My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Praise The Lord Anyway

Psalm 150:6,  Many, many moons ago, when I was much younger, I made a number of decisions that proved costly to me in more ways than one. There were many reasons for these blunders, and they all pointed to me.

I made hasty decisions, emotional decisions, and decisions I made because of circumstances I created. I had many bad days that caused anger, despair, and a feeling that it was all just a nightmare.

My mother-in-law was the Christian that personified what a Christian should be. She loved Jesus so much that she seemed to glow when she mentioned His name.

I believe the Holy Spirit gave her discernment, because she never pushed Jesus on anyone, especially me. She did it in a soft, gentle, loving way. One day she gave me a paperback book with the title “Praise The Lord Anyway”. When she gave me the book, all she said was, this is a good book, I thought you might like it. That was all she said.

Being who I was at the time, I thanked her politely, and put it in a drawer when I got home. It stayed there for a few years. One day I saw it when I was looking for something else, and I picked it up for some reason and started to read it.

At first, what it said seemed almost impossible to do. I found I could not put it down, even though I was beginning to think that there was no way I could  possibly do what it said. I read the entire book that day. During the next few days I decided to try it on something simple. I will now tell you how it works.

Let's say you were on your way to work. The car in front of you seems to be poking along. What happens next is a real test. He makes the light and you don't. Time to Praise the Lord anyway. You praise the Lord, and do not cuss the other driver, and peace returns to you.

Psalm 42:11, Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

To make a long story short, it took me a while to remember to do it, and to overlook what I was upset about. That really was the beginning of my trip to Salvation.The whole trick is you must stick with it for at least a week or two. You can't just try it once or twice and give up on it because you convince yourself it's no good. I know my mother-in-law is in Heaven, and smiling about how her love and kindness introduced me to the Lord Jesus Christ. 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 Bible Tells Us

Isaiah 55:11,  So My Word that comes from my mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper what I send it to do.

Most of us have been taught that God is in charge, and controls everything. Most of us would not dispute that. There are times however, that really put that fact to the test.

When we look around us, and see what is happening all over the world, we cannot avoid a reaction of some kind. But the question is, what kind of reaction, through eyes of Faith, or eyes that are worldly?

In spite of what many people think, almighty God allows every single thing that happens. Big, small, and in between. All of what happens to you, and everybody else in the world, is all a part of God's plan. He had it all figured out before anything was even created.

1 John 5: 4, Because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world; our faith.

God knew what each person would do, and when he would do it. So why doesn't he just stop it all right now, and take the good people (Believers) to Heaven, and send the bad people (unbelievers) to the other place?

In order to answer that question we must look at sin. When Jesus died on the cross, His blood washed away all of our sins, past, present, future. We are told to confess our sins. If Jesus' blood washed away all of our sins , why should we confess them? The answer is simple. God wants us to own up to the sins, so we can learn from them.

We also learned the difference between confession, and true repentance. Confession is asking for forgiveness, while repentance involves a change of some sort in our lifestyle. in order to minimize sin occurrences in the future.

2 Peter 2:4, For if God didn't spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell. 

Revelation 21:8, But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars - their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second death.

God is giving everyone a chance to repent ,but His patience will not last forever. Everyone who goes to hell will know that they deserve to go there because of how they lived.

As you can see, a just God must allow man to make his own decision. That is why He gave us free will. God does not send anyone to hell. It is the choice of the unrepentant.

A final thought. If we judge, or complain about what is happening in the world because of leaders, or anything else, we are telling God that He is wrong and we know better. That's deadly my friends. 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

Timing Is Critical

Habakkuk 2:3,  for still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1, For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under Heaven.

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

In the Bible, when a word was spoken twice, it meant pay attention;’ this is important. An example is when Jesus said verily, verily.

I accepted Jesus as my savior a good number of years ago. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, 9 years ago. I read the Bible regularly. I have had prayers answered, and I have seen miracles. I say all of these things, not in a braiding wait, but to show that even after these blessings, I was missing something incredibly important.

I found out that I was overlooking the possibility of prayers being answered without fruitless delays. That answer is as simple as waiting for God's timing.

When you pray for something according to God's will, you must go against human nature. Answered prayers require faith, and waiting for God's timing. When we pray, God sets up the answer, and waits for us to be ready to receive it.

The worst thing most of us do to delay an answer to prayer or even losing an answer, is to get in the way of God's work. We asked Him, then we try to do it. I know what I am talking about, because I got in the way many times.

The secret to the whole thing is simple, but it has certain requirements. Do not assume that since you have done something in the past, such as a minor plumbing job at home that you don't need to pray first.

Study the Word of God every day, even 1 chapter. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand it and to help you in everything you do, each task, without fail. Thank Him, believe, and wait for the answer. He will show you how, and when. Stay out of His way, and you will be amazed. The more you do it, the easier it gets.

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. 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. 

 Remember, if God is in control( and He is)                                 nothing is out of control.

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

The Prize

Galatians 6:9  Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.

Hundreds of millions of people in the world do not know Jesus. They stumble through life, making one bad decision after another. The result is a life of struggle and despair. Most of us will probably agree that these conditions do exist. The tragedy is somehow they don't seem real to us.

I will tell you a true story about someone I know personally for many years. In this account of his life I will call him Bill. That is not his real name.

Luke 11: 9 - 10, So I say to you, ask, and will be given to you. Seek, and you will find, knock, and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

From what I hear from his family members, he was what was considered normal until he reached High School. This is about the time I saw the real Bill. He did very badly in school.  He barely graduated from high school, but it does get worse.

Bill joined the army, but that didn't last long. After that you had a failed marriage, and a string of jobs that he was very unsuccessful at. He was oblivious to Jesus, and made his own decisions. The trouble is, almost 100% of them were wrong.

God knew Bill and the story of his life. God had a plan for Bill, so He allowed Bill to learn the hard way. God saw Bill in who he would become, not as the world saw him. 

Bill heard about Jesus from a close friend of his. Whether he really embraced Jesus, or was just desperate, only Bill knows for sure. But God did have a plan for him but he had to be prepared for that plan. God allowed Bill to grow into the plan at his own pace. All the while the Holy Spirit was talking to him and trying to guide him.

James 1: 12, Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Bill had good days and bad days. He started learning about Jesus, and accepted Jesus as his savior. The Holy Spirit then seemed to step up the pace. Bill learned who Jesus and the Holy Spirit are, and started talking to the Holy Spirit just as he would his best friend.

As time went on Bill grew in faith. He talked to the Holy Spirit about decisions that he needed to make. He found out that if he consulted the Holy Spirit first, his decisions were good, but if he forgot or didn't listen, they turned out to be disastrous.

At the present time Bill's faith is unwavering , and even when things don't look good he trusts in Jesus and his daily consultant the Holy Spirit. He and his wife thank God everyday as blessings continue in their lives. Both are saved, and Bill has been baptized in the Holy Spirit.

If someone says something negative in his presence, he swings into faith mode, and speaks about Jesus and the Holy Spirit and how one must never give up. Just accept who Jesus is and everything will be fine. He personally will not accept anything else.

Hebrews 10:36, For you need endurance, so that after you have done God's will, you may receive what was promised. 

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 life as my personal savior. I want to serve Only You. 

Praise the Lord! 

Amen

Hate Is Deadly

It Is Written, 1 John 3:15, everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

As most people would probably agree, hate is an ugly thing. Unfortunately, it seems to be normal behavior for many people these days.

People hate other people for various reasons. Most experts feel that hate masks insecurity, jealousy, or feelings that are threatening in some way. Hatred builds to a level that can be totally irrational and dangerous.

Only God can free  people from this  life destroying condition. The verse we started with, tells us how God feels about it.

It is also written in Romans 12:19, beloved, never avenge  yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord"

The best thing we can do to conquer hate, is to pray for those that hate. Pray for absolutely everyone who shows hatred toward someone else. It is pretty obvious that there are countless people that need prayer. Hatred, especially extreme hatred, can be seen by anyone and is not a question of judging the hatred. They are obvious.

People hated Jesus to a totally unbelievable level. Remember that all hate is started and fueled by satan, so it does require God to fix it.  Jesus knows how it feels to be hated beyond comprehension, and we must trust Him to settle at all.

To some people it may seem silly or even ridiculous to talk about praying for people that are controlled by hate, but it is the only answer. If we pay back hate for hate, we are sinning by going against God's will, and law. 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 Greatest Sadness

John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Each of us has experienced times of sadness or despair. When we lose a loved one, or someone we know is injured, loses a job, or a myriad of other things. It is normal for us to react in relation to the severity of the problem.

Well there are many reasons to be sad or despair, one of the most heart-wrenching events for a Christian, is the death of a loved one who did not accept Jesus as their savior.

Acts 4:12, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Before there was anything, God envisioned each person He would create. He knew every detail from birth to death. He entered each person's name in The Book of Life. God spelled out the fact that He would not erase the names of those who were saved.

Exodus 32: 32 - 33, but now if you will forgive their sin - but if not, please block me out of your book that you have written.  But the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.

Revelation 21:27, But nothing unclean will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

From these verses you can see that not everyone's name will stay in the book. Realize this, each person has a chance to stay in the book, even seconds before physical death. Death is final, no more chances. The same holds true for those who accept Jesus as their Savior and repent.

We must ask the Holy Spirit to help us speak to someone who is lost. We must earnestly pray for their salvation. This is what God told the prophets.

Ezekiel 3: 18 - 20, if I say to the wicked, you shall surely die, and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. but if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity but you will have delivered your soul. Again if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits Injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.

In a way, we have the same responsibilities as a prophet, but to a much smaller degree. We must do what we can with the help of the Holy Spirit to plant the seed of Salvation. We have The Holy Spirit who will make it grow. If we do not try to talk to someone we know who is lost, we are shirking the duty we have as a Christian.

 Just to clear up the meaning of the verses above, God was talking to the prophet about blood being required. He literally was talking about the salvation of people because of what a prophet did or did not do. God sent Jesus to save the world. At one point in time everyone's name was written in the Book of Life. and there's only one way to get your name out of The Book of Life and that is to reject Jesus. So you see my friends, we must all do what we can, including sincere prayer for the Lost whether we know them 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. 

Praise the Lord!

Amen

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

What Is Christianity

It Is Written, 2 Corinthians 5:17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The first thing we must look at, is what Christianity isn't. It isn't what we know as religion, in the form of various denominations. The rules in Christianity are from God's Word, the Bible, and not from men.

Christianity is a relationship with God. Salvation is by the grace of God, and not by works. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing;  it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

So the question is, how do you start this relationship with God? The prayer of salvation from a repentant heart is the only way to do it.

Once you start, how does it grow? It grows by learning who God is. Start out by reading a verse or two from the Bible, or even from a Christian devotional, and meditate on what you read.

Next, the first thing in the morning, read a chapter in the Bible, even if you have to get up a little earlier. It sets the tone for a blessed day. Think about that chapter as often as you can, and what it means in your life.

Know that when you follow the lead of the Holy Spirit within you, you will be living according to God's plan for your life. Just as a reminder, you did receive Him when you accepted Jesus as Lord in your life. Now you have all of the tools, and the rest is up to you. God bless you and your family. 

Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves You

Prayer 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 Jesus

Amen