanksgiving for something that may not even be manifested yet. One more thing to remember, God cannot be bribed, so don't plant the seed to get an answer.
Prayers from a believer are always heard and answered in some way. 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
Monday, December 22, 2014
Joy To The World
It Is Written, Luke 1:35, and the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that holy one who is to be born will be called the son of God.
The vast majority of people in this world, have been raised with the idea that Christmas is Santa and presents. Advertising has reinforced that image for the last couple of hundred years.
Don't get the idea that I am saying that this is sinful. I believe as many people do, that Christmas is a time when even crabby people are less crabby. Most of us are nicer to each other, and show love for others in the thought we put into the gifts we give.
God does the same thing to some extent. He gives us blessings, even though sometimes we don't recognize or appreciate them. The greatest of all gifts ever, was His son Jesus, and through Him forgiveness, and salvation if we accept it.
My family, and a number of our friends, now celebrate Jesus birthday. We have a birthday cake, happy birthday Jesus paper plates, and wish Him a happy birthday. It would be nicer if we knew the actual birthday, then it would not get mixed up with Christmas. I guess the important thing is that we remember what the day really means, regardless of when it is.
This Christmas season, take a few minutes to realize what the gift of Jesus cost His father. His only son suffering as He did for us. To get a good picture of what He really went through, read Isaiah chapter 53, the whole chapter.
If not for Jesus birth on earth, and what He did, none of us would escape what waits for satan. Rejoice and praise the Lord on His birthday. 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 vast majority of people in this world, have been raised with the idea that Christmas is Santa and presents. Advertising has reinforced that image for the last couple of hundred years.
Don't get the idea that I am saying that this is sinful. I believe as many people do, that Christmas is a time when even crabby people are less crabby. Most of us are nicer to each other, and show love for others in the thought we put into the gifts we give.
God does the same thing to some extent. He gives us blessings, even though sometimes we don't recognize or appreciate them. The greatest of all gifts ever, was His son Jesus, and through Him forgiveness, and salvation if we accept it.
My family, and a number of our friends, now celebrate Jesus birthday. We have a birthday cake, happy birthday Jesus paper plates, and wish Him a happy birthday. It would be nicer if we knew the actual birthday, then it would not get mixed up with Christmas. I guess the important thing is that we remember what the day really means, regardless of when it is.
This Christmas season, take a few minutes to realize what the gift of Jesus cost His father. His only son suffering as He did for us. To get a good picture of what He really went through, read Isaiah chapter 53, the whole chapter.
If not for Jesus birth on earth, and what He did, none of us would escape what waits for satan. Rejoice and praise the Lord on His birthday. 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
Sunday, December 21, 2014
God's Master Plan
It Is Written, Jeremiah 10:12, and He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
Before man was created, God had the Angels for company. I assume the Angels had some degree of free will, or satan and his followers would not have done what they did.
God had man in mind, before He created the universe, and the earth in particular. As I said, I don't know if the Angels had free will, but God planned for man to have it. He wanted His creation to love Him by choice. Man and how he acts was not a surprise to the Lord. God knew the nature of man is weak, but He loved man anyway, and wanted man to love Him.
Starting with Adam and Eve, man was sinful. As man populated the earth, God tried to guide them. Man however only got worse, so God decided to start over, only this time he would destroy the earth, except for one man and his family who walked with God.
It didn't take long after the flood, and the next batch of man, was back to their sinful ways. God spoke to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and those after them. He chose the Hebrews specifically as His people, but they were still human. Next came Moses and the law. The law showed people that they weren't as good as they thought they were.
Prophets were sent to them with words from God. They ignored or killed many of these messengers. Their history bounced between repentance, sinfulness, and punishment.
God realized from before creation that man would need a Savior. This Savior would have to be really special in order to calm God's anger. The Savior would have to teach, show God's love and power, as well as pay for all of mans sins. The sins covered past present and future. Only one person was good enough to do that, that person was God's own son, Jesus Christ.
None of this was a surprise to God, He knew it all before creation, and He did it anyway. His plan included salvation for all who love and accept His son and what His son did for them. God has everything worked out to the smallest detail. He has planned countless blessings for those who will follow His plan. God even knew before creation, each person and the kind of life they would live and whether or not they would accept His son. So you see, nothing is by chance. Read the Word, and find your place in God's plan.
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
Before man was created, God had the Angels for company. I assume the Angels had some degree of free will, or satan and his followers would not have done what they did.
God had man in mind, before He created the universe, and the earth in particular. As I said, I don't know if the Angels had free will, but God planned for man to have it. He wanted His creation to love Him by choice. Man and how he acts was not a surprise to the Lord. God knew the nature of man is weak, but He loved man anyway, and wanted man to love Him.
Starting with Adam and Eve, man was sinful. As man populated the earth, God tried to guide them. Man however only got worse, so God decided to start over, only this time he would destroy the earth, except for one man and his family who walked with God.
It didn't take long after the flood, and the next batch of man, was back to their sinful ways. God spoke to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and those after them. He chose the Hebrews specifically as His people, but they were still human. Next came Moses and the law. The law showed people that they weren't as good as they thought they were.
Prophets were sent to them with words from God. They ignored or killed many of these messengers. Their history bounced between repentance, sinfulness, and punishment.
God realized from before creation that man would need a Savior. This Savior would have to be really special in order to calm God's anger. The Savior would have to teach, show God's love and power, as well as pay for all of mans sins. The sins covered past present and future. Only one person was good enough to do that, that person was God's own son, Jesus Christ.
None of this was a surprise to God, He knew it all before creation, and He did it anyway. His plan included salvation for all who love and accept His son and what His son did for them. God has everything worked out to the smallest detail. He has planned countless blessings for those who will follow His plan. God even knew before creation, each person and the kind of life they would live and whether or not they would accept His son. So you see, nothing is by chance. Read the Word, and find your place in God's plan.
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
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Prosperity Glorifies God
It Is Written, Psalm 35:27, let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.
Many people over the years have had the opinion that Christians should be poor. If Jesus was poor, His followers should be too. I guess they didn't read the Word, or they would've seen many times that God wants His people and you to prosper. His people includes Christians as well as Jews.
If you were God, and you wanted people to come to you, would you prefer to show them blessings, or absolute poverty? Prosperity is good for a couple of reasons. It shows blessings, and it makes God happy to bless.
Prosperity God's way, requires a few concessions on our part. God is number one. He gives us prosperity to share with others. We are to share in love as He did. The more we give in love, the more we get from Him.
When we help those in need, the people we help see Jesus love reflected from us. People come to a God they feel loves them. If we pass out this prosperity to others with a joyful heart, we in turn receive joy and prosperity. Our joy, and the joy of those we help, praise the Lord.
When we realize that we work for God, as Jesus did on earth, it just can't get any better than that. If you get a good job in life, that is good. When you have even a menial job from God, nothing in life can come close. When I wrote this, something that happened 40 years ago came to my mind as a life example of what I'm talking about.
I was working for a family company. I purchased a beat up old car to drive back and forth to work. I parked it near the front door of my company. One day I was having coffee with the man that owned the company. He asked me if that beat up wreck was mine. I told him yes it was. He then told me that he would like it if I didn't park in that spot, because he didn't want people to think that he didn't pay his help a decent salary. Then he laughed. 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
Many people over the years have had the opinion that Christians should be poor. If Jesus was poor, His followers should be too. I guess they didn't read the Word, or they would've seen many times that God wants His people and you to prosper. His people includes Christians as well as Jews.
If you were God, and you wanted people to come to you, would you prefer to show them blessings, or absolute poverty? Prosperity is good for a couple of reasons. It shows blessings, and it makes God happy to bless.
Prosperity God's way, requires a few concessions on our part. God is number one. He gives us prosperity to share with others. We are to share in love as He did. The more we give in love, the more we get from Him.
When we help those in need, the people we help see Jesus love reflected from us. People come to a God they feel loves them. If we pass out this prosperity to others with a joyful heart, we in turn receive joy and prosperity. Our joy, and the joy of those we help, praise the Lord.
When we realize that we work for God, as Jesus did on earth, it just can't get any better than that. If you get a good job in life, that is good. When you have even a menial job from God, nothing in life can come close. When I wrote this, something that happened 40 years ago came to my mind as a life example of what I'm talking about.
I was working for a family company. I purchased a beat up old car to drive back and forth to work. I parked it near the front door of my company. One day I was having coffee with the man that owned the company. He asked me if that beat up wreck was mine. I told him yes it was. He then told me that he would like it if I didn't park in that spot, because he didn't want people to think that he didn't pay his help a decent salary. Then he laughed. 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
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