Bill Steensland

Remember the Scars!

2012-03-06T05:43:00.001-05:00

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Dear friends, don't be surprised or shocked that you are going through testing that is like walking through fire.

Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered. It will prepare you for even greater happiness when he makes his glorious return.

Count it a blessing when you suffer for being a Christian. This shows that God's glorious Spirit is with you.

1 Peter 4:12-14

How does suffering prepare us for happiness when Christ returns?

When people suffer together there is a bond that lasts. I think soldiers are the most notable examples of people who suffer together and establish through that suffering a relationship that lasts for a life time. But shared suffering does the same thing no matter what it is. You may be riding out a tornado in a basement with people you don't know. Surviving an airplane crash or the sinking of a cruise ship will produce relationships that last. There is a fellowship of suffering together.

When Jesus returns and He sees that you have suffered like He did and your scars look like His there will be a special level of happiness.

When Jesus decided to come to this earth and be our Savior, He chose to suffer the things that every human suffers. Jesus knows all the pain that we experience. But when we choose Jesus and take up our cross to follow Him, then we come to know what Jesus suffered. Jesus knows my suffering and He allows me the privilege of suffering like Him so I can come to know His!

What a glorious relationship! The worst thing the Devil can do to me is inflict on me pain and suffering which will only make me look more like Jesus!

Remember, looking like Jesus and being changed into His image also includes the scars!

Lighten Your Load!

2012-03-05T05:55:00.001-05:00

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God wants everyone to be saved and to know the whole truth, which is,

There is only one God,
and Christ Jesus
is the only one
who can bring us
to God.
Jesus was truly human,
and he gave himself
to rescue all of us.

1 Timothy 2:4-5

The Gospel really is quite simple. The only way to the One God is Jesus Christ, and don't forget Jesus was really a human who gave Himself to rescue all of us from the consequences of our sin.

We, in our pride like to make it much more complicated than that. We add theological nuances and doctrines that only serve to separate us from other followers of Jesus. We love to establish traditions and teach our children that these traditions are essential to our walk with God! And so we pass on to the next generation a lot of baggage that only slows them down on their journey to eternity.

Why carry baggage through this life that you cannot take to heaven? Take a minute, or an hour or more and look at the "stuff" you are carrying through this life. Pull each thing out of your backpack and ask yourself, "Is this essential to my walk with Jesus?" If it is not then unburden yourself of it. Lighten your load.

I know you are wanting me to give specific examples of burdens that we don't need to carry. You will have to let the Holy Spirit convict you personally about the things you are carrying.

Remember, when times get really bad, the only thing you will need in your survival kit is Jesus Christ. When you carry only Jesus, your burden is easy and your load is light - and you will survive forever with Jesus!

Nearer the Throne!

2012-03-04T06:22:00.001-05:00

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The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated.

Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river are trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations.

God's curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God and will see him face to face. God's name will be written on the foreheads of the people.

Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.

Revelation 22:1-5

Have you ever been far enough away from civilization that you could drink the water in a river? The closer you are to the springs that bubble up with the water that flows into the tiny streams that together become a mighty river, the cleaner it is. But the farther away you are downstream, the more polluted the water becomes and it certainly is not safe to drink!

The truth of God and His Word are a lot like the water in a river. When you are close to the Source and drink the Water of His Word as it comes from the Throne of God though the Bible, it is pure and Holy and life giving. But the farther away from God you go downstream you find His Word polluted with the traditions and cultures of men that contradict His Word, but are accepted by millions of Christians as certainly part of the Gospel.

That's why there are so many differences and divisions among and between groups of Christians who all claim allegiance to Jesus Christ. They have drifted so far downstream that the water of "Truth" is polluted by the world, and they don't even know it.

If you jump in the River, near the Source and then do nothing you will be carried downstream until eventually you will find yourself in the polluted waters of the world. If you want to stay close to God, you must swim against the current every day and strive to keep Him daily in your sight! When you relax, you will drift away from God.

"Lord, I see you today and I want to be even closer to your Throne. Give me the strength to come closer to you each moment of every day. Keep me far away from the things that would pollute Your Word in my heart. Thank you Jesus. Amen!"

Bang, You Are Dead!

2012-03-03T05:29:00.001-05:00

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In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God.

Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God's gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven.

Ephesians 2:1-6

When I was a very small boy, I remember playing pretend war. I don't think I ever had a toy gun that made any kind of noise, so we had to resort to pointing the stick (gun) at another child and shouting "bang, you're dead." Shooting other children, even with pretend guns soon became an outlawed activity in our family and I taught my six children the same thing!

What is it like to be dead? Do you see a bright light? Do you float above your body for a while as you are exiting? Well being dead is what you are right now if you are not a follower of Jesus Christ. Every man was born with an eternal death sentence written above his head. On your first day on this earth you are in the process of dying!

But that is what Jesus came to do. Jesus came to bring you eternal life instead of eternal death. Would you like to live forever sitting right beside Jesus in Heaven? Would you like no more pain, suffering, crying, sickness and death? Would you like joy and peace that are unimaginably wonderful?

So what do you do to get all these things? Nothing! That's right you can do nothing to deserve anything other than death. All you do is stop resisting the Holy Spirit's call on your life. Stop pushing Jesus away and let Him take all of you! Let Jesus fully engulf your life with His love. Mother Teresa said that she was simply God's pencil. When Jesus holds you tight your life will make a mark on this world that can never be erased!

Drifting From Truth!

2012-03-02T05:55:00.001-05:00

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The [Lord] said:
It isn't too late.
You can still return to me
with all your heart.
Start crying and mourning!
Go without eating.

Don't rip your clothes
to show your sorrow.
Instead, turn back to me
with broken hearts.
I am merciful, kind, and caring.
I don't easily lose my temper,
and I don't like to punish.

I am the [Lord] your God.
Perhaps I will change my mind
and treat you with mercy.
Then you will be blessed
with enough grain and wine
for offering sacrifices to me.

Joel 2:12-14

I am currently reading a book that is making me remember some things that I once knew quite well, but over the years I have forgotten. It is humbling to realize that I can wander away from truth just like the Children of Israel wandered away from God in the desert for those forty years.

How do you drift from truth? The truth of God is like a language that you learn and perhaps can speak quite well. Then you move away from those who speak that language and for years you don't practice. You will loose a language if you don't use it. And if you don't daily live in the truth that God brings you it will fade from your heart as well.

How do you know if you need to turn back to God? What passion for Jesus did you have that now is simply a fond memory? Do you pray like you did when you were desperate for God's power in your life? Is the Holy Spirit leading you on to what is next in your life, or are you simply reminiscing about the past?

"Lord, not matter how much I love You now, I want to love You more. No matter how far I have come with You, Lord, I want to go further. I say "Yes" to Your Word before I even hear it. Precious Lord, take my hand. Lead me on and let me stand! Amen."

Nothing But Truth!

2012-03-01T05:02:00.001-05:00

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We believe what people tell us. But we can trust what God says even more, and God is the one who has spoken about his Son. If we have faith in God’s Son, we have believed what God has said. But if we don’t believe what God has said about his Son, it is the same as calling God a liar. God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. And so, if we have God’s Son, we have this life. But if we don’t have the Son, we don’t have this life.

1 John 5:9-12

Calling someone a liar is a far deeper cut than simply saying that they lied about something. If you are a liar, you lie about almost everything if not everything. It is impossible to have a close relationship with a liar. Liars undermine relationships at every turn because without truth there is no mortar to hold the bricks together and there are no nails in the frame of the house.

A loving relationship built on truth can weather the storms, but when lies are inserted into the mix the relationship will fall apart.

When you call God a liar and question the truthfulness of His Word, you cannot experience the joy of knowing Him.

And when you lie to God and like Adam and Eve blame someone else for your own sin you will never walk with God in the cool of the Garden because you will spend your time hiding behind a bush!

How often do you put your toe into the water of deceit? You tell yourself, "it is not really a lie," but it is not really the truth either. Here is a challenge for today. When you are about to say something that is not completely true, stop and say nothing at all. Try, for one day to keep yourself as a man or woman whose words are total truth. I think we will all be shocked at how often we need to be quiet.

Lord, may my mouth today only utter words that like Yours are nothing but truth! And give me the discernment to know the difference.

Good News for Death Row!

2012-02-29T06:23:00.001-05:00

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But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his cross, the world is dead as far as I am concerned, and I am dead as far as the world is concerned.

Galatians 6:14

It is not the fact that Jesus came to this earth and lived as a man that saves us. None of the miracles or the marvelous teaching of Jesus provided one second of eternity with Him in Heaven. It was what Jesus did on the Cross that made all the difference. Without the Cross Jesus would have been simply a Heavenly visitor, spying out the land and bringing a report back to the Father.

When Jesus came to this earth it was like a man visiting a prison's death row and then offering himself to be executed in the place of all the condemned. Every man is justly and rightly on death row waiting for his time to transition from this life to Hell and eternal death.
Imagine that the Governor of your state gave you the right to pardon prisoners on death row.

How would you deliver the message? Would you worry about whether or not those who are condemned would like you? Would you try to "fit in" with those on death row so it would be easier for them to accept the offer? Would you start a "Ministry," raise money and gather a board of directors to help you more effectively deliver the pardons?

I think none of those things would even cross your mind. You would hurry to the prison and joyfully declare that no one on death row needs to die!

If a man has not turned his heart to Jesus Christ, he is on death row and when he leaves this earth he will die for eternity. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, God wants you to deliver the message of pardon to those who are lost!

Suffer Together!

2012-02-28T10:29:00.001-05:00

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The snake then spewed out water like a river to sweep the woman away. But the earth helped her and swallowed the water that had come from the dragon’s mouth. This made the dragon terribly angry with the woman. So it started a war against the rest of her children. They are the people who obey God and are faithful to what Jesus did and taught.

Revelation 12:15-17

Many Christians ignore the common heritage that they have with Jews. Don't forget Jesus was a Jew. It was the Jews who first heard the message of the Gospel. God has specially blessed and disciplined the Jewish nation all the way down to this day. Don't be confused, the only way to be saved is to accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. That is true for people who are born to devout Christian parents as well. Unless you accept Jesus you will be lost!

But the Jewish nation has had and still has a special place in the course of history. It does not make sense that the Jews are back in Israel and that they are surrounded by those who want more than anything else to drive them into the sea! The intensity of hatred for the Jews is really quite telling.

Remember that nations are not saved or lost, only men and women individually receive the benefit of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. But nations do play a role in the divinely orchestrated history of this world. And don't forget Satan wants to destroy Jews and Christians.

So if you find yourself sharing a prison cell with a Jew, count it a privilege and don't forget to tell him that Jesus is the Messiah!

Godly Rich Man!

2012-02-27T05:43:00.001-05:00

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Warn the rich people of this world not to be proud or to trust in wealth that is easily lost. Tell them to have faith in God, who is rich and blesses us with everything we need to enjoy life. Instruct them to do as many good deeds as they can and to help everyone. Remind the rich to be generous and share what they have.

This will lay a solid foundation for the future, so that they will know what true life is like.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

If you want to really be politically correct at this time in history, you will speak badly about rich people. It is quite popular and of course it is not hard to find a rich person who deserves all the criticism you can give him.

But the Bible does not say that being rich is a sin. It is harder for rich people to live their lives without trusting in their riches. And loving money is the root of all evil, but being rich is not evil.

Here is the reason, God Himself is rich! God is richer than anyone has ever or could ever be. So you can be rich beyond anyone's imagination and still be like God! If you want to know how to be a godly rich man, just look at how God handles His wealth. God blesses us from His riches with everything we need to enjoy life!

You can live a godly life if you are poor, but you can also live a godly life as a rich man. The instructions for the godly rich are very clear. Do as many good deeds as you can and help everyone. Also be generous and share what you have!

Instead of pursuing money, go after God. There are godly men who have little money, but all godly men are rich!

Vicarious Faith!

2012-02-26T05:47:00.001-05:00

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Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it. If you hear the message and don’t obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look like as soon as they leave.

But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget.

James 1:22-25

Someone coined a phrase for what these verses are talking about. It is called "obedience based Bible Study." Every time you go to God's Word and look at the Scriptures ask yourself how you can be obedient to this Word! Then do it!

I love to watch an action filled movie. I can pretend that I am doing all those exciting and dangerous things and vicariously experience them all. But all I am is a spectator in the stands. It is really how our system of entertainment works. We sit in the audience and watch others perform great feats. All the while we are no stronger for it.

If you are not obedient to God's Word when you read it, you are nothing more than a member of the audience, being entertained by the Word of God and those who do live it! If you are obedient to the Word of God then each step you take makes you more and more like Jesus.

In the “Super Bowl of Life” there is no value in being in the stands. There is no section in Heaven for "Fans of Jesus!" It is only those who are changed and become like Jesus who will live in Heaven with Him!

So today when you read the Bible, ask yourself this question: How can I obey that verse? Keep asking that question until God shows you the answer. Obey it and then go on to the next verse!

Wise Become Foolish!

2012-02-25T05:34:00.001-05:00

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As God says in the Scriptures, “I will destroy the wisdom
of all who claim
to be wise.
I will confuse those
who think they know
so much.”

What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn’t God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish? God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him. Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach. Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish. Our message is God’s power and wisdom for the Jews and the Greeks that he has chosen.

I Corinthians 1:19-24

Sometimes God Himself is the author of confusion. That is true when He confuses men who are wise and makes them act foolishly. Basically, God strips men of wisdom without them ever knowing that it is happening. The classic example of God interfering with the wisdom of men is the story of the Tower of Babel.

If you focus your heart on Jesus Christ and seek His wisdom through the Word of God you will begin to see the foolishness of the world around you. What else need be said when you once again hear the now famous comment about a more than 2000 page bill in the United States Congress, "We won't know what is in this bill until we pass it!" And they passed it and are continuing to discover the things that we all wish were not in it!

How then do foolish people become wise once again? It is not by argument and education. It is not by voting out foolishness. It is not even by reducing the debt!

Wisdom returns to a man when he turns his heart back to God. And wisdom will return to a nation when many men, women, and children turn their hearts back to God. Unless that happens that nation or any nation will join the list of formerly great nations of the world.

The return to greatness begins when I repent and start to walk in the power and wisdom of God! Remember, there is always the first drop of rain in a flood. Lord, let me be that drop!

Be Truly Amazed!

2012-02-24T05:18:00.001-05:00

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When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, “What do people say about the Son of Man?”

The disciples answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet.”

Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter spoke up, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus told him: Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! You didn’t discover this on your own. It was shown to you by my Father in heaven.

Matthew 16:13-17

In the 1950's there was a huge television game show scandal because correct answers were given to some contestants before the shows began. Perhaps the most memorable name is Charles Van Doren. He eventually admitted the deceit in a congressional hearing and was embarrassed and shamed.

But there is no embarrassment, no shame and nothing morally wrong when God Himself is the one who whispers in your ear the answers to life's questions. When Peter spoke up and declared that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, it was an answer straight from God. Even Peter did not know that at the time.

When you realize that the words you are speaking are not coming from you and they so perfectly address the situation at hand and are totally consistent with the Words of the Bible, it is time to thank God for giving you the Word from His mind!

I suppose if we could see all the times that God reached out and helped us in our daily lives we would be truly amazed. Well, go ahead and be truly amazed at the love and grace that God shows to you every day! Be truly amazed that God has the answer to every question in life and is also willing to share those answers with you! Be truly amazed and then you will discover that His Grace is not the only thing about God that is Amazing!

Think Like God!

2012-02-23T05:01:00.001-05:00

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From then on, Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “I must go to Jerusalem. There the nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make me suffer terribly. I will be killed, but three days later I will rise to life.”

Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. He said, “God would never let this happen to you, Lord!”

Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Satan, get away from me! You’re in my way because you think like everyone else and not like God.”

Matthew 16:21-23

When a man first encounters the will of God for his life his reaction is predictable. God's will and a man's humanity stand in serious contradiction to each other.

The first point of conflict is about who will be God in the living of that life. After that is resolved there is the inconvenient truth about suffering. And don't forget the fact that "cash on hand" is not necessary to embark on walking in the will of God.

So if you think you have seen God's will for your life and are not seriously disturbed by it, keep looking. The most frequent counterfeit of God's will is a man who has lots of natural ability and engages in a ministry that takes advantage of his human strength. I'm not saying God can't lead a man in that path, but the will of God usually leads in a way in which natural ability is of no consequence.

When Jesus told the disciples about His coming death, Peter boldly told Jesus that God would not let such a thing happen. Jesus rebuked Peter, called Peter Satan and told him that he was not thinking like God!

So when you ask to see God's will for your life prepare not to like it at first. But just wait patiently, because you will come to see that in the End the will of God for your life is Heavenly!

Jesus Said No!

2012-02-22T06:14:00.001-05:00

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Jesus left and went to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Suddenly a Canaanite woman from there came out shouting, “Lord and Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons.”

Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away.

Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.”

The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!”

Jesus replied, “It isn’t right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.”

“Lord, that’s true,” the woman said, “but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.”

Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed.

Matthew 15:21-28

How does this story apply to my faith today? The Canaanite woman asked Jesus for something that He said was not right to do. Jesus said "No" two times, but she kept coming back with words of trust in His power to help.

I suppose this point could be debated, but the woman asked Jesus for something that was not according to His will and she got it. Her faith in Jesus trumped her theological correctness.

We spend so much time trying to make sure our theology is correct and then trust Jesus within the bounds of that truth. In a sense we want to understand Jesus first and then trust Him later. Some of us never get around to trusting Jesus at all, we just keep on striving for a better understanding.

So here is the lesson of the Canaanite woman's faith. Trust Jesus beyond your understanding. Let your love for Jesus push you outside of the box and into the realm of totally abandoned faith. Jesus will meet you there!

Love For Hate!

2012-02-21T07:02:00.002-05:00

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We don’t know everything, and our prophecies
are not complete.

But what is perfect will someday appear,
and what isn’t perfect
will then disappear.

When we were children, we thought and reasoned
as children do.
But when we grew up,
we quit our childish ways.

Now all we can see of God is like a cloudy picture
in a mirror.
Later we will see him
face to face.
We don’t know everything,
but then we will,
just as God completely
understands us.

For now there are faith, hope, and love.
But of these three,
the greatest is love.

1 Corinthians 13:9-13

The Bible also says that God is love! So whenever a man or woman "falls in love" he or she is literally touching the essence of God Himself. That is also why Satan works so desperately to insert the other "L" word - (LUST) for Love! When men and women are consumed with lust they completely miss the meaning of love.

Don't forget that love is not limited to a man and woman. Love also extends to children, parents, brothers and sisters and even dear friends. Real love can flow freely in all our human relationships. Each relationship has boundaries of love that allow us to fully express and receive love appropriately.

The greatest desire of Satan may be to simply destroy our love for others and their love for us, so that we may not see God in it!

When a man lays down his life for the ones he loves he is graphically illustrating the love of Jesus on the Cross. When a mother loves her children and nurtures and trains them to walk in the right way she is depicting the work of the Holy Spirit among the children of God. And when a man becomes a loving father, he is showing the world around him what God is to His children.

But the most amazing love in all the world is when a man, out of obedience to Jesus Christ, loves his enemies! That is the power that will shake and change the entire world for God.

Lord, show me today how to return love for hate!

The Sin of Jonah!

2012-02-20T07:20:00.002-05:00

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We worship you, Lord, and we should always pray
whenever we find out
that we have sinned. Then we won’t be swept away
by a raging flood.

You are my hiding place! You protect me from trouble,
and you put songs in my heart
because you have saved me.

You said to me, “I will point out the road
that you should follow.
I will be your teacher
and watch over you.

Psalm 32:6-8

Sin is not just something you do. We think of sin as lying, stealing, cheating, murdering, and any one of many other acts of evil. But it is also a sin when we refuse to listen to God's direction and walk another way.

Jonah was directed by God to go to Nineveh and preach. Instead Jonah sinned as he ran away from God's leading. The conviction of his need to repent came as he sat in the belly of a large fish!

As you become like Jesus Christ and walk in His steps, you of course must avoid every sin. But when you have mastered all the negatives and you don't lie, steal, cheat or murder you still have the sin of Jonah to avoid. When God tells you to go one way and you run as fast as you can in another direction. Jonah was not running to a wicked city so he could freely sin. Jonah was simply running away from God's clear call on his life because he was afraid!

"But I haven't heard God telling me which way to go today."

Have you listened?

Lord, speak to me again and may Your words ring in my ears so that I cannot ignore the way You want me to walk. Help me Lord take every step of this day according to Your will for my life. And thank You Lord for the warning of Jonah and the Great Fish!

Just Do It!

2012-02-19T06:21:00.001-05:00

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Jesus told us that God is light and doesn’t have any darkness in him. Now we are telling you.

If we say that we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth. But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn’t in our hearts.

1 John 1:5-8

The Bible is like a recipe book. In it you find the instructions for living a gourmet life both now and forever. Without God's Word we would be saddled with futile attempts to put life together as it was meant to be lived.

Even as the importance and value of a recipe book is only seen when you prepare the dishes and serve them, the importance and value of the Word of God is only seen in a life that is lived according to the Book!

Obedience to the Word of God is more important than the knowledge of the Word. You can know every scripture by heart and still not be obedient to it. But when you know and obey even one verse of the Bible your life will take a step in the right direction.

Introducing men to the Word of God is wonderful and we must do it, but we must never ignore letting them taste and see what that Word does in an obedient life. When you read the Bible today ask the Lord to show you what you can do to obey those Words of Scripture. Then just do it!

The Breath of God!

2012-02-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

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The Lord God took a handful of soil and made a man. God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing.

Genesis 2:7

Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

John 20:22

But don’t be fooled! People will rebel against God. Then before the Lord returns, the wicked one who is doomed to be destroyed will appear. He will brag and oppose everything that is holy or sacred. He will even sit in God’s temple and claim to be God.

Don’t you remember that I told you this while I was still with you?

You already know what is holding this wicked one back until it is time for him to come. His mysterious power is already at work, but someone is holding him back. And the wicked one won’t appear until that someone is out of the way.

Then he will appear, but the Lord Jesus will kill him simply by breathing on him. He will be completely destroyed by the Lord’s glorious return.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-8

The breath of God is both life giving and will be the weapon used on "the wicked one" when the Lord returns.

God breathed on Adam and Adam started breathing. Every breath you take today is directly linked to that first breath of life! Your life came not from Satan, but from God himself. Every baby formed in his mother's womb is a unique creation of God. Every baby has in God's mind a plan and purpose in the scheme of God's will. Life is important not because baby's are cute, but because they are the handiwork of God. When we judge a baby's worthiness to live we are pointing an accusing finger at God!

The wicked one will be destroyed by the breath of God. So the breath of God can bring life or it can bring death.

After His resurrection Jesus breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. So the breath of God brought life to every man, but the next breath will bring either death to the "wicked one" or the Holy Spirit to those who follow Jesus.

The bottom line is this. If your heart is not right with God, don't ask for Him to breathe on you!

I Can’t Imagine!

2012-02-17T06:20:00.001-05:00

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The Lord said: It isn’t too late.
You can still return to me
with all your heart.

Start crying and mourning!
Go without eating.

Don’t rip your clothes to show your sorrow.
Instead, turn back to me
with broken hearts.

I am merciful, kind, and caring.
I don’t easily lose my temper,
and I don’t like to punish.

I am the Lord your God. Perhaps I will change my mind
and treat you with mercy.

Then you will be blessed
with enough grain and wine
for offering sacrifices to me.

Joel 2:12-14

There has never been a man or woman who turns to the Lord with all their heart only to hear Him say, "I'm sorry, but it is too late!" We see so many people who are living in direct rebellion to God and His Word and think that there is no hope of repentance. We can't imagine the most wicked turning their hearts to Jesus. But God can do what we can't imagine.
As long as their is life, there is hope! The thief on the cross next to Jesus had no hope when the nails were driven into his hands, but he cried out to Jesus and that same day was with Him in Paradise!
Satan has a message for the man who is ready to repent and turn to Jesus. The Evil One says "wait until the last minute, then turn to Jesus just before you die!" If that temptation is enticing, it is because you are still in love with the world, and you long to stay in it as long as possible.
"Lord show me clearly that the world in which I live is a sewer and there is nothing here worth holding on to for one second longer. Give me the courage to turn my heart to you right now and let go of everything in this world that pulls my heart away from You. Then Lord, show me today things that I can't imagine."

God Knows My Steps!

2012-02-16T04:46:00.001-05:00

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I am the Lord God. I created the heavens
like an open tent above.
I made the earth and everything
that grows on it.
I am the source of life
for all who live on this earth,
so listen to what I say.

I chose you to bring justice, and I am here at your side.
I selected and sent you to bring light
and my promise of hope
to the nations.

You will give sight to the blind;
you will set prisoners free
from dark dungeons.

My name is the Lord! I won’t let idols or humans
share my glory and praise.

Everything has happened just as I said it would;
now I will announce
what will happen next.

Isaiah 42:5-9

The Word of God makes perfect sense of the past and perfectly predicts the future. The "All-Knowing" quality of God is really difficult to grasp from our human vantage point.

God knows whether there will be peace or war. He knows every earthquake that rattles the earth before the first shake. God knows an all inclusive EVERYTHING! In the chaos of today's world God knows what will happen next. He knows who will win an election and He knows whether or not the economy of the world will continue or collapse.

God also knows my heart. He knows if I am being truthful even to myself. There is nothing that has ever been or will ever be that goes beyond the knowledge of God Almighty! So if you want to know what is going to happen next in the world or in your life, ask God and listen for His answer!

"Lord, I spend so much of my time wondering and speculating about things that You know perfectly well. Forgive me for depending on the wisdom of men and my own understanding rather than depending on You and Your Word! Please Lord, don't drown me in knowledge that is too great for me to know, but give me a glimpse of this day that I may praise and honor You for knowing my steps before I take them."

New Life of Resurrection!

2012-02-15T04:15:00.001-05:00

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Some time later, I felt the Lord’s power take control of me, and his Spirit carried me to a valley full of bones. The Lord showed me all around, and everywhere I looked I saw bones that were dried out.

He said, “Ezekiel, son of man, can these bones come back to life?” I replied, “Lord God, only you can answer that.”

He then told me to say: Dry bones, listen to what the Lord is saying to you, “I, the Lord God, will put breath in you, and once again you will live.”

Ezekiel 37:1-5

There are no doctors who can do what Jesus does every day. Raising the dead is not taught in medical school and no one has a specialty in that field. Once you are dead, all the king's horses and all the king's men cannot cause you to live again, but Jesus can.

After you have been officially declared to be dead, then the preparations are made for your funeral.

Here comes the exciting news. After you have been declared to be spiritually dead, then you can be buried with Christ and with Him rise to walk a new life!

But I'm not dead you may say. Oh yes you are! You see we all died when Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled against God. We are not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners. Sin and death is part of the nature we inherited from our first parents.

So many people spend their entire lives trying to stay alive in this world and fan a spark into a flame. It will not work. The only way for an acorn to become a giant oak is for it to die and be buried in the ground. Only then can the new life of resurrection sprout the first two leaves of what will be a mighty oak.

Final Preparations!

2012-02-14T04:57:00.002-05:00

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And the city did not need the sun or the moon. The glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light.

Nations will walk by the light of that city, and kings will bring their riches there. Its gates are always open during the day, and night never comes. The glorious treasures of nations will be brought into the city.

But nothing unworthy will be allowed to enter. No one who is dirty-minded or who tells lies will be there. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be in the city.

Revelation 21:23-27

How clean is your mind and how truthful are your words? We live in a world that is dedicated to the proposition of using every innuendo possible to make you have a dirty thought. And truth itself is such a rarity today that every word is suspect.

It is absolutely true that we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by our own works, but look at the contradiction. A man who is saved from this world and all of it's evil and yet still holds on to dirty thoughts and lying. When the sky lights up with the return of Jesus are you going to need to repent of your inappropriate thoughts and lying words before you go with Him?

So what can I do today to get ready for the return of Jesus? Reject every thought that comes to your mind that is not pure and holy and righteous. Think only on those things that are beautiful! And consider every word that you utter, that they may all be words of truth. Let there be no hint of a lie on your lips.

"Lord help me make the final preparations for entrance into that City where there will be no one who is dirty-minded or who tells lies. May Your Holiness and Truth engulf me today as I stand and search the skies for Your appearance!"

Paid in Full!

2012-02-13T04:14:00.001-05:00

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But Jesus will never die, and so he will be a priest forever!

He is forever able to save the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them.

Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honored above all beings in heaven, and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn’t need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself.

Hebrews 7:24-27

I remember the excitement years ago when I first learned that I can become like Jesus! It still is an amazing truth that wakes me with hope for the day. But I must celebrate even more that Jesus is not and has never been like me! Jesus suffered for the sins of mankind, but Jesus never knew sin, regret and repentance. Jesus does not know what it feels like to be unfaithful to God.

Jesus does not show us what it is like for a sinner to repent, but He shows us what it is like for a Savior to pay for the sins that I have committed. Jesus didn't come just to reveal to us why we are going to Hell. He came to show us how to avoid that horrible fate.

Jesus can relate to my temptation. He does understand suffering and pain. He knows sorrow and grief, but sin is another matter. Jesus came to take me away from sin and to take the consequences of sin away from me! His one sacrifice on the Cross paid the price for every sin that has ever or will ever be committed. The Good News of Jesus is that He is giving you the choice of accepting or rejecting that payment.

If you believe in Jesus, accept Him as your Lord and Savior, are united with Him and walk in His ways you will be changed into His likeness and live with Jesus forever, and the price He paid on the Cross will be credited to your account! Your sin account will be marked PAID IN FULL!

No Dentists in Heaven!

2012-02-12T05:34:00.001-05:00

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Do all you can to go in by the narrow door! A lot of people will try to get in, but will not be able to.

Once the owner of the house gets up and locks the door, you will be left standing outside. You will knock on the door and say, “Sir, open the door for us!” But the owner will answer, “I don’t know a thing about you!”

Then you will start saying, “We dined with you, and you taught in our streets.”

But he will say, “I really don’t know who you are! Get away from me, you evil people!” Then when you have been thrown outside, you will weep and grit your teeth because you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s kingdom. People will come from all directions and sit down to feast in God’s kingdom. There the ones who are now least important will be the most important, and those who are now most important will be least important.

Luke 13:24-30

For the past five days I have been suffering tooth pain. I tried to wait for the antibiotic to heal the problem so I wouldn't have to pull the tooth, but that was a futile and excruciating decision. I don't use the word "Hell" lightly, but to describe my pain as hurting like Hell seemed very appropriate. The pain was all consuming, only dulled by pain killers and kept me from focusing on or accomplishing anything else. Then I remembered these verses that say people in Hell will gnash their teeth. So my description of hurting like Hell may be more accurate than I might know.

The dentist pulled the tooth and within hours the pain began to go away.

Here is an exciting truth. According to Revelation 21:4 there will be no pain in Heaven! It is accurate to say then that all pain hurts like Hell, because in Heaven there will be no pain!

Think of all the pain and suffering you have had in your life and then consider this: If you could go to a place where there would be no more pain would you go? Just imagine, no more back aches, tooth aches or head aches. You will never have to ask someone how they feel, because everyone will always feel great!

Sometimes people in terrible pain are tempted to take their own lives to stop the pain. The only way to stop the pain forever is not to take you life, but rather to give your life to Jesus. Jesus has promised then to come and take you to Heaven where there is no pain!

Jesus Loves the Lost!

2012-02-07T04:43:00.001-05:00

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Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!

No one who has faith in God’s Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn’t have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God’s only Son.

The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light.

John 3:15-19

It is such a joy when a man or woman who is lost turns around and comes to Jesus, trusts Him with all their heart, gladly confesses their faith in the Son and is buried with Jesus in baptism! There is joy in Heaven when that which was lost is found.

Does God love you more before or after you accept Jesus? The answer to that question is simple. The love of God cannot be measured. God loves you as much before you repent and turn to Jesus as He does after you are saved. God gives air to breathe to the righteous and the wicked.

God loves and Jesus died for His enemies. And that includes every despicably evil person on the face of the earth. A mother's love for a child on death row is like God's love for the lost. Is her heart broken? Oh, yes! Did the sin kill her love for the sinner? No it did not.

Don't bring people to Jesus so Jesus can start loving them. Bring men and women to Jesus so they can start loving Him.

"Lord help me to love the world as You love the world. May those who do not yet know You feel your love flow through me. As the old song said, 'Lord speak to me that I may speak, in living echoes' of Your Word."

A Nation Like Edom?

2012-02-06T06:16:00.002-05:00

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The Lord said to Edom: I will make you the weakest
and most despised nation.

You live in a mountain fortress, because your pride
makes you feel safe from attack, but you are mistaken.

I will still bring you down, even if you fly higher than an eagle
or nest among the stars. I, the Lord, have spoken!

If thieves break in at night, they steal only what they want. And people who harvest grapes
always leave some unpicked. But, Edom, you are doomed!

Everything you treasure most will be taken from you.

Your allies can’t be trusted. They will force you out of your own country.
Your best friends will trick and trap you, even before you know it.

Edom, when this happens, I, the Lord, will destroy all your marvelous wisdom.

Warriors from the city of Teman will be terrified, and you descendants of Esau will be wiped out.

You were cruel to your relatives, the descendants of Jacob. Now you will be destroyed, disgraced forever.

Obadiah 1:2-10

Edom was a nation with a strong defense and national pride that made them feel safe, rich and wise. They were the descendants of Esau, but because they were cruel to the descendants of Jacob God pronounced their doom.

Does it matter how a nation, any nation treats Israel? For many years, Israel was not a nation in the land given to them by God, but now they are once again. Has God forgotten His promises to the Jews? Were the Israelites just a good Bible story and a spiritual symbol for the Church? Is that all there is to their story?

History is littered with nations that chose to abandon or mistreat Israel. It appears that the United States is in the process of joining them in that decision. As God so decides help will come to Israel. But even as God destroyed the "marvelous wisdom" of Edom because they were cruel to Israel, the fate of the United States is in the Hand of God.

May God have mercy if we refuse to help the blood relatives of Jesus Christ!

Another God?

2012-02-05T07:01:00.002-05:00

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Jehu called together the people in Samaria and said: King Ahab sometimes worshiped Baal, but I will be completely faithful to Baal. I’m going to offer a huge sacrifice to him. So invite his prophets and priests, and be sure everyone who worships him is there. Anyone who doesn’t come will be killed. But this was a trick—Jehu was really planning to kill the worshipers of Baal. He said, “Announce a day of worship for Baal!” After the day had been announced, Jehu sent an invitation to everyone in Israel. All the worshipers of Baal came, and the temple was filled from one end to the other.

As soon as Jehu finished offering the sacrifice, he told the guards and soldiers, “Come in and kill them! Don’t let anyone escape.” They slaughtered everyone in the crowd and threw the bodies outside. Then they went back into the temple and carried out the image of Baal. They burned it and broke it into pieces, then they completely destroyed Baal’s temple. And since that time, it’s been nothing but a public toilet.

That’s how Jehu stopped the worship of Baal in Israel.

2 Kings 10:18-21 and 25-28

A violent death came to the worshipers of Baal through the deceit of King Jehu. This is one of those cases where the purpose of God was accomplished through the deception of man like the midwives in Egypt who lied to Pharaoh.

The rather non politically correct point of this story and of the Bible's entire message is that God is not a supporter of "Freedom of Religion." He does give you the right to choose, but He does not remove the consequences of the choice. If you choose to worship any god other than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you will be eternally separated from Him. There is only one Heaven and only one Way to get there.

The most common lie in all the world is this: "I'm not religious!" Yes you are. Every man, woman and child bows down at some altar and worships. Jesus is not asking you to become religious. He is asking you to give up your religion and to "religiously" follow Him.

Everyone has a god. Your god is the thing that dominates your life. For some it is pleasure. For some it is money or fame. But if you are alive, you bow before something or someone and you live your life to satisfy that entity.

“Lord, open my eyes that I may see if there is some god before whom I am bowing other than You, the Lord of Heaven and earth! And then Lord grant me the courage to forsake that idol and be wholly devoted to You! Amen."

The Word in My Heart!

2012-02-04T06:55:00.002-05:00

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Moses said: People of Israel, after you capture the land the Lord your God is giving you, and after you settle on it, you will say, “We want a king, just like the nations around us.”

Go ahead and appoint a king, but make sure that he is an Israelite and that he is the one the Lord has chosen.

The king should not have many horses, especially those from Egypt. The Lord has said never to go back there again.

And the king must not have a lot of wives—they might tempt him to be unfaithful to the Lord. Finally, the king must not try to get huge amounts of silver and gold.

The official copy of God’s laws will be kept by the priests of the Levi tribe. So, as soon as anyone becomes king, he must go to the priests and write out a copy of these laws while they watch. Each day the king must read and obey these laws, so that he will learn to worship the Lord with fear and trembling and not think that he’s better than everyone else. If the king completely obeys the Lord’s commands, he and his descendants will rule Israel for many years.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

I once met a lady who was writing her own handwritten copy of the Bible. It seems like a rather daunting task, but she decided to do it based on this scripture in Deuteronomy 17.
I have never written even an entire book of the Bible by hand, but I have found that when I write a chapter by hand, not on the computer, I see things that are easy to overlook otherwise.

If you want to study a chapter of the Bible, you might want to try writing it by hand first before you go to the commentaries for other insight.

But the real question for all of us is this: How do we write the Word of God on our hearts and minds? Until the Bible is written on your heart it is only available when you remember to bring the book. But when scripture is inscribed on your heart and mind you can read it anywhere and at anytime. The answer is simple. Read the Bible early and often. Memorize the Word and obey the Word so that you act out in your life everything it says.

Having the best book in the world on skiing does not make you great on the slopes. And having a wonderful library of Bibles and commentaries does not make you a Christian. It is only when the finger of God writes His Word on the tablet of your heart that you are changed into the likeness of Jesus.

“Lord take my heart and mind today and write Your Word and Your Will on them both.”

No Earthly Good!

2012-02-03T06:05:00.002-05:00

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God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.

Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.

Colossians 3:12-17

I know a man for whom sports is the beginning and end of everything. He must spend all of his spare time and much of the rest of his time watching and reading about sports. Interestingly, he is not an athlete himself. But his knowledge of sports both amateur and professional as well as international is amazing.

Your life itself is controlled by your thoughts. You will be changed by what you think about. If you could measure the thoughts of a great professional golfer, it is almost certain that most of his thoughts center around the game of golf. A great artist thinks about his craft and a great football quarterback is continually considering how to play the game better.

If a young man wants to win the heart of a young woman, he must start by thinking of her all of the time. That is how he can seize the opportunity when it arises.

How often do you think of Jesus? Is Heaven on your mind every day? Does the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts or do you let other things control your mind?

"Lord I want to give my mind over to You today more than ever before. May your peace control my mind so that every thought will be focused on You, Your will and Eternity in Heaven. Lord let me truly be so Heavenly minded that I am of no earthly good!"

Offense of the Cross

2012-02-02T06:22:00.002-05:00

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As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.

But that isn’t what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.

Ephesians 4:17-24

Years ago there was a song with lyrics that caused some soul searching. "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Of course, that is a problem for every follower of Jesus. We are tempted to live like the world, and we are tempted to tamper with the message of Jesus so the world will not be offended by the Cross!

It is easy to be convicted of our own sin when we live like the world. When our words, deeds and even thoughts join in with the sin around us the Holy Spirit brings conviction and draws us to repentance.

But when we try to remove the offense of the Cross it becomes like a "zero" calorie food which also has no nutritional content. When the Cross does not address the issues of your life with convicting power it is of no value indeed!

Our job is not to remove the offenses in Scripture to make the message more palatable. We must simply proclaim the message, offensive parts and all, and let the Holy Spirit work on the hearts and minds of those who hear.

"Lord, may I provide the world around me with evidence that I belong to You today as I walk in Your will and repent of the ways I have walked with the world. And may the offensive message of the Cross bring the Glorious Peace of knowing Jesus to men and women everywhere! Amen"

The Promises of God!

2012-02-01T05:42:00.002-05:00

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But the Scriptures say that sin controls everyone, so that God’s promises will be for anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ.

The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God.

But once a person has learned to have faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher.

All of you are God’s children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman.

So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham’s family, and you will be given what God has promised.

Galatians 3:22-29

When I was a boy, a friend of mine promised to give me something and he never did. I'm really amazed that I can even remember the incident which happened more than fifty years ago. But I did believe him at the time and I was delighted and really looked forward to it. But the gift never came! I suppose that was my first introduction to "don't believe it if it's too good to be true!"

There are lots of people who say the promises of God are like the promise I believed as a boy. They smugly say, "The gifts never come." They believe that God, if He exists at all is just the judge, jury and executioner who pays us back for unrighteous living.
But they are wrong! The promises of God are always kept. God never speaks a word that is not in every way the Truth! Faith is believing the promises of God before they are fulfilled.

What promises of God have you seen already fulfilled in your life? And what promises are yet to be received?

My job is not to judge the promises but rather to know the Lord so well that His voice is unmistakable. The question is not "What is the promise?" The question is: "Did God say it?" The only judgment we must make is whether or not the promise was spoken by God.

Even that is not hard. The promises of God are written for you to read in the Bible!

Obey God or Men?

2012-01-31T04:20:00.002-05:00

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When the apostles were brought before the council, the high priest said to them,

“We told you plainly not to teach in the name of Jesus. But look what you have done! You have been teaching all over Jerusalem, and you are trying to blame us for his death.”

Peter and the apostles replied: We don’t obey people. We obey God. You killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross. But the God our ancestors worshiped raised him to life and made him our Leader and Savior. Then God gave him a place at his right side, so that the people of Israel would turn back to him and be forgiven.

We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to everyone who obeys God.

When the council members heard this, they became so angry that they wanted to kill the apostles.

Acts 5:27-33

Catholics in the United States are currently reliving this dilemma of the apostles. The United States government has ruled that by the end of 2012 every organization that provides medical insurance must include birth control and abortion coverage. The Catholic church has stood steadfastly against both of those. Churches are exempt from the ruling, but other Catholic organizations like universities and even Catholic hospitals would be required to violate their own consciences.

In a country where citizens have the right to protest and even vote to change the government, this has set up a struggle that is sure to escalate. This is not a small matter and one that may be a watershed of religious freedom in America!

It does take courage to disobey other men who are telling you to go against God. But there is another voice that calls us to disobey God and to obey its clear and constant call on our lives. That other voice is the voice of our own flesh! It continually tells us to ignore the voice of God and to fulfill the desires of our own bodies.

To ignore our own desires and obey God instead of fulfilling the lusts of the flesh is a daily battle. Sometimes men will demand that we disobey God and we must stand against them. But all the time our bodies demand that we disobey God and walk the way of our own desires!

It is a good thing to stand against those who would demand that we disobey God, but it is also essential that we stand against the unrighteous demands of our own flesh.

Let God Choose the Weapon!

2012-01-30T04:56:00.003-05:00

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Then Samuel said, “Tell everyone in Israel to meet together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

The Israelites met together at Mizpah with Samuel as their leader. They drew water from the well and poured it out as an offering to the Lord. On that same day they went without eating to show their sorrow, and they confessed they had been unfaithful to the Lord.

When the Philistine rulers found out about the meeting at Mizpah, they sent an army there to attack the people of Israel. The Israelites were afraid when they heard that the Philistines were coming.

“Don’t stop praying!” they told Samuel. “Ask the Lord our God to rescue us.”

Samuel begged the Lord to rescue Israel, then he sacrificed a young lamb to the Lord. Samuel had not even finished offering the sacrifice when the Philistines started to attack. But the Lord answered his prayer and made thunder crash all around them. The Philistines panicked and ran away.

I Samuel 7:5-10

I have never heard of a man who was killed by thunder! Thunder is loud and can be very upsetting, but it is not deadly. The lightning that causes the thunder is the thing to fear. Someone taught me when I was just a child that if you hear the thunder, the danger has passed.

God caused the Philistine army to run away in fear by sending thunder to crash all around them. They rightly sensed that they were targeted by thunder and needed to get away before they were destroyed by the One who was the cause of the thunder.

Samuel probably would never have prayed for thunder to come and scare the Philistines away. But Samuel kept on praying for God to rescue them and God chose thunder as the way to do it.

When you pray for God to rescue you from some threatening thing in your life, don't tell God how to do it! You do the praying and let God choose the weapon!

A Gift for God!

2012-01-29T05:40:00.003-05:00

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The Lord is disgusted by gifts from the wicked,
but it makes him happy
when his people pray.

The Lord is disgusted with all who do wrong,
but he loves everyone
who does right.

If you turn from the right way, you will be punished;
if you refuse correction,
you will die.

If the Lord can see everything in the world of the dead,
he can see in our hearts.

Proverbs 15:8-11

Why would a wicked person want to give God a gift? It seems a little odd that someone who doesn't obey God's Word and is sinning continually would even think about giving God a gift!

Did you ever hear of a policeman who would take bribes? The story is an old one. The one who is in charge of enforcing the law accepts a gift and then ignores the law breaker. That never happens with God, but sometimes people try to bribe the Lord Himself. They know they are sinners, and they know that they deserve Hell, but instead of accepting the sacrifice of Jesus as the basis of their salvation they want to do enough good works to merit Heaven in spite of their sin!

When you stand before God on the Day of Judgment, none of the good things you have done will be the reason God declares that you are to enter Heaven for eternity! The only reason anyone will ever go to Heaven is the Blood of Jesus Christ. When you are washed in His Blood Heaven's door will open without any effort on your part. You won't have to unlock the door of Heaven or even turn the door knob.

If you stand before the Lord and read your list of good works, the door to Heaven will remain closed. There is no gift that you can give God which will open that door. But the gift that Jesus gave on the Cross swings wide the door to Heaven!

Jesus is the Answer!

2012-01-28T06:43:00.002-05:00

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In the right hand of the one sitting on the throne I saw a scroll that had writing on the inside and on the outside. And it was sealed in seven places. I saw a mighty angel ask with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or see inside it. I cried hard because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or see inside it.

Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying and look! The one who is called both the ‘Lion from the Tribe of Judah’ and ‘King David’s Great Descendant’ has won the victory. He will open the book and its seven seals.”

Revelation 5:1-5

When you call a customer service number in an attempt to get help with a problem, the experience is usually very frustrating. I would safely say that almost always the first call is answered by someone who cannot help you with your issue. And so as you are passed from person to person and office to office your frustration grows and grows.

When life itself is the problem and you are looking for someone who can accurately answer your questions and help you solve your problems there are lots of numbers posted on the bulletin board of life and lots of people claiming to have just the right answer for you.

You know the list. Life will be better if you lose weight, get a college degree, find the right person to marry, or just get organized in your life! Don't forget the suggestions that you can look at least ten years younger in about an hour!

When it comes to the right answers for your life, the Person you need to go to for the answers is Himself the answer! Jesus can tell you things that no one else knows or could ever know. Jesus can order the circumstances of your life so that if you love Him, everything will work out for good! Jesus can heal your body so that you will live here on this earth as long as He wills it! Jesus has great plans for you.

Jesus can break the seals on the scroll of your life and usher you in to Eternity with Him!
The bottom line is this: Jesus wants to do for your life what no one else can ever do. All you must do is to trust Him, obey Him and let Jesus do His work in your life!

Are You a Pretender?

2012-01-27T05:48:00.002-05:00

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This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: I am the one who holds the seven stars in my right hand, and I walk among the seven gold lampstands. Listen to what I say.

I know everything you have done, including your hard work and how you have endured. I know you won’t put up with anyone who is evil. When some people pretended to be apostles, you tested them and found out that they were liars.

You have endured and gone through hard times because of me, and you have not given up.

But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don’t have as much love as you used to. Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don’t turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand.

Revelation 2:1-5

Children love to play “pretend.” I think it is often how a child decides on the ultimate direction of his life. I would be surprised to find a doctor who had not pretended to be a doctor as a child. I know in my own childhood I loved to pretend that I was talking on the radio. Throughout my adult years I have done some of that "for real."

It is wonderful and helpful for children to pretend, but when adults do it the consequences can be sad, pitiful, or even tragic. Do you remember the man who was called "the great pretender?" He would impersonate competent people in different occupations. I think the worst he did was when he pretended to be a surgeon!

As a follower of Jesus are you looking forward to what you will become? Like a child are you imagining what it will be like, or are you just pretending to be what you are not and are not on the path to become?

"Lord give me the vision to dream about what it will be like when I am standing before you in Heaven, or even what it will be like after more years of following you here on earth. But Lord, keep me from the deception of pretending to be something that you have not called and empowered me to be!"

Don't be afraid to dream about what you will be when Jesus returns, but never pretend to be something you are not in Christ!

Jesus is the Treasure!

2012-01-26T05:10:00.002-05:00

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But it is just as the Scriptures say, “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!”

God’s Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God. You are the only one who knows what is in your own mind, and God’s Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God’s mind.

But God has given us his Spirit. That’s why we don’t think the same way that the people of this world think. That’s also why we can recognize the blessings that God has given us.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12

I love to find a bargain at a yard sale. But best of all is to find a real treasure. Frankly, I do feel a little guilty when I pay a very small price for an item that is worth much more than the asking price. In all my yard sale adventures I think the best deal I ever got was a vacuum cleaner for $25.00 that was probably worth over a hundred. But you've heard of people who paid five or ten dollars for something that was worth thousands!

Christians often have no idea how valuable it is to be in relationship with Jesus Christ and have our sins washed away by His Blood! If you owned a diamond that was worth ten millions dollars how would you care for it? Would you just leave it laying around or would you guard it with your life?

Remember, a man sitting in solitary confinement in a prison for many years who knows Jesus Christ is richer than a king who does not know the Lord. If you know Jesus, then you have access to the throne of God Himself and can have dialogue with the Creator of everything that is.

When you count your blessings, start the list with Jesus Christ. You can also end the list of blessings with Jesus, because without Jesus there would be no other blessings at all!
So when you ask God to bless you, He gives you Jesus!

Fellowship with the Heart of God!

2012-01-25T06:09:00.002-05:00

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You have heard people say, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.” But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors love their friends. If you greet only your friends, what’s so great about that? Don’t even unbelievers do that?

But you must always act like your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:43-48

Loving someone who loves you is really quite easy. And loving someone who hates you is hard, but there is great reward when you step into those waters of loving your enemy. But loving the anonymous crowd provides a real challenge.

Did you ever hear of a bad automobile accident and then experience a great sense of relief that none of the four people killed was someone you know? How does not knowing a person who dies in an accident justify your lack of concern?

I have often wondered how God can stand all the joy and pain of each day. Every day there are men, women, boys and girls who give their hearts to Him and are cause for celebration in Heaven. On that same day there is lots of tragedy, sorrow, grief and pain and those who put their feet firmly on the path to Hell. For all those, the Heart of God suffers and Jesus Himself feels their pain!

Here is a suggestion. When you hear of someone walking through the same troubled waters you have known, even if you don't know them at all, pray for them and those around them as if they were your best friends.

God knows them well, and will welcome your prayers of concern. This is a very special way you can have fellowship with the Heart of God.

Does Newt Fear God?

2012-01-24T06:09:00.002-05:00

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Ezra was a priest and an expert in the laws and commands that the Lord had given to Israel. One day King Artaxerxes gave Ezra a letter which said:

Greetings from the great King Artaxerxes to Ezra the priest and expert in the teachings of the God of heaven.

Any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom may go with you to Jerusalem if they want to. My seven advisors and I agree that you may go to Jerusalem and Judah to find out if the laws of your God are being obeyed.

If you need to get anything else for the temple, you may have the money you need from the royal treasury.

Ezra, you are a priest and an expert in the laws of the God of heaven, and I order all treasurers in Western Province to do their very best to help you.

Ezra 7:11-14 & 20-21

Years ago I was having breakfast with a group of people who were promoting the candidacy of a local politician. The politician himself was sitting next to me and I had the opportunity to question him at some length. One answer to a question shocked me at the time and still sticks in my mind. Instead of asking him if he was a Christian, I simply asked: "Do you fear God?" His response was "Hell yes!"

The man was embarrassed by his own response, but it was just the answer I wanted to hear.

When a leader fears God the people he or she leads are blessed. When a leader does not fear God trouble comes to all of us.

If I could ask one question at the United States presidential debates, it would be that same question. Do you fear God? I believe the answer, and the tone and demeanor of the answer would speak volumes about the man's qualifications to be President of the United States.

Proverbs 9:10 identifies the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom. So leaders who do not fear God act without wisdom.

What about you? Do you fear God or do you just fear that God will catch you doing something wrong? Fearing God includes respect and honor. Fearing God means that you will filter everything you do through the lens of God's Word. That is the very best way to see clearly and avoid foolishness!

So if you have the opportunity to pick an earthly king, always pick the person who fears God. Everything else is irrelevant. If a leader does not fear God, the reign will not be pleasant for those who are being led!

Journey to Eternity

2012-01-23T09:33:00.002-05:00

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People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God’s laws.

If we follow our desires, we cannot please God.

You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God’s Spirit, who lives in you. People who don’t have the Spirit of Christ in them don’t belong to him.

Romans 8:5-9

When it comes to freedom, God gives us the freedom to choose our master. You will either be ruled by your own desires or you will be ruled by the Holy Spirit. The Devil wants you to be ruled by your own desires. He uses them quite well in leading you to self destruction in this life and consequently for eternity.

God desires that you turn your life over to Him and be led by the Holy Spirit. When you do that the Peace of God will Rule your heart and mind. You will be confident of the way you are walking and not shaken when trouble comes your way.

No one is free to be their own master. Your freedom is limited by your own humanity. You only have so many years to live on this earth and no ability to contradict the laws of nature without deadly consequence. As your little bubble of life floats around for less than a dozen decades you are free to choose praising God or satisfying the momentary desires of the flesh.

If you choose to Praise God through Jesus Christ your bubble will finally float up to Heaven for eternity. If you choose to satisfy the desires of the flesh, one day the bubble will burst directly over the gates of Hell.

"Lord, I thank you for giving me the freedom to choose Jesus Christ and to be led by Your Holy Spirit on this Journey to Eternity!"

Smaller is Better!

2012-01-22T05:27:00.002-05:00

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Early the next morning, Gideon and his army got up and moved their camp to Fear Spring. The Midianite camp was to the north, in the valley at the foot of Moreh Hill. The Lord said, “Gideon, your army is too big. I can’t let you win with this many soldiers. The Israelites would think that they had won the battle all by themselves and that I didn’t have anything to do with it.

So call your troops together and tell them that anyone who is really afraid can leave Mount Gilead and go home.” Twenty-two thousand men returned home, leaving Gideon with only ten thousand soldiers.

“Gideon,” the Lord said, “you still have too many soldiers. Take them down to the spring and I’ll test them. I’ll tell you which ones can go along with you and which ones must go back home.”

When Gideon led his army down to the spring, the Lord told him, “Watch how each man gets a drink of water. Then divide them into two groups—those who lap the water like a dog and those who kneel down to drink.”

Three hundred men scooped up water in their hands and lapped it, and the rest knelt to get a drink.

The Lord said, “Gideon, your army will be made up of everyone who lapped the water from their hands. Send the others home. I’m going to rescue Israel by helping you and your army of three hundred defeat the Midianites.”

Judges 7:1-7

Did you ever hear of a group of Church elders who believed God was leading them to evangelize their city say, "We have too much money and too many people for this task. We must first get rid of some of our people and give away some of our money so that God will get the glory instead of our Church?"

When you go to battle for the Lord, make sure that you don't have enough strength to win without God. If you have enough human strength to win then you will be tempted to take the glory for yourself instead of giving it to God.

Lord, give me the courage to take on armies too large for me to defeat, tasks too big for me to accomplish, and goals beyond the reach of any human being. May Your Spirit be the deciding factor in everything I do, to Your Glory and Honor! Amen.

Faith Alive!

2012-01-21T05:34:00.005-05:00

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Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. Now you see how Abraham’s faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith was real by what he did.

This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, “Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him.” That’s how Abraham became God’s friend. You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe.

For example, Rahab had been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and sent them home by another way.

Anyone who doesn’t breathe is dead, and faith that doesn’t do anything is just as dead!

James 2:21-26

Even today some Christians love to argue about faith and works. When someone puts great emphasis on "works" there is a loud cry supported by Galatians 2:16 that we are saved by faith not by works. And when "faith only" is the cry these verses in James 2 are dusted off to prove that more is required.

A simple understanding of the answer to this dilemma is this: Faith produces works and those works are required to prove that the faith from which they come is real and alive. Works that do not spring from faith are of no benefit eternally.

It is like swimming in one of those exercise pools where the water is continually flowing. You may put out enough effort to have covered miles and miles in the open sea, but in the exercise pool you go no where! Doing the good works that often come from faith are of no value spiritually. Having faith without doing the good works that come from that faith means that it is dead!

When Peter walked on water did it take faith or works? Of course it took both. Without faith Peter would never have stepped out of the boat and without getting out of the boat Peter would never have walked on water.

So if you want to know how your own faith is doing, look at your life and see what you have done because of your faith.

Remember if faith without works is dead, then faith with works is alive!

Quiet Time With God!

2012-01-20T05:39:00.003-05:00

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I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God.

My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God’s people.

Ephesians 1:17-18

Relationships progress from the first handshake to the most intimate union of a man and woman who have been married for more than 50 years! When a man knows his wife, he finds that such knowledge is a well too deep for words. It is a mystery and a wonder that you can see on the faces of couples who have been married for many years.

What does it mean to know God? Knowing God and being known by Him is the greatest wonder and mystery on earth. God has known me from the first thought of Creation. I begin the journey of knowing God when I realize that my earthly father could not have made the stars! The "heavens declare the Glory of God" and they shout loudly in the ears of every child who looks up at the night sky.

Do you know God or do you just know about God? Do you know what He says and does or do you sit quietly with Him and watch Him do it? Is the Bible a whip you love to crack over the heads of those who don't believe, or is the Bible the bit and bridle that gently directs you in the path God had planned for your life?

Do you ever pray and say nothing at all to God? Really good friends can spend hours being together without talking. Try having a truly "Quiet Time" today with God. It is a step closer to Him!

Keystone Pipeline War

2012-01-19T04:56:00.003-05:00

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But we know that God accepts only those who have faith in Jesus Christ. No one can please God by simply obeying the Law. So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our faith.

When we Jews started looking for a way to please God, we discovered that we are sinners too. Does this mean that Christ is the one who makes us sinners? No, it doesn’t!

But if I tear down something and then build it again, I prove that I was wrong at first.

Galatians 2:16-18

Controversy is easier to deal with when there is a country or even an idea that is suitable for a declaration of war. When a war is declared, then we can in good conscience throw everything we have at the enemy.

The Keystone Pipeline, a proposed oil pipeline from Canada to Texas is good example of an issue not worthy of a declaration of war. Those who favor it stand on the ground of energy independence and those who oppose it believe it will be a danger to the environment. It is one of those "you can't kick the can down the road" issues because Asia stands ready to buy the oil if we choose not to build it.

When the problem is with your own country, a good friend, someone you love, or even with yourself the resolution comes with compromise. The issue at hand is weighed against the value of those who oppose your position. When you go to war the goal is to wipe out the opposition and remove it as a player on the stage. When you choose not to go to war the resolution will include a way to maintain the relationship with respect.

Christians declare war on sin, not on sinners! Sinners are the prisoners of war who were captured by Satan and stand desperately in need of being liberated from the Enemy!

When you bring out your weapons of war, including the Sword of the Spirit be sure to wield them against the Enemy and not prisoners of war!

Contagious Sin!

2012-01-18T05:51:00.002-05:00

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Don’t be too quick to accept people into the service of the Lord by placing your hands on them.

Don’t sin because others do, but stay close to God.

Stop drinking only water. Take a little wine to help your stomach trouble and the other illnesses you always have.

1 Timothy 5:22-23

If you want to be ignored in a public situation, find someone who cannot be ignored and stand next to them. No one remembers the guy to stood beside the man with Green hair!

Sometimes we ignore parts of the Bible because they stand next to something very noticeable or even controversial. The phrase "don't sin because others do" is standing between a warning about laying hands on someone quickly and an encouragement to drink a little wine. So it is easy to ignore these words about the contagion of sin.

If you move from the northern part of the United States to the deep South you will have a serious accent when you speak. Southern listeners will tolerate your odd way of talking, but if you stay long enough they will convert you into a man or woman who occasionally says ya'll. Unless you make a conscious effort not to, over time you will lose most if not all of your northern accent.

Sin is like that. When we spend time with people who are sinning the temptation to join in grows and grows. Sin is contagious. It is like poison ivy. When you rub up against it you will have to deal with the consequences for quite a while, if not forever.

Frankly, when someone says "Everybody is doing it" the chances are quite high that "it" may indeed be a sin! Judge yourself by the Word of God, not by the collective morality of the world around you. Then you can be salt and light in world that desperately needs both!

Jesus Loves Me!

2012-01-17T05:06:00.003-05:00

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If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?

It is exactly as the Scriptures say, “For you we face death all day long. We are like sheep on their way to be butchered.”

In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Romans 8:33-39

The love of Christ for me is more powerful than all my sin and the hordes of Satan who insist that I deserve Hell with them. The love of Jesus holds me tightly to His heart and will not let me go. Like a child who knows the embrace of his mother and father, but cannot understand the depth of their love for him, I feel the embrace of Jesus but I really have no idea how much He loves me!

I believe the depth of God's love for us will be one of the most amazing revelations in Heaven. Until we fall on our faces before Him and look into His eyes the reality of Jesus is only a shadow and a mist. But then, we will know Jesus in a way that words cannot describe.

And old church song declared that if all the oceans were filled with ink and you used it all to write a description of the Love of God you would not complete the task.

May the theme song of my life be this: Jesus Loves me, this I know!

It Will Happen!

2012-01-16T03:52:00.003-05:00

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Daniel wrote:
I looked around and saw two other people—one on this side of the river and one on the other side.

The angel who had spoken to me was dressed in linen and was standing upstream from them. So one of the two beside the river asked him, “How long before these amazing things happen?”

The angel then raised both hands toward heaven and said, “In the name of the God who lives forever, I solemnly promise that it will be a time, two times, and half a time. Everything will be over, when the suffering of God’s holy people comes to an end.”

Daniel 12:5-7

When you read the Book of Daniel it is very apparent that God knows all of history. He knows history past, history present and history yet to come. When it comes to God there are no secrets. He can look in every dark place and shine His light, even in the dark places of the future. I may know a little about yesterday and some about today but without Devine Revelation I know nothing about tomorrow.

God knows what tomorrow will bring. My job is not to shape the future by the force of my life, but to be used by God to shape the future according to His will and design. If all the righteous men and women who have ever lived came back to life at the same time and decided to change the future that God has predicted and allowed, they could not do it. But if one man or woman is committed to God's will in his or her life and willing to sacrifice even that life for Jesus the future will reverberate with the impact of just one life on this world.

So if, as a follower of Jesus Christ you are trying to manipulate the future of this world by whatever means, stop it! Instead apply your heart, mind and strength to the task of being obedient to God's direction for today. One word spoken at the right time and right place can be used by God to move mountains. Your job is not to move the mountains, but to speak the Word!

The final sign of the End of All Things is this: "Everything will be over, when the suffering of God's holy people comes to an end." And you can believe, it will happen!

Wet or Dry?

2012-01-15T06:04:00.003-05:00

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Gideon prayed to God, “I know that you promised to help me rescue Israel, but I need proof. Tonight I’ll put some wool on the stone floor of that threshing-place over there. If you really will help me rescue Israel, then tomorrow morning let there be dew on the wool, but let the stone floor be dry.”

And that’s just what happened. Early the next morning, Gideon got up and checked the wool. He squeezed out enough water to fill a bowl.

But Gideon prayed to God again. “Don’t be angry at me,” Gideon said. “Let me try this just one more time, so I’ll really be sure you’ll help me. Only this time, let the wool be dry and the stone floor be wet with dew.”

That night, God made the stone floor wet with dew, but he kept the wool dry.

Judges 6:36-40

I have for years been critical of Gideon in my heart because he came back the second night and asked for another sign to show him that God wanted to use him to rescue Israel. Wasn't the wet wool on dry ground enough? Did he really need dry wool on wet ground to prove that he was walking after the will of God? Well God did not get angry or even upset at Gideon for asking for another sign.

Today, as we prepare to do battle for God, He gives us a sign that we belong to Him and are indeed called into this conflict.

The Holy Spirit is the sign and is a down payment on Heaven. The King James version of the Bible says the Holy Spirit is like earnest money. That is a small payment guaranteeing that you will come through with the rest of the promise. God is not offended when we ask for a confirmation that we belong to Him.

With the Holy Spirit in your heart you can see daily evidences of your eternal relationship with God Himself. Those who don't believe would call them co-incidences, but with faith in your heart you see the wool wet or the wool dry every day as you prepare to step out of your comfort zone for God!

Like Selling Candy to a Kid!

2012-01-14T04:18:00.004-05:00

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People of Judah, I, the Lord, demand that whenever you go without food as a way of worshiping me, it should become a time of celebration. No matter if it’s the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, or the tenth month, you should have a joyful festival. So love truth and live at peace.

I tell you that people will come here from cities everywhere.
Those of one town will go to another and say, “We’re going to ask the Lord All-Powerful to treat us with kindness. Come and join us.”
Many people from strong nations will come to Jerusalem to worship me and to ask me to treat them with kindness.

When this happens, ten people from nations with different languages will grab a Jew by his clothes and say, “Let us go with you. We’ve heard that God is on your side.” I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken!

Zechariah 8:19-23

Not far from where I live is a small tire store. I have never seen a newspaper ad, billboard, or heard a radio commercial for it. In fact you can drive by the store and not even see it because the sign in front of the store does not grab your attention. But when you go to that store there is always a line of people waiting to buy tires. And it has been that way for years. The reason the store is so busy is simple. The tires are good quality and the price is sometimes hundreds of dollars less than the stores that advertise. If you go there once you will never go to another store for tires!

The news about Jesus is called the "Good News!" So why are they not lined up to meet Jesus like the daily line up to buy tires? Well here is the reason. The tire store spreads the word about it like this. One man buys a set of tires and then says to his neighbor, "You won't believe the deal I got on a set of tires for my car." And the conversation progresses until the neighbor asks for directions to the store so he can get a deal like that too.

We see lots of ads about Jesus, lots of signs in front of Church buildings, lots of TV and radio programs, but we almost never hear our neighbor brag about the tires!

If you want to "bring someone to Jesus" here is the secret. Brag about Jesus and what He has done, is doing and will do for your life. Let them see how you are able to meet up with adversity and overcome temptation. Show them how Jesus has changed you and made you into the person you could never have been without Him.

Don't quit praising Jesus until someone asks how they can meet Him too! Then evangelism is as easy as selling candy to a kid.

The Go Back Temptation!

2012-01-13T05:19:00.002-05:00

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One day, Abraham called in his most trusted servant and said to him, “Solemnly promise me in the name of the Lord, who rules heaven and earth, that you won’t choose a wife for my son Isaac from the people here in the land of Canaan.

Instead, go back to the land where I was born and find a wife for him from among my relatives.”

But the servant asked, “What if the young woman I choose refuses to leave home and come here with me? Should I send Isaac there to look for a wife?”

“No!” Abraham answered. “Don’t ever do that, no matter what. The Lord who rules heaven brought me here from the land where I was born and promised that he would give this land to my descendants forever. When you go back there, the Lord will send his angel ahead of you to help you find a wife for my son.

Genesis 24:2-7

It seems that Abraham was afraid that if Isaac went back to the land where Abraham came from to look for a wife, he would abandon the land of Canaan and stay there. When things got tough for the Children of Israel in the wilderness they were tempted to go back to Egypt. And Jesus Himself was tempted by Satan to abandon His mission and let me go to Hell!

Whatever it is that God has called you to do in this life will meet the same temptation. Satan says, "Give up, go back, it won't work, forget about it," and anything else that can lure you back to where you were before you heard God's calling.

It often is a good thing to remember where you were when God called you to be His. But it is tragic to leave the path of discipleship and go back to live in that place. The temptation for Isaac would have been a young woman who didn't want to leave her family to go to Canaan. That's why Abraham sent his servant to bring the young woman to Isaac.

The short lesson in these verses is simple. Don't go back to the place where you were before you met Jesus to find something you need. Trust Jesus to provide your needs where you are as you walk with Him. Keep your eyes on the mission to which He has called you and believe that whatever it is that you need you will find on that path!

Take Jesus to Work Day

2012-01-12T04:27:00.002-05:00

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The Lord is going to take away your job! He will give your official robes and your authority to his servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. Eliakim will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the royal family of Judah. The Lord will put him in charge of the key that belongs to King David’s family. No one will be able to unlock what he locks, and no one will be able to lock what he unlocks.

The Lord will make him as firm in his position as a tent peg hammered in the ground, and Eliakim will bring honor to his family.

Isaiah 22:19-23

God knows about unemployment. In these verses it plainly says that He fired Shebna and gave his job to Eliakim. Now, I don't know a lot about either of these men, but I do know that God Himself acted like Donald Trump by firing one and hiring the other.

Is God involved in your job? Well, you may say, "I am not involved in Christian ministry in my job, so God would not be involved." That is quite wrong. If you are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit lives in you then Christ in you goes to your job every day! When Jesus lived in His physical body on this earth He was a carpenter, but today Jesus is a doctor, engineer, janitor, school teacher, and all of a thousand other jobs that His followers do every day!

If Jesus was a janitor, would He impact those around Him with the Love of God every day? Of course He would! If Jesus were a school teacher, would He impart truth to students that is clear and untainted by lies?

Ask yourself this question: Does Jesus go to work with me everyday? If the answer is no, then it is not the job that needs to be changed, it is you! Even if the job itself is evil, then today repent of the evil and do the right thing instead of the wrong. Will you lose your job by the end of the day? Oh yes, I imagine that you probably will, but that is called being persecuted for righteousness sake.

The question is not "What would Jesus do if He were doing my job?" The question is "What will I allow Jesus to do since He is in me and wants to express His love and righteousness today where I work."

No Pain No Gain!

2012-01-11T04:29:00.002-05:00

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God lives fully in Christ. And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority. Christ has also taken away your selfish desires, just as circumcision removes flesh from the body. And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death.

You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins.

God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross.

Colossians 2:9-14

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ was not just something that was done "for me," it was accomplished "with me" as I was crucified with Christ, buried with Him by baptism and made alive with Jesus. Christianity is not a spectator sport with Jesus as the athlete on the field. The only viewing stands are in heaven. All of us here on earth are part of the game.

Somehow we think the greatest pain we experience is from Satan. I believe it is not. Christ cuts away our selfish desires just as circumcision removes flesh from the body. It is not painless. And Jesus lets us die to this world so that we can be buried with Him.

Don't make light of the hard road of a believer! Even Jesus prayed that He might not have to suffer on the Cross the night before it happened. Jesus came to save us from sin and eternal death, not from suffering. Satan is the one who promises an easy life, and he often does deliver on that promise for the short term. Not walking with Jesus can mean temporary comforts and pleasures. But Satan's long term plan is Hell!

The phrase isn't found in the Bible, but the concept is certainly true. NO PAIN, NO GAIN!

"Lord, bring whatever it takes today to make me more like You! Let me walk with You, suffer with You and even die with You, Jesus! May my all consuming joy in this life be resurrection, as I come to live forever with You! Amen."

Jesus is My Only Desire

2012-01-10T04:16:00.002-05:00

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When honest people prosper and the wicked disappear,
the whole city celebrates.

When God blesses his people, their city prospers,
but deceitful liars
can destroy a city.

A city without wise leaders will end up in ruin;
a city with many wise leaders
will be kept safe.

Proverbs 11:10-11 and 14

A political analyst who also knows God can quickly come to the disturbing conclusion that the United States is on a certain path to ruin. It is shocking but true that for the most part the men and women we have elected to lead us in this world are "deceitful liars" and they are not "wise leaders." Public positions about the economy, social issues or the size of government have nothing to do with the integrity of those who state them. It is not "positions" that will save us from our own foolishness. If we are to be saved it will be because we have chosen to be led by honest men and women who are not deceitful liars and can be classified as wise leaders.

When it comes to the things of God, how do you choose who to follow? There is an election every day and every Christian hears the call to follow someone. I think the perfect example of a leader worthy of my choice is John the Baptist who told his followers to follow Jesus instead! If those you deem worthy of your respect spiritually are not continually pointing you to Jesus, then there is something wrong.

The best advice is to not trust and follow human leaders. They will all ultimately disappoint. Set your heart and mind only on Jesus. Follow Jesus in everything you do every day. Nothing but the Blood of Jesus can wash away your sin. And no one but Jesus can take you to Heaven! Give Jesus your heart and let your love for Him consume every thought of every day until Jesus is your only desire!

Sidetracked on the Way to Heaven!

2012-01-09T04:11:00.002-05:00

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God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.

1 John 4:9-10

You can trust that since Jesus sacrificed Himself to save us, He will also show us the way to go in this life!

It was years ago and well before the days of the GPS. I was alone and on my way from Ohio to Tennessee in the first new car I had ever owned. It was a small French made Simca. Somehow I either missed the right turn or made a wrong turn and drove for a number of miles in the wrong direction. My only option when the signs along the way made me aware of my mistake was to turn around and go back the way I had come until I found the place I either should have turned or made the error in navigating. It was upsetting to the point that I still remember it more than forty years later.

“Lord, am I on the right road in my life? Am I going the direction You want me to go or am I traveling on the road to somewhere else?”

Having a shiny new car and plenty of gas in the tank doesn’t mean I am going the right way. A bright sunny morning and great driving skills have nothing to do with the direction I am traveling. The question is this: Where is this road taking me? What is at the end of this path and is that the place God wants me to be? Getting sidetracked on the way to Heaven is at best foolish and at worst tragic.

If you are going the wrong way, turn around today and go back to the place where you left the path. Don’t wait, this is no time to be on a “rabbit trail” on the way to Heaven!

The First Supper in Heaven!

2012-01-08T04:29:00.002-05:00

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The day of the Lord’s return will surprise us like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a loud noise, and the heat will melt the whole universe. Then the earth and everything on it will be seen for what they are.

Everything will be destroyed. So you should serve and honor God by the way you live. You should look forward to the day when God judges everyone, and you should try to make it come soon. On that day the heavens will be destroyed by fire, and everything else will melt in the heat.

But God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth, where justice will rule. We are really looking forward to that!

2 Peter 3:10-13

I remember when I was five years old standing at the front window of our house looking for my father to come home from work. It was really the best part of my day. The prediction would come from my mother. She could accurately read the clock. I could not yet. He almost always came home about five o'clock and we would all sit down to supper and listen to stories about each other's day. If I think about it long enough I can still catch the wonder of those meals with my family at the close of every day. They were wonder filled!

Then came the TV tray. It seemed innocent enough and was a great convenience. If we wanted to eat something while watching our television we all had a tiny instant table on which to eat. But when you eat a meal using TV trays in front of a television, the communion of souls is necessarily missing. We didn't even have a remote control to turn off the volume during commercials.

Are you standing at the window waiting and watching for the Lord to return as He said He would? We do not know the day or hour, but we do know for certain that Jesus will return. And when He does we will all sit down together to eat that first meal in Heaven! I don't know for sure, but I imagine that the menu for that meal will include fruit from the Tree of LIfe!

And the communion shared as eat that First Supper is beyond anyone's imagination. Nothing will interfere with that incredible time as we share stories about each other lives! I want to tell the one about the time when I first realized that Jesus is real and that He really loves me! But first, please pass the Bread of Life!

Learn Like a Baby

2012-01-07T03:58:00.002-05:00

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The disciples had forgotten to bring any bread when they crossed the lake.

Jesus then warned them, “Watch out! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

The disciples talked this over and said to each other, “He must be saying this because we didn’t bring along any bread.”

Jesus knew what they were thinking and said: You surely don’t have much faith! Why are you talking about not having any bread? Don’t you understand? Have you forgotten about the five thousand people and all those baskets of leftovers from just five loaves of bread? And what about the four thousand people and all those baskets of leftovers from only seven loaves of bread?

Don’t you know by now that I am not talking to you about bread? Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!

Finally, the disciples understood that Jesus wasn’t talking about the yeast used to make bread, but about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 16:5-12

The process may seem very slow, but a baby finally comes to understand your words and responds to them. I think mothers are better at talking to babies than fathers and they certainly are better at understanding what the baby is trying to say. After many misunderstandings, the communication becomes clear and the child grows into a man or woman who only misses an occasional nuance of meaning.

The disciples of Jesus at first did not understand what Jesus was talking about when He mentioned the "yeast" of the Pharisees and Sadducees. But then, after Jesus explained what He was saying, they realized that Jesus was talking about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

After a man is "born again" he must learn to understand the Word of God just like a baby learning to know what his mother is saying. The indwelling Holy Spirit interprets what God is saying to your heart. It is a life long process as you come to understand more fully all the Words you hear from God.

The disciples thought Jesus was talking about the yeast that was used to make bread, but He was talking about teaching that works like yeast in your life.

So here is the point. Don't use a dictionary to understand what God is saying to you. Use an interpreter. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to understand every Word you hear from the Throne of God!

Wiki Word?

2012-01-06T04:24:00.002-05:00

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I am Jesus! And I am the one who sent my angel to tell all of you these things for the churches. I am David’s Great Descendant, and I am also the bright morning star.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Everyone who hears this should say, “Come!” If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It’s free!
Here is my warning for everyone who hears the prophecies in this book: If you add anything to them, God will make you suffer all the terrible troubles written in this book.

If you take anything away from these prophecies, God will not let you have part in the life-giving tree and in the holy city described in this book.

Revelation 22:16-19

The Bible is the only book I know that is regularly edited by it's readers. No one even thinks of changing the words of other great literature, but the Bible is different. It is almost like Wikipedia, where everyone who reads it can add something to the text! "I know what the Bible says, but what it means is" are words that are casually spoken by those who have no clue of the eternal consequences of the statement.

Almost thirty years ago I was involved in a "Tea Party" type protest of taxes. I was a radio talk show host and my listeners decided to mail tea bags to congress. I think it was the first of the modern "tea bag" expressions of public feeling, but the really interesting thing to me is that when a friend of mine added the event to the Wikipedia description of the history of tea party stuff, it was removed several times. He finally gave up. I think that there was a strong desire to be recognized as the "first" in the Tea Party movement and my bit of truth caused a real problem for those who wanted that honor.

So when you go to God's Word do you edit out parts of the Bible, at least in your own heart, because of your own desire to have God's Word affirm your life and actions?

When you read the Bible take off all the filters and all the colored glasses that change it into something that simply affirms your beliefs or actions. Let the Word of God change you, not the other way around. You will be amazed at what unbridled truth will do in your life!

My Sin!

2012-01-05T04:19:00.002-05:00

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“On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, the people of Israel went without eating, and they dressed in sackcloth and threw dirt on their heads to show their sorrow. They refused to let foreigners join them, as they met to confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors.

For three hours they stood and listened to the Law of the Lord their God, and then for the next three hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord.”

Nehemiah 9:1-3

It is easy to confess the sins of other people. When I look around and see how others are living I can see how sinful they are. It is a little harder to confess the sins of my ancestors. So often I am still swimming in the wake of their sin and I can be implicated in what they did. It is always the hardest to confess my own sin.

Frankly, it makes me a little nervous to even walk in to this subject. I spend much of my day trying to ignore my own sin. I know that other people see it plainly, but I pretend that it is not there. I think my most frequent sin is looking at other people and forgetting how much God loves them! Even though I know it is wrong I so often judge another person by the externals of their life. What do they look like, how do they dress and a thousand other outward appearance items that really tell me nothing about the inner man. I also judge men by their intelligence and education. If I encounter a man who obviously doesn't know what he is talking about and is adamant in his ignorance I can quickly forget how much God loves that man as well.

Add to all of this the fleeting thoughts that I sometimes allow to stay too long in my mind. If I were to see my sin as God could see it before it was covered by the blood of Jesus I could easily say with the apostle Paul that I am the chief of sinners.

I frequently hear the voice of the Enemy say, "You are not as bad as the other sinners!" Oh yes I am, my sin sent Jesus to the Cross and so did yours. The human consequences of our sin may be some greater than others, but the eternal consequences are all the same. Sin brings death to every man, but Jesus Christ and His Blood brings eternal life to every sinner who turns to Him!

Bootstraps and Fences!

2012-01-04T03:38:00.002-05:00

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Judah was left defenseless. At that time you trusted in the weapons you had stored in Forest Palace. You saw the holes in the outer wall of Jerusalem, and you brought water from the lower pool. You counted the houses in Jerusalem and tore down some of them, so you could get stones to repair the city wall. Then you built a large tank between the walls to store the water. But you refused to trust the God who planned this long ago and made it happen.

When all of this happened,
the Lord All-Powerful told you to weep and mourn,
to shave your heads,
and wear sackcloth.

But instead, you celebrated by feasting on beef and lamb
and by drinking wine,
because you said,
“Let’s eat and drink!
Tomorrow we may die.”

Isaiah 22:8-13

When a community experiences disaster the usual response from the mayor, governor, or even the President of that country is to declare "how strong we are and that we will overcome this tragedy". It always makes me sad because those people lose one more opportunity to turn their hearts to God! When we are brought low by pain, suffering or sorrow it is time to look to the only One on High who can lift us from the despair of life.

If that is where you are right now, the world around you is telling you to be strong and trust that things will get better. They are telling you to eat and drink and work to make a better life for you and those around you. The old saying is "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps." But it will not work. Try lifting yourself off of the ground by pulling on your feet! How silly is that? Only a man who has lost touch with reality would pull on his boots to try and jump over a fence.

There is only One Way to hurdle the obstacles in your life today. That Way has nothing to do with your education, money or talent and ability. The only Way is Jesus Christ. If you are resting in the arms of Jesus, the disasters may come and the waves may sweep you away, but in the end you will be safely lifted to Heaven.

The blessing of God is for those who turn to Him in times of great stress. It is not for those who trust in their own strength to get through it.

If your life is being swept away by one tsunami after another, then cry out to God. God will either calm the storm or carry you safely through it. Oh yes, you may die in the process, but as it stands right now, that is the only way to get to Heaven!

Falling in the Darkness

2012-01-03T03:00:00.002-05:00

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The lifestyle of the wicked is like total darkness,
and they will never know
what makes them stumble.

My child, listen carefully to everything I say.

Don’t forget a single word, but think about it all.

Knowing these teachings will mean true life
and good health for you.

Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source
of true life.

Proverbs 4:19-23

I wasn't going to mention it, but these verses remind me of my own foolishness. It's been about two weeks now. I was almost ready to leave for work when I started down the stairs to the main floor of our house. It was dark and I neglected to turn on the light. When I stepped on the cat I jerked in an attempt to avoid my full weight sending the cat to an early grave and I fell! I bumped down the entire flight of steps like a small child pretending he is on the playground. I am not a child and I am not small, so the ride to the bottom was quick but painful. Miraculously, I broke no bones and now most of the bruising is gone.

Those who don't follow Jesus walk in darkness all day every day. For them the sun never rises and yet like a person born blind, they never know what they are missing.

We were all born spiritually blind. Like me when I tripped on the cat in the dark those who never let Jesus heal their eyes will fall without even knowing why.

The miracles that Jesus performed were all symbols and types of eternal truth! We are blind and need the miracle of healing in our eyes. We are all deaf to the Words of God and need our ears to be made whole. We are all dead and need to be raised to life. We are all starving spiritually and need the bread that Jesus passes out to those who follow Him.

"Lord, without the light of Your Word I will stumble today. Unless You heal my ears I cannot hear Your clear Word of warning. Without Your Resurrection I will stay in the grave forever. Without Your love I cannot love You or anyone else! Lord, unless You light up my life I will fall into Hell forever. Save me Lord, today!"

Keep on Walking!

2012-01-02T04:29:00.002-05:00

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Gideon lived to be an old man. And when he died, he was buried in the family tomb in his hometown of Ophrah, which belonged to the Abiezer clan. Soon after Gideon’s death, the Israelites turned their backs on God again. They set up idols of Baal and worshiped Baal Berith as their god. The Israelites forgot that the Lord was their God, and that he had rescued them from the enemies who lived around them.

Judges 8:32-34

I am always amazed at how quickly the Israelites would turn their backs on God. This nation saw miracle after miracle and you would think that being confronted with the power of God on so many occasions, the fear of God would remain. It did not! The arrogance of those who turn their heads from following God is truly bewildering.

It makes no sense, but our rebellious hearts are not persuaded to remain faithful by seeing visible manifestations of the power of God in this world.

Even after more than 50 years of walking with Jesus I am regularly tempted to take a step on another path. I, like the Israelites can tell you of times when the miraculous power of God was the only explanation for a healing, an amazing co-incidence, or any number of circumstances beyond human reason. But even when you stand in the shadow of a miracle, their is a voice that screams "Don't trust God!"

That is the voice of the Enemy of God who cares not how many miracles you have seen. As you grow older in Christ let your ears become deaf to the voice of Satan. Keep your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and watch the feet of Jesus as you walk, not the path. Don't stop and look around to see where you are. Just keep walking with Jesus. Then one day when He stops you will look up and find yourself in Heaven.

Turn Back Again!

2012-01-01T03:56:00.002-05:00

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Everyone in Israel should then know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, even though you put him to death on a cross.

When the people heard this, they were very upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Friends, what shall we do?”

Peter said, “Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit.

This promise is for you and your children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live.”

Peter told them many other things as well. Then he said, “I beg you to save yourselves from what will happen to all these evil people.” On that day about three thousand believed his message and were baptized.

Acts 2:36-41

Jesus said that we should all be like little children. So when do little children turn away from God? I believe it is when they like Adam and Eve ignore the will of God and choose to go their own way. Every child eventually steps up to the tree of the knowledge good and evil and tastes the fruit. Jesus is the only man who ever lived who did not follow in the steps of Adam and Eve.

We all inherit the nature of our father. Our father Adam had a nature that was given over to sin. He chose the fulfillment of his own desires over the will of God in his life and we all do the same. The Bible clearly says that "all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God."

When I make my resolutions to do better this year than I did the last and determine to be strong and keep myself from sin, I am dreaming. There is only one way I can keep myself from falling into the old trap of sin that keeps holding me in it's grip. That way is Jesus Himself. Only Jesus can impart to me the nature of my Father who knows no sin!

Do I need to turn back to God only once in my life? Oh, no I need to turn back to God at least once a day and often it is many times each day that my heart takes a step in the wrong direction.

"Lord once again today, immerse me in Your will and drown me in Your Love and keep me close to You. Amen."

Shroud of Turin

2011-12-31T05:11:00.002-05:00

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“On Sunday morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

She ran to Simon Peter and to Jesus’ favorite disciple and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him.”

Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. They ran side by side, until the other disciple ran faster than Peter and got there first.

He bent over and saw the strips of linen cloth lying inside the tomb, but he did not go in.

When Simon Peter got there, he went into the tomb and saw the strips of cloth. He also saw the piece of cloth that had been used to cover Jesus’ face. It was rolled up and in a place by itself.”

John 20:1-7

The Shroud of Turin is still an unresolved mystery. The claims that it is the burial cloth of Jesus and that the image on the Shroud is that of Jesus have not been definitively proven or debunked. Some years ago carbon dating was used on the Shroud and it was thought that those tests proved that the Shroud of Turin was not real. Since then apparent flaws in those tests puts the Shroud back into the realm of the unknown.

Is it possible that the image on that cloth is Jesus' image burned on to the cloth on the first resurrection morning? Of course it is possible. The Bible specifically mentions the cloth. After the resurrection who would have tossed it out?

The resurrected Jesus may or may not have burned His likeness on the burial cloth, but when you meet Him, two thousand years later, Jesus burns His image on your life! When others look at you, they no longer see the man you used to be, but they see the resurrected Christ. It is a miracle far greater than the Shroud of Turin.

“Weapon of Mass Construction”

2011-12-30T03:55:00.002-05:00

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“We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so that his Son would be the first of many children. God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them.”

Romans 8:28-30

There is a "weapon of mass construction" that is banned by Satan and his minions. That weapon restores relationships, builds bridges between broken lives and establishes an eternal relationship between you and God Himself. The weapon is love! Love is an irresistible force that races through the hearts of men and leaves peace in it's wake.

Jesus told us to love our enemies. That means to aim and fire the most potent weapon of all directly at your enemies. They cannot withstand the impact of love. When you love your enemies, enemies become "loved ones."

So, when you love God is it any wonder that God responds with "everything working together for good in your life?" God is not your enemy, but loving God is the most powerful and amazing thing you can do with Him. Here is the scene, God, who is love, creates a human being who then loves Him back. It may be the only way that God can feel for Himself what He gives to all of us!

When you love God, He is blessed beyond our imagination.

So here is what you do with the weapon of mass construction. You destroy your enemies by loving them and you bless God by loving Him.

I know it's a lot to do in one day, but I know you can do it today and every day for the rest of your life!

Release the Dove!

2011-12-29T04:42:00.002-05:00

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Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.

Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.
Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:4-8

When do you worry? The answer to that is simple. You worry about something when you are uncertain of the eventual outcome. To worry about a situation means you have no assurance of where it will lead or how it will end. When you drop a rock from the top of a building you do not worry about whether or not it will hit the ground. When you release a dove from the same roof you can easily worry about where the dove will go.

So why does God not want His children to worry. As a child of God, when you worry about anything or everything you proclaim to everyone around you that you are not trusting God. That is the sin of worry.

Without Jesus in your life you would never let go of the Dove of Peace because you would have no assurance that it would ever come back to your life. With Jesus you can release the Dove of Peace and know that Jesus can control every flap of it's wings. And you can trust that it will come back at just the right time.

That's why a Christian doesn't need to fret and worry over becoming rich. He already is rich because of Jesus.

When you worry you light up the billboard of your life which says, "Jesus, today I am not going to trust You." Those billboards are all over town and sad but true you will see the faces of many followers of Jesus on them.

Today, take down all the signs that tell the world you don't trust Jesus. Trust Him with all your heart and let worry be for those who don't know the Creator of all the Universe!

Who Are You God?

2011-12-28T04:00:00.002-05:00

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“Rip the heavens apart! Come down, Lord; make the mountains tremble.

Be a spark that starts a fire causing water to boil. Then your enemies will know who you are; all nations will tremble because you are nearby.

Your fearsome deeds have completely amazed us; even the mountains shake when you come down.

You are the only God ever seen or heard of who works miracles for his followers.”

Isaiah 64:1-4

When I was a little boy I believed that my father was the best man who had ever lived. To me he was the smartest, strongest, most reliable, most respectable, etc. etc. etc!

A father is a human example of what God is like. A good father gives his children lots of insight into the nature of God Almighty. That's why Satan fights so hard to take fathers away from their children. An absent father can't show his children what God is like. And if you have never known your human father it is quite easy to reject any relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Why did God create little children with the almost inevitable perspective of thinking more highly of their father than they should? I think it is simply good practice for how you should see your Heavenly Father when you meet Him. It is impossible to imagine some great thing about God that is not true. Even more than you can think is true about God. There is no being in all of eternal history that even comes close to the Greatness of God. God is not the pinnacle of existence, God created existence. God not only knows every answer, He gave men the ability to ask the questions.

God is a bottomless ocean of truth. The deeper you go, the more you see and know that there is no limit to the truth of God.

If you lived with God for an eternity, every day you would see something new and majestically glorious about Him. He is the Wonder of Wonders! When God described Himself to Moses He called Himself "I AM!" Those words "I am" are the first two words of an infinite sentence describing the Almighty!

"Lord God, today please show me one more thing about who You are! Amen!"

Love is What You Do!

2011-12-27T03:38:00.002-05:00

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“We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don’t know God won’t listen to us. That is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies.
My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God’s children, and we know him. God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.”

1 John 4:6-10

If there is one word in the English language that is overused and rarely understood it is the word LOVE! A little child, like a trained parrot says "I love you" to his mother, but knows nothing of what love is all about. The word "love" is used to describe candy, ice cream, swimming, movies, birthday parties and Christmas gifts. Love is not and has never been our desire for a thing or a certain pleasure. It is not the desire that is love, but it is rather our willingness to give ourselves up for it. So it is true that when you give yourself to the sordid pleasures of this world you are loving the world and things in the world. But this kind of love will end in death!

When a couple enters in to marriage, their love is defined not by what they receive from the other, but what by what they give of themselves to the other person. Love is not measured by how you feel. It is only measured by what you do. Love is easy to say and hard to do!

How does someone love God? Learning to speak and sing the Words of love toward God does not mean that you love Him. Saying "I love you Jesus" can come from the lips of a man or woman who has no real love for Jesus at all. Loving God means that we no longer give ourselves over to the pleasures of this world and it means that we daily give ourselves to Christ.

Look today for an evidence in your own life that demonstrates that you love Jesus Christ. What are you today going to do for Him that is not for your pleasure or personal fulfillment, but for His?

Remember love is not what you say, love is what you do!

Ready to Rejoice!

2011-12-26T03:30:00.002-05:00

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“God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.

You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while.

Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.”

1 Peter 1:4-7

If you are still alive on the day that Jesus returns, what will you be doing? Of course, you can't answer that question because you don't know when He will come, and no one does. But it will be just as in the days of Sodom when men and women were going about their normal business and then "The End Came!" There was no warning for anyone except Lot and his family. Lot was warned to take his family and leave Sodom so that they would escape the destruction that was soon to come.

Here is a challenge. Live one day as if Jesus were coming before the day ends. Let everything you set your hand to or your mind be an activity or thought of which you would not be ashamed if Jesus returned at that moment! There are many thoughts and attitudes that you would reject because of how embarrassed you would be if Jesus returned while you were mired in such thinking. You would avoid every thought except those that were pure and holy. Your every action would be helpful to others, not hurtful.

Now for the greater challenge, but the one that Jesus wants each of His followers to accept. Live everyday for the rest of your life as if Jesus were returning before that day ends. Don't go back and take another bite of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Make no plans for and avoid every opportunity for sin in your life. Determine in your heart that Jesus will be Lord of every minute of every day that you have left in your life.

Then when Jesus returns you will have no shame and you will be ready to rejoice!

Finish Carpenter!

2011-12-25T05:33:00.004-05:00

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Christ is exactly like God, who cannot be seen.
He is the first-born Son,
superior to all creation.

Everything was created by him, everything in heaven
and on earth,
everything seen and unseen,
including all forces
and powers,
and all rulers
and authorities.
All things were created
by God’s Son,
and everything was made
for him.

God’s Son was before all else, and by him everything
is held together.

He is the head of his body, which is the church.
He is the very beginning,
the first to be raised
from death,
so that he would be
above all others.

God himself was pleased to live fully in his Son.

And God was pleased for him to make peace
by sacrificing his blood
on the cross,
so that all beings in heaven
and on earth
would be brought back to God.

Colossians 1:15-20

The value of anything increases when it is hand made and custom made. That means, whatever it is, it is a "one of a kind" creation. When a bride to be goes to a seamstress instead of a bridal shop for her wedding dress, she can be certain that it will be like no other dress.

Whether it is a seamstress, a wood carver, an artist, or a builder of fine homes, you can see the nature and character of the craftsman by looking at the creation.

When you think about Jesus Christ there are many images that come to mind, baby in a manger, miracle worker, dying on a Cross, returning King, but we often ignore the fact that Jesus is the Creator Himself! Everything was created by Jesus and for Jesus. The Master Craftsman put His hand to creating the cosmos and everything in it. Each galaxy, star and planet was personally designed and build by Jesus Christ. But when it came to the Earth Jesus did not leave it empty. Just look around you and see what Jesus did as a "Finish Carpenter."

Even snowflakes declare the Glory of Jesus because He makes each one different from the others. Snowflakes that look alike are not the same just as identical twins are unique at the most basic level.

Like everything else in the universe you were handcrafted by Jesus Christ. He created you for His own purposes and when you were lost because of sin, Jesus came and redeemed His own creation.

Human beings were created with a most amazing characteristic. Free will means that you can choose to let Jesus put the finishing touches on your life and make you into the most valuable in all creation. He will not force you, and He will not finish your life unless you allow Him to do so. Don't wait. It is time to let Jesus complete your life and make you ready for Eternity!

God’s Gift List!

2011-12-24T04:36:00.002-05:00

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“Everything will soon come to an end. So be serious and be sensible enough to pray.

Most important of all, you must sincerely love each other, because love wipes away many sins.

Welcome people into your home and don’t grumble about it. Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well. If you have the gift of speaking, preach God’s message. If you have the gift of helping others, do it with the strength that God supplies. Everything should be done in a way that will bring honor to God because of Jesus Christ, who is glorious and powerful forever. Amen.”

1 Peter 4:7-11

Did you know that you are on God's Gift List? If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, God has given you a gift to be used in the service of others. That is really an incredible thought.

When we give a gift to someone we love, it is easy to give them something that they don't need and maybe don't want. But when God gives a gift to one of His children it is just what they need and it is the perfect tool for using in service to other people.

When you pray and ask God to give you something, is that something simply a blessing for you, or do you ask Him to give you something that will enable you to bless others? Those are His best gifts.

When it comes to the gifts that God has given us it is easy for us to simply ignore them, leave them wrapped up in pretty paper and never even open them. Of course most of us open the gifts from God, see what they are and then leave them on the shelf or in the closet. You are not a farmer because you someone gives you a tractor, and you are not a servant of others because God has given you a special gift to use in helping other people.

If you have never opened the gift that God has given you, then stop everything else and take off the ribbon and pretty paper and see what is your Gift from God! If you know what the Gift is but have stored it away for safe keeping, then go get it, dust it off and put it to work in the service of others!

If you look and find that you have no Gift from God, then stop looking for the Gift and turn your heart to the Great Giver! Jesus Christ wants to give you everything you need to live this life here on earth and also for Eternity! When you turn your heart to Jesus you will find that Jesus Himself is the Greatest Gift of all!

The Asphalt Standard!

2011-12-23T04:40:00.002-05:00

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You were rescued from the useless way of life that you learned from your ancestors. But you know that you were not rescued by such things as silver or gold that don’t last forever. You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb. Christ was chosen even before the world was created, but because of you, he did not come until these last days.

And when he did come, it was to lead you to have faith in God, who raised him from death and honored him in a glorious way. That’s why you have put your faith and hope in God.

1 Peter 1:18-21

How "well to do" was Jesus? Did Jesus have money or was He a poor man? To me it seems bazaar that anyone would even entertain the thought of whether or not Jesus had access to money. But those who value greatly silver and gold often look for evidence of Jesus' financial standing. The fact that the soldiers gambled for his clothes means they were not worthless rags. And some remind us of the gold, frankincense and myrrh that the wise men brought to Joseph and Mary at His birth.

Really it is silly to even think about material things and the access Jesus had to them. Remember, Jesus created all things and He had and has access to it all. Jesus can say the word and the world economy will soar or He can with one thought bring it all down.

Jesus had access to everything including innumerable angels who could have rescued Him from the Cross, but we would have been left to perish for eternity.

The Gold Standard here on earth would be the Asphalt Standard in Heaven. Gold is used in Heaven for paving the streets.

If you are a follower of Jesus, don't measure your wealth by how much asphalt you have!

The Ultimate White Noise!

2011-12-22T02:44:00.002-05:00

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“When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. There with the lampstands was someone who seemed to be the Son of Man. He was wearing a robe that reached down to his feet, and a gold cloth was wrapped around his chest. His head and his hair were white as wool or snow, and his eyes looked like flames of fire. His feet were glowing like bronze being heated in a furnace, and his voice sounded like the roar of a waterfall.”

Revelation 1:12-15

If you want to hear the roar of a waterfall I would recommend Niagara Falls either in New York or across the border in Canada. If you get close enough to the falls the sound is totally overwhelming. You can talk to someone standing next to you, but you can't do that without deliberate effort.

The voice of Jesus sounds like the roar of a waterfall. The roar of a waterfall is not like the roar of a lion. It is not threatening and it does not bring fear. Instead the roar of a waterfall may be loud, but it is peaceful.

I have a constant ringing in my ears. One of the best ways for me to go to sleep is to listen to white noise, which of course sounds like a waterfall. White noise covers the annoying noise from everywhere else.

The voice of Jesus sounds like a waterfall and is the ultimate White Noise! When you are listening to Jesus and you focus on His voice all of the threatening sounds of this world and even Satan himself are covered by the beauty of the sound of the voice of Jesus.

A little baby quickly learns his mother's voice and is soothed by the sound of it. Learn the Voice of Jesus and let His voice bring peace to your troubled soul!

"Lord, let me hear Your voice today. May the roar of Your voice bring me peace. Cover the voices of the world and of the Enemy with the beautiful sound of Your Words! Let the waterfall of Your Words wash over my soul and put me at rest! Amen!"

His Grace is Still Amazing!

2011-12-21T03:43:00.002-05:00

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What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?

Romans 8:31-35

I don't fly very much but a good friend of mine flies many times a year. I had the blessing of flying with him on a very long journey once and discovered that being with my friend opened all kinds of doors of opportunity at airports around the world. When he said "he's with me" I was ushered in to lots of world class comforts on our trip.

The words "he's with me" are the very ones that Jesus speaks to God about my life. The discussion is not about how badly I have messed up my life. There is no mention of my sin. Jesus simply tells God that I am with Him and the door of Heaven opens to this poor wretch like me!

When I pray the Holy Spirit in me helps me pray as I should and Jesus stands next to God as my advocate.

There was a song many years ago that said, "Jesus is my lawyer in Heaven." Jesus though is a very different lawyer. He doesn't convince the Judge that you didn't do the crime. Jesus confesses the guilt of His client, but reminds the Judge that He has already suffered the penalty for the crime!

Imagine that you go in to your bank to make a payment on your very large loan and the teller says this: "Your debt is paid in full. You need not make any more payments on it." How shocked would you be?

That is what Jesus says when you come to Him and make Him Lord of your life. When you turn your heart over to Jesus He says, "Your debt, created by your sin is paid in full and you need not make any more payments on it!"

That's why hundreds of years ago a slave trader who met Jesus Christ said that His Grace was Amazing. I once was lost but now I'm found was blind, but now I see and His Grace is still Amazing!

Are You Still Wearing Your Crown?

2011-12-20T04:58:00.002-05:00

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Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come! Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.

Revelation 4:4-11

The highest place of honor imaginable would be to be one of the twenty-four elders, sitting on thrones around the throne of God and wearing white robes. They have crowns of gold on their heads. Who are these elders? Where did they come from? Perhaps they have always been there and didn't come from anywhere else. Do they have names? If we go to heaven will we meet them someday? The answers to those questions and many more are still waiting for us in Heaven.

But this I know. These most honored in all the cosmos threw their crowns down at the feet of the One who sits on the Throne! They took the greatest honor that anyone could ever have and gave it to the Lord.

These Glorious Beings should be the perfect example for all men. When you receive honor or glory for anything and from anyone, it is time to cast your crown at the feet of Jesus. And don't forget when the elders cast their crowns the Bible says they first fell down. It doesn't say they "got down." It says they "fell down." When you fall you lose control. These elders lost control of themselves and gave their crowns to God.

When Jesus controls your life and you cast all your honor and glory at His feet you become like one of the elders in Revelation 4.

Try this! Go through the memorabilia stored in your attic and see if their are any honors that you have not yet cast at the feet of Jesus. Each of us wants to keep just one small crown of self glorification to wear occasionally. Don't do it. Take off that crown too and fall down at the feet of Jesus!

The Specialness of Jesus!

2011-12-19T04:20:00.002-05:00

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At this time a man named Simeon was living in Jerusalem. Simeon was a good man. He loved God and was waiting for God to save the people of Israel. God’s Spirit came to him and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord.

When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to do what the Law of Moses says should be done for a new baby, the Spirit told Simeon to go into the temple. Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God,

“Lord, I am your servant, and now I can die in peace, because you have kept your promise to me.

With my own eyes I have seen what you have done to save your people,

Luke 2:25-30

The Baby Jesus must have looked like every other baby. Of all the people that saw Him that day in the temple only Simeon and a prophetess named Anna saw the specialness of Jesus. Everyone else saw Jesus as an ordinary baby.

That same thing happened for the rest of the life of Jesus as well. Those who had hearts turned toward God saw Jesus as someone who was not at all like everyone else!

But those whose hearts were closed to God saw Jesus as a good man, maybe even a great man, but certainly not the Savior of the world.

There is another way to see Jesus. That is the way King Herod saw the Baby. Herod saw Jesus as a threat and tried to destroy Him while Jesus was still a child.

There are those today who still declare war on Jesus and His followers. These are the people who want to remove any vestige of the influence of Jesus in our lives and who want to put the followers of Jesus on a cross as well.

Remember God sent Jesus because He loved the world and it was love that held Jesus on the Cross. Jesus defeated His enemies with the weapon of love and that is how you can defeat those who set themselves against you! When you love a brother you share the wonder of heaven on earth, but when you love an enemy you take away his ability to steal your joy!

Remember Jesus is not just a Baby on Christmas. The wonder of Jesus still fills the earth through those who love Him! Jesus wants you to join with us in loving Him!

Jesus Moments!

2011-12-18T04:44:00.002-05:00

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“Christ did not have to offer himself many times. He wasn’t like a high priest who goes into the most holy place each year to offer the blood of an animal.

If he had offered himself every year, he would have suffered many times since the creation of the world. But instead, near the end of time he offered himself once and for all, so that he could be a sacrifice that does away with sin. We die only once, and then we are judged.

So Christ died only once to take away the sins of many people. But when he comes again, it will not be to take away sin. He will come to save everyone who is waiting for him.”

Hebrews 9:25-28

If Jesus had healed one more person, or one less person while He walked on this earth His mission would not have been changed. When Jesus died on the Cross and then rose to life again He accomplished the purpose for which He came to earth. I am not minimizing the importance of making water into wine or healing the sick and raising the dead, but those displays of God's power were not the central purpose of the incarnation. Jesus was born to die, and to die on the Cross to do away with sin!

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, ask yourself this question. What is the purpose for which God created me? Why was I born and how can I fulfill that purpose that God has for my life?

Of course, God created you to be His child and to live with Him forever. This life is where and how you prepare for eternity. But occasionally as a Christian I see God's specific will for a moment in time. He gives me a word to speak, or a thought to think, or an act of kindness to perform. For me those are "Jesus moments." If I were Jesus I am doing exactly what Jesus would have done as He was led along by His Father!

My goal in this life is for my Jesus moments to become Jesus hours and then Jesus days and finally a Jesus life! A little boy may look a lot like his father, but a grown man can remind everyone of his father all of the time.

"Lord, show me Your plans for my walk with You today. May every step I take, every word I speak and every thought I think be pleasing to You and a blessing to those around me!"

Broken Glass!

2011-12-16T04:41:00.002-05:00

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“God has turned my life sour.

He made me eat gravel and rubbed me in the dirt.

I cannot find peace or remember happiness.

I tell myself, “I am finished! I can’t count on the Lord to do anything for me.”

Just thinking of my troubles and my lonely wandering
makes me miserable.

That’s all I ever think about, and I am depressed.

Then I remember something that fills me with hope.

The Lord’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful,
we would have been destroyed.

The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning.

Deep in my heart I say, “The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!”

The Lord is kind to everyone who trusts and obeys him.”

Lamentations 3:15-25

Troubles for men have been going on for thousands of years. These words of the Prophet Jeremiah were written about 2,500 years ago.

Just yesterday I heard a contemporary sufferer say, "Life is like walking on broken glass to your own grave." Those words would have fit in perfectly in the book of Lamentations.

So life goes on, but suffering goes on as well. Life is also a maze with no escape from the broken glass. The march to your grave is without hope until the Trinity of God steps into your life and puts shoes on your feet and guides you through the maze of this life! When you depend on God, He puts His permanent mark on your heart and orders your steps to display His beauty to everyone around you.

If you have wanted God to just walk up to you and say, "Hello, I am God and it is nice to meet you," then remember the many times that He has done just that and you didn't recognize Him. God doesn't come to you with claims of His reality. You would never believe Him if He did. God comes to you with every breath you take and every sunrise you see. God comes every time you feel love.

The next time God comes to you, just reach out to Him and grab His hand. With your hand in the Hand of God, never let go!

Never Say Amen!

2011-12-15T03:30:00.002-05:00

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I, the Lord, also promise you a terrible shortage,
but not of food and water.
You will hunger and thirst
to hear my message.

You will search everywhere— from north to south,
from east to west.
You will go all over the earth,
seeking a message
from me, the Lord. But you won’t find one.

Your beautiful young women and your young men
will faint from thirst.

Amos 8:11-13

When the love letters stop flowing between a young couple who are separated by some practical necessity of life or maybe even war, you know that trouble is not far away. A loving relationship demands continual communication. Likewise a loving relationship between a man and his God is nurtured by prayer and Words from God. When we cease to pray we are like the young wife who gives her husband "the silent treatment." She just doesn't share anything with him and the immediate impact on their relationship is very uncomfortable.

These verses in Amos talk about a time when God stops talking to us. Amos compares it to a time of famine without food or water. The Word of God sustains our lives and without it we will soon be unable to continue our existence here on this earth. There is a point at which a long fast becomes the first stage of starvation. Fasting is a good thing, starvation is not!

There are times when we are justifiably criticized for talking too much. But I have never met a person who prayed too much. In fact, God's Word tells us to "pray without ceasing." I suppose that would mean that we would never say "Amen!" Listen for God's Word in the midst of your prayers to Him.

Seek the Lord when His Word floods the land and when there is a famine of the Word of God. Let your heart be set on knowing God and never, never, never stop praying!

Hateful Neighbors!

2011-12-14T04:24:00.002-05:00

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The Lord God said: Someday I will gather the people of Israel from the nations where they are now scattered, and every nation will see that I am holy. The Israelites will once again live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob.

They will be safe and will build houses and plant vineyards. They will no longer be in danger, because I will punish their hateful neighbors. Israel will know that I am the Lord their God.

Ezekiel 28:25-26

About 600 years before Jesus was born the prophet Ezekiel spoke of a time when the people of Israel would be gathered from around the world and brought back to the land of Israel. I was two years old when that very thing happened. The year was 1948 and Israel became a nation once again!

The last part of Ezekiel's prophecy says that Israel's hateful neighbor's will be punished which will remove the danger. That part has not happened yet. So every God fearing person waits for God Himself to remove the threat from Israel's neighbors. Then Israel will know that God is their Lord! What they do with that knowledge is yet to be seen.

How has God protected you in your life? Of course, no one can fully answer that question because no one knows how God works in the life of any man. But you can ask God to show you how He is working for your protection. Every time I see God working for my best interests I am encouraged to trust Him more.

"Lord God, show me your protection today. Let me see the angels sent out to work on my behalf and let me know that You take care of me as Your child. Then even though the storms may rage about me and my hateful neighbors threaten, I will rest peacefully in Your love! Amen."

The Red Rope!

2011-12-13T03:39:00.002-05:00

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Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, and one of the windows in her house faced outside the wall. She gave the spies a rope, showed them the window, and said, “Use this rope to let yourselves down to the ground outside the wall.

Then hide in the hills. The men who are looking for you won’t be able to find you there. They’ll give up and come back after a few days, and you can be on your way.”

The spies said: You made us promise to let you and your family live. We will keep our promise, but you can’t tell anyone why we were here. You must tie this red rope on your window when we attack, and your father and mother, your brothers, and everyone else in your family must be here with you. We’ll take the blame if anyone who stays in this house gets hurt. But anyone who leaves your house will be killed, and it won’t be our fault.

“I’ll do exactly what you said,” Rahab promised. Then she sent them on their way and tied the red rope to the window.

Joshua 2:15-21

First there was the rainbow, then the blood on the door post as the Children of Israel prepared to leave Egypt and then the Red Rope in Rahab's window.

Rahab had received the promise that everyone in her house would be saved from death when the city of Jericho was destroyed. There were two things she had to do. First she had to keep quiet about the coming attack and secondly she had to hang a Red Rope in her window. Just like the blood on the doorpost the Red Rope let those who were sent to destroy know that this house was to be spared. Rahab could have waited until the attack was imminent to hang the rope in the window, but she didn't. As soon as the spies left her house she hung the Red Rope in her window.

Do you have a Red Rope hanging from your window? Is there a visible sign that you have heard the promise of God for your life?

Maybe it would be a good idea for followers of Jesus to hang a Red Rope from their windows today as a reminder of how we are going to escape the destruction that is sure to come on this world.

The spies escaped from Jericho using a rope from Rahab's window and we will escape from this life using a rope stained with the Red Blood of Jesus Christ.

Dress Code for Heaven!

2011-12-12T03:27:00.002-05:00

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Christ Jesus our Lord was very kind to me. He has greatly blessed my life with faith and love just like his own.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all! But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:14-16

Is your life so bad that you are, for Jesus the only "hopeless case?" Or is your life "almost perfect in every way" and surely you don't need the forgiveness that Jesus offers to everyone who would believe in Him?

"All Dogs" may go to Heaven, but all people do not. Without the cleansing power of the Blood of Jesus one tiny spot of sin will keep you out of Heaven forever! And no one is completely clean without the sacrifice of Jesus. It doesn't matter how bad you have been or how good you have lived your life. Without the Blood of Jesus your eternal dwelling place will begin with an "H" but it will not be Heaven!

So forget about saying that you are too wicked to be saved or too good to need it. The power of Jesus is greater than your sin.

Some restaurants used to have dress codes. If you were not in formal attire you would not be allowed to enter. There is still a dress code for Heaven. If you are not bathed in the cleansing Blood of Jesus and dressed in His righteousness you cannot enter. There are no exceptions. No one will enter Heaven by any other means.

The time is short. Get cleaned up, dressed and ready to go. Jesus is ready and will soon return for those who are clean and wearing His righteousness!

Blast Off!

2011-12-11T03:50:00.002-05:00

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My friends, we want you to understand how it will be for those followers who have already died. Then you won’t grieve over them and be like people who don’t have any hope. We believe that Jesus died and was raised to life. We also believe that when God brings Jesus back again, he will bring with him all who had faith in Jesus before they died.

Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won’t go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died.
With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever.

Encourage each other with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Are you encouraged when you hear about the return of Jesus Christ? Does the thought of the shout of the chief angel and the blast of God's trumpet bring chill bumps to your skin or bathe your whole being in terror? Are you at peace with your Creator or are you still trying to hide from Him like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden?

The return of Jesus Christ is not a fairy tale like Old St. Nick or the Easter Bunny. Jesus is not a fun fictional character. Jesus is the awesomely real Son of God who came to this earth, returned to Heaven and will come again!

Everyone who has or ever had faith in Jesus will be there when He returns. Those who have already died will be with Jesus when He comes back! Then those who love Jesus will be taken up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the sky! All of those who followed Jesus will be with Him forever! It will be the blast off of Eternal Bliss with Jesus. There has never been and will never be a ride like this one.

One of Satan's greatest lies is that sin is fun. That is like saying "You can have the time of your life in a garbage dump. Eat, play, live and enjoy life romping through the trash." It is all a lie, but the invitation to follow Jesus and live in peace with Him throughout Eternity is all the truth!

Don't wait, that Day will soon be here!

Lost and Found!

2011-12-10T03:23:00.002-05:00

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Jesus also told them another story:
Once a man had two sons.

The younger son said to his father, “Give me my share of the property.” So the father divided his property between his two sons.
Not long after that, the younger son packed up everything he owned and left for a foreign country, where he wasted all his money in wild living.

Finally, he came to his senses and said, “My father’s workers have plenty to eat, and here I am, starving to death! I will go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you.

I am no longer good enough to be called your son. Treat me like one of your workers.’ ”

The younger son got up and started back to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him.

The son said, “Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. I am no longer good enough to be called your son.”
But his father said to the servants, “Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate.

This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found.” And they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:11-13 and 17-24

The "Lost and found" department in a business, school, airport or otherwise populated establishment should have a new name. It should be called the "Lost and yet to be found" department. When you look in the lost and found what you see is a lot of stuff that we all know is lost, but it is not yet found. When the owner comes and identifies the lost item as his or hers, then it can be said to be "lost and found."

Millions of people in this world are sitting quietly in the "lost and found!" They know they are lost, but have yet to be found. People in the "lost and found" of this world are not like things in the "lost and found." Things have no choice in the matter. When the owner finds a lost coin it is reunited with its owner. People who are lost do have a choice. Jesus stands at the counter of the "lost and found" department and waits for you to choose to be found. He will not reclaim you unless you will it so. He will not impose His will on yours. But Jesus will stand for years, patiently and lovingly waiting for one loving glance from you, ready to bring you completely to His heart.

This life is a love story and Jesus is asking you and me to fall deeply in love with Him. After years of being religious, you look up and there is Jesus wanting you to embrace Him with your whole heart.

Here are the words that will change everything: "JESUS I AM READY TO BE FOUND."

Weapon of Love!

2011-12-09T04:57:00.002-05:00

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You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don’t be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn’t the end. Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes.

But this is just the beginning of troubles. You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations. Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved.

Matthew 24:6-13

The first victim when evil "rears its ugly head" in any relationship is love. When a man gives himself over to evil his ability to love others is greatly diminished and ultimately destroyed. Evil and Love cannot live together in your heart peacefully. Either Love will leave and your heart will begin to beat with evil thoughts followed by actions, or Evil will be driven out by Love.

When Jesus told His followers that they must become like little children I believe He was pointing to a profound truth. Little children have not yet stepped into the cesspool of evil and they have not learned to hate! I remember as a very small boy thinking that "I love everybody!"

Love is a choice and you can choose to love even your enemies. The greatest personal evidence that you are a follower of Jesus is when you look down from your cross and pray for those who put you there, "Father forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing!" Then your love becomes a weapon of mass destruction. Your love will massively destroy evil! Then your own heart will begin to feel the joy that Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary.

When you love me and I know that you love me, then I can listen to anything you say that is prompted by that love. When you don't love me and I know that you don't love me, I cannot hear what you say to me, even if it is obviously true.

So if you are having trouble telling people about Jesus Christ, here is the secret. Plow the ground with love before you plant the seed of the Gospel. When you truly love a man, his heart will open to the things you have to say. Planting a seed on unplowed ground will produce little if anything of a harvest.

Satan is not afraid of those who hate men and women who are lost. When you hate evil men you pose no threat to their status with Hell. But when you love those who don't love you, you are literally "armed and dangerous."

If you want to do battle for Jesus today, throw out all the hate from your heart and make sure that your weapon of love is clean and ready to fire!

It May Be Today!

2011-12-08T04:03:00.002-05:00

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From the throne a voice said, “If you worship and fear our God, give praise to him, no matter who you are.”

Then I heard what seemed to be a large crowd that sounded like a roaring flood and loud thunder all mixed together. They were saying, “Praise the Lord! Our Lord God All-Powerful now rules as king.

So we will be glad and happy and give him praise. The wedding day of the Lamb is here, and his bride is ready.

Revelation 19:5-7

What does a bride have to do to get ready for the wedding? The list can be very long or it can be relatively short, but there is always a list of "Things to do" before the wedding day. There are parties, showers, gifts, reception plans and of course the dress. I suppose the dress is at the top of the preparation list. If everything else is perfect and the dress is not right it would certainly be a disappointment if not an outright embarrassment.

If you are a Christian, do you have list of things to do in preparation for the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb?" Christians are not just invited to attend the wedding of Jesus and His Bride, they are His Bride! Just saying those words really takes my breath away. What God has planned for those who give themselves to Jesus is beyond amazing. It is truly incomprehensible!

The Gospel is not about sinners avoiding Hell. The message of the Gospel is that sinners can be cleaned by the Blood of Jesus and dressed in His righteousness to stand by His side like a Groom does with his Bride!

The wedding day of Christ and His Bride may come any day now, and without warning. You must be ready for Him to come and take you to the Wedding even today. There are plenty of signs that the Day of the Lord will be soon, very soon. But if there weren't any signs of His coming we must be ready to be ushered into His presence. That day will come when we leave this life through death or when Jesus comes to take His whole Bride to Heaven for the Wedding.

The word for today is: BE READY TO GO WHEN JESUS COMES! It may be today!

Trust and Obey!

2011-12-07T03:09:00.002-05:00

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“I know everything you have done. And I have placed before you an open door that no one can close. You were not very strong, but you obeyed my message and did not deny that you are my followers.

Now you will see what I will do with those people who belong to Satan’s group. They claim to be God’s people, but they are liars. I will make them come and kneel down at your feet. Then they will know that I love you.

You obeyed my message and endured. So I will protect you from the time of testing that everyone in all the world must go through.”

Revelation 3:8-10

It starts when a little boy learns to make a fist and hold his arm up so you can see his muscles. Pride in your own strength is a central flaw in fallen man. All through life itself we compete with other men to find out who is the strongest, best and brightest. Every athletic contest is based on the desire for glory. Try telling the baseball players in the World Series that it is not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.

As a follower of Jesus Christ the victory comes not from your own strength. In fact, the victors are not stronger than the losers. Those that win are more obedient!

There is an old church song that says, "Trust and Obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to Trust and Obey." Do you have faith in Jesus and do you do what He tells you to do? If you have trust in Jesus and obey Him when you hear His voice there is nothing else for which you need to strive.

If you understand perfectly every doctrine of scripture but don't trust Him and obey, you will miss the mark! If you know little of the depths of theology but you trust Jesus and obey His voice, you will hear the words "Well Done!"

"Lord show me one way that I am not trusting You. And show me one thing I need to do to obey You more perfectly. And Lord give me the strength to Trust and Obey You today!"

Love Not a Word!

2011-12-06T02:49:00.003-05:00

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“We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That’s why we must give our lives for each other. If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God.

Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.”

1 John 3:16-18

Love is not just a word. Love is an act performed for the good of another person. The true meaning of two people being in love is that they both live their lives for the good of the other person. It is more than a "mutual admiration society," it is rather a mutually beneficial lifestyle. If I love you, I fill my life with actions that benefit you. If you love me, you do the same. And since it is more blessed to give than to receive we are both blessed beyond measure.

Love is not a feeling. When you feel love for someone and do not do loving things for that person, there is no evidence of love and your feeling would be judged to be something other than love.

Jesus loves you! That means that Jesus does things for you every day as an expression of His love. Some are ordinary things, but some are extraordinary. The most visible act of love by Jesus of course was the Cross where He literally died for you and for me. But that was not the end of His loving actions. Today, Jesus wants to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. He wants to provide for you in a way that no one else could!

Yes I do know that Jesus loves me because the Bible tells me so, but there is much more to it than that. I know that Jesus loves me because Jesus brings me flowers and makes my coffee in the morning and does a thousand other things that make me know that He loves me!

If you know Jesus then look today for the little acts of love that He does for you! You will find that there are lots of them. Thank you Jesus!

The Ship of God’s Will!

2011-12-05T03:50:00.002-05:00

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“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

1 John 2:15-17

There are two ships set to sail today and you must get on one of them. The larger ship promises a wonderful trip. There will be plenty of food, fun and entertainment. Every desire you could ever have is touched by something on this ship. This ship is called "The World" and the only problem is that it will end in disaster just like the Titanic. While everything seems just fine, tragedy will come and take everyone to their final destruction.

The other ship is called "The Will of God." It is not as large as "The World" and there is no "all you can eat buffet." Although there is lots of joy and there is peace, fun and entertainment are not promised on this cruise. In fact, the trip will include stormy seas and many times when you think the ship will surely sink. But it does not go down! The end of the ride will not take you back to where you started, but you will safely arrive in Heaven!

"Oh, I'll just stay here at the dock and not get on either ship. Perhaps that would be better." Well the truth is you have no choice. Flood waters are rising and you must get on one ship or the other if you are to survive at all.

Here's where the story gets exciting. If you are already sailing on "The World" there is a rescue boat ready to take you to "The Will of God." The rescue boat is called "The Cross" and Jesus made sure that there is room for everyone in "The Cross."

So if you are in "The World" and want to be in "The Will of God," "The Cross" is ready to take you there and is boarding now!

Blown Away!

2011-12-04T03:30:00.002-05:00

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“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

2 Peter 1:20-21

I am still fascinated when I see a hot air balloon hundreds of feet in the air moving along slowly toward its final resting place for the day. The balloon is totally at the mercy of the breeze. If the wind stops so does the balloon. If the wind moves more rapidly, so does the balloon. If the wind changes direction the balloon changes course as well. There is no way to steer a balloon to go in a direction other than the one the wind is going.

A totally committed follower of Jesus Christ is carried along by the Holy Spirit like a balloon is carried along by the wind. When you submit your life to Jesus, His Spirit sets the direction and pace for your life. You make no moves unless the Spirit moves you. You go only as fast as the Spirit of God is going.

A hot air balloon could be connected to a vehicle on the ground by a long rope or tether and move around against the wind. But the rope would soon get tangled in a wire or tree and the ride would be over, maybe tragically so.

If you are trying to tie yourself to the world below and still be carried along by the Holy Spirit you will find that you will go nowhere and the end will not be pleasant. Let go of whatever is holding you to the world and let the Holy Spirit carry you along to the place where God is leading! I suppose it is a pun, but when you find out where God is taking you in this life you will indeed be "Blown Away" for Jesus!

Love Covered Sins!

2011-12-03T06:14:00.002-05:00

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“The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

1 Peter 4:7-8

God is love and Sin is a direct attack on and contradiction of God. Every sin denies God because God in the flesh never, ever sinned! So when we love each other God rules in the relationship and sin is not simply ignored, it is banished!

When we love each other many sins are covered by that love, even as the love of Jesus covered the sin of all men. Someone said that it was love that held Jesus on the Cross and that is true.

There are lots of foods that can be covered in chocolate. Raisins, pretzels, peanuts and even strawberries are delicious with a coating of chocolate. The love of Jesus doesn't just hide my sin, He covers it. The love of Jesus removes all the venom from my sin and transforms it into something that has no power to condemn.

As the end of all things quickly approaches let us love each other deeply. Then we will do for and to each other what Jesus did for us all.

Never take forgiveness for granted. Remember, the Bible clearly says that there is a sin for which there is no forgiveness. That sin strikes at the root of the relationship and even love cannot cover it.

God planned to send Jesus to die on the Cross from the very beginning. Spend some time today planning how to show your love to someone else. As you love and pray for another you will find the venom of their sin losing it's sting. It is just another way you can be like Jesus!

No Room for Junk!

2011-12-02T04:22:00.002-05:00

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But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, so that somehow I also may be raised to life.

Philippians 3:7-11

Almost 40 years ago I paid more than one hundred dollars for an L.E.D. display calculator that today you could purchase at a dollar store for no more than $2.00! I thought it was amazing. I could see it in the dark. It would add, subtract, multiply and divide. The battery life wasn't great but when you needed to do a little math it was wonderful. It was so great that someone stole it when they broke into my house.

If I still had that calculator today it would be considered a worthless piece of junk or simply a children's toy.

Before a man comes to know Jesus there are many things in his life that he thinks are very valuable. Money, fame, position, power and education are a few of the jewels in the crown of those who don't know Jesus. We work hard every day to fill our resumes and bank accounts with things that make us more honored and revered. But once a man meets Jesus Christ all those crowns are thrown down at the feet of Jesus and replaced by a crown of thorns and suffering like the one Jesus wore.

In some "high end" hotel rooms there are small safes where you can put your valuables while you stay at the hotel.

Pretend that today is the day to inventory the valuables in your life. Pull them out and search the Word of God to see if the thing that you treasure is really worthless! Make room in your heart for the real treasure that Jesus has for you everyday and throw out the junk!

Small Temptations!

2011-12-01T03:27:00.002-05:00

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Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honored above all beings in heaven, and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn’t need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself.

The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God’s promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest forever.

Hebrews 7:26-28

The kid who thinks he is perfect is really an annoyance to other children and even adults. Everyone knows he is not perfect and usually it becomes a game to catch the "self righteous - know it all" in some sin.

What would it have been like to know Jesus as a teenage? Jesus was perfect. In all His years on earth Jesus never committed one sin. That is really mind boggling. Of all the temptations that came to Jesus, He said "no" to everyone of them. Surely, most people who knew Jesus as a boy thought that He too was simply deceiving everyone and in His private thoughts there was sin just like the rest of us.

But Jesus was not "self" righteous. Jesus was righteous! Jesus was not a "know it all." Jesus indeed knew it all!

So you want to be like Jesus. Here is the secret and the difficulty. Being like Jesus means that you say "no" to a temptation when it comes. Frankly, the little temptations are tougher. I have thus far in my life said "no" to every temptation to commit murder, but I have given in to the temptation to hate someone. I may have never robbed a bank, but I sometimes struggle to be completely honest about the small things.

When the disciples fell asleep the night before the crucifixion Jesus asked Peter if he couldn't stay awake just one hour. Here is my goal for today. I desire to stay awake with Jesus for one hour!

"Lord help me to watch with You as the world is turning upside down in preparation for Your return. Help me to win the victory over all temptation, even and maybe especially the "small" ones. I want to live this day as You, Jesus would live it, so I can say about this day like You said about all of Yours, IT IS FINISHED!"

As Loving As God!

2011-11-30T03:46:00.002-05:00

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“I pray that the Lord will guide you to be as loving as God and as patient as Christ.”

2 Thessalonians 3:5

How can anyone ever be as loving as God and as patient as Christ?

It is the ultimate impossible dream! God is love so for me to be as loving as God my whole being must be transformed into love itself. God doesn't love men "because" of anything that anyone has done or could ever do. If I am as loving as God then I send my "rain" on the just and the unjust even as God does. If I am as loving as God then I am the one who looks for ways to express love even to the unloving and unlovely. When I am as loving as God the wake of my passing is either a sweet fragrance or a repulsive odor to those who are lost.

Job is the man who is best known for his patience, but the patience of Christ is far beyond that of Job. Jesus waited until it was the right time to create the earth. We do not know how long that might have been. Jesus waited to come to the earth as a baby to bring salvation to those who would accept Him. And now Jesus waits for just the right moment to return and bring to a conclusion the story of humanity.

So as you set your hand at being as loving as God today remember to be as patient as Christ in waiting to see the results that the power of God working through you can and will do! Amen!

The Last Breakfast!

2011-11-29T03:09:00.002-05:00

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Jesus’ favorite disciple told Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon heard that it was the Lord, he put on the clothes that he had taken off while he was working. Then he jumped into the water.

The boat was only about a hundred yards from shore. So the other disciples stayed in the boat and dragged in the net full of fish.

When the disciples got out of the boat, they saw some bread and a charcoal fire with fish on it. Jesus told his disciples, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”

Simon Peter got back into the boat and dragged the net to shore. In it were one hundred fifty-three large fish, but still the net did not rip.

Jesus said, “Come and eat!” But none of the disciples dared ask who he was. They knew he was the Lord. Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave some of it to his disciples. He did the same with the fish.

John 21:7-13

Books are filled and many sermons preached about Jesus sharing the bread and wine with his disciples the night before He was crucified. I have never heard a sermon or even seen a book about Jesus giving the bread and fish to His disciples that morning by the lake after His resurrection.

Jesus had told the disciples that He was going to make them into "fishers of men." So that morning they had fished all night and caught nothing. Sometimes we cast the net for Jesus and catch nothing. It is not an uncommon experience.

Jesus was on the shore and already had some fish. How did Jesus get these fish? I have no idea. But some men and women come to Jesus without anyone casting a net for them.

When the disciples saw Jesus, He told them where to cast the net. When they did they had more fish than they could drag into the boat. When Jesus directs His followers with a word about where and when to cast the net the harvest is also a large one.

These verses do not explain the "bread and the fish" when Jesus gave it to them for their breakfast. You know they must have remembered the five thousand who were fed bread and fish from a boy's lunch bucket.

Here is the secret! If you want to see great things, then listen for and learn to hear the voice of Jesus. When Jesus tells you where to cast the net soon you will be sharing the catch with Him!

Ready to Quit?

2011-11-28T03:42:00.002-05:00

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If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest.

This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

Have you ever been ready to quit? Maybe it was your job. You are tired of the hassle and the games you have to play to do well. Maybe it is life itself. It just seems too hard to handle. You are overwhelmed by the pressures and problems and don't know where to turn.

Well, you know His name. It is Jesus and He is standing ready to help those who about to give up. Jesus is not a figment of someone's imagination and He not the "religious" icon that most people think He is. Jesus wants to move in to your heart and literally live there with you. Jesus wants to be your constant companion and friend. He will show you things no one else could ever show you and Jesus will give you peace in your life.

When Jesus is in your heart you are like a man with a pocket full of one hundred dollar bills. When you are just "religious" it is nothing but Monopoly money.

People who pretend to have Jesus in their hearts are sadly disappointed when they bring out the Monopoly money and try to buy something with it.

"OK, Lord I'm finished. Everything and everyone else has failed me. I don't know where to turn, but I want to know if You are real. Jesus if You are real, let me know it. Let me see You and touch the truth of what You are all about!"

If you are ready to quit this life, Jesus is ready to help you start a New Life with Him!

Lost Love!

2011-11-27T04:48:00.003-05:00

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“What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?”

Romans 8:31-35

When love is lost and a heart is broken there is pain and a scar unlike any other in this life. You see it is with love that mere human beings touch the essence of God Himself. God is love and when we love each other we take a sip of Heaven and Eternity.

Even those who don't know God know that love is the greatest thing on earth. God created all men and women in His image and in that image we love. We don't have to be taught to love. No young man must be instructed to pursue a young woman to be his wife. It is what we do because of the way God made us!

Remember that the story of Jesus Christ is a love story and you are the object of His love. A man and a woman who are in love are simply dipping their toes in the edge of an ocean which is the love of Christ. And Jesus invites you to jump in and be "over your head" in love with Him. You quickly lose touch with the "reality" of human wisdom and are immersed in the "uncommon sense" of God. It will appear that you have lost your mind and indeed that will be the truth. The mind of Christ will dominate your every thought and action.

When a man and a woman grow apart and love begins to fade, they can restore and renew that love. It is not an easy thing to do, but it can be done.

When your love for Jesus begins to grow weak because of all the things that distract you from your Lord, you can also restore and renew that love. Jesus is waiting right now to hear you say, "I am so sorry that I wandered away from you. Please take me back and let me live in Your love and Your love only. Help me Lord to give myself to and for You even as you gave Yourself for and to me." Amen!

Prayer of Agur!

2011-11-26T05:10:00.002-05:00

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“There are two things, Lord, I want you to do for me
before I die:

Make me absolutely honest and don’t let me be too poor
or too rich. Give me just what I need.

If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you;
if I don’t have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name.”

Proverbs 30:7-9

These words are attributed to a man named Agur son of Jakeh. This prayer of Agur is easy to ignore.

When you hear the words "How can I help you?" from a clerk in a store your response is to quickly get to the point of what you looking for. When God says "How can I help you?" how do you respond?

If God were to show up at your door today and offer to give you whatever you want, what would you say? Would you ask God for new "stuff" or a big bank account? Would you ask Him for health so you can enjoy the new "stuff?"

These words in Proverbs 30 are very wise indeed. The writer asked for two things from God before he dies. "God make me absolutely honest and don't let me be too poor or too rich."

Of all the accolades proclaimed about President Lincoln there is one that tops them all in my opinion. It was simply the nickname "Honest Abe!" The temptation to not always tell the truth is overwhelming to most of us. When you have a headache and are coming down with a cold how do you respond to the question "How are you doing today?" "I'm fine" is not an honest answer. When a vending machine gives you an extra quarter in change what do you do with it? We define a liar as someone who goes at least one step beyond our level of dishonesty.

Before you speak a word today ask yourself this question: Is what I am about to say absolutely honest? Let the words that come out of your mouth today be completely truthful.

The Prayer of Jabez may be more appealing, but don't forget the Bible also includes the Prayer of Agur!

Lazy Fool!

2011-11-25T03:51:00.002-05:00

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I once walked by the field and the vineyard
of a lazy fool.

Thorns and weeds were everywhere,
and the stone wall
had fallen down.

When I saw this, it taught me a lesson:

Sleep a little. Doze a little. Fold your hands
and twiddle your thumbs.

Suddenly poverty hits you and everything is gone!

Proverbs 24:30-34

God wants us to "remember the poor," and it is central to our faith in Him to take care of widows and orphans in their distress. There will always be those whose poverty is no fault of their own.

But what about the poverty of the "lazy fool" who lets the thorns and weeds grow up in his field and vineyard? He is the man who refuses to lift a finger to help himself. The Bible simply says if a man will not work then we should not give him food to eat.

Now let's just slip right past settling in to making judgments about other people to decide whether or not they are lazy and should not be fed. What about me? How do I become spiritually poor (not poor in spirit) because of my own laziness?

I believe God feeds a man spiritually based on the man's willingness to work for Jesus! A man or woman who is spiritually rich and well fed is the one who has been and is being obedient to the leading voice of the Holy Spirit. As a follower of Jesus Christ if you set about to do what He is calling you to do there will be enough of whatever you need to do it! The spiritual pauper is the one who has tuned out the voice of the Holy Spirit and ignores His leadings and warnings!

If you want to become rich in the things of God then listen for His leading today and then obey it! Those who work for God are well fed and never go hungry!

The War is Over!

2011-11-24T04:39:00.002-05:00

Listen to this blog.

No matter how much you know or what plans you make,
you can’t defeat the Lord.

Even if your army has horses ready for battle,
the Lord will always win.

Proverbs 21:30-31

When two of the best professional football teams go head to head for the Superbowl championship there are lots of "odds makers" and people "betting the farm" on one team or the other. For at least two weeks before the game football commentators are flooding the airwaves with the prospects of each team. It becomes an almost non-stop analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each opponent. Then comes the "big day" and in only a few short hours the game is played and it is all over until next year!

The contest between Good and Evil, righteousness and unrighteousness, right and wrong, God and Satan is not like a Superbowl at all. When the Superbowl begins both teams have a least some chance of winning the game. In the game between Good and Evil the winner has already been decided! Evil will not win and it has no chance of winning. Evil was defeated when Jesus went to the Cross and died so that we could live! Going against the righteousness of God is like trying to stop a flood with a dry bath towel. How foolish would that be?

Before the days of instant communication, there were battles that were fought after the war was officially over. The war between Satan and God is over and God won! There are lots of battles still going on, some in your life and mine, but take heart Jesus has won the war! The Words of Jesus "It is finished" were not just something He said on the Cross. Jesus declared the victory and it was done!

In light of all this you can be encouraged even when you see the rise of Evil in the world and the battle between right and wrong becoming so very intense. One day soon the followers of Jesus will gather around the throne of God for the Victory Celebration.

Make sure that you are there!

Source of Greatness!

2011-11-23T03:18:00.002-05:00

Listen to this blog.

You, Lord, are my God! I will praise you
for doing the wonderful things
you had planned and promised
since ancient times.

You have destroyed the fortress of our enemies,
leaving their city in ruins.
Nothing in that foreign city
will ever be rebuilt.

Now strong and cruel nations will fear and honor you.

You have been a place of safety for the poor and needy
in times of trouble.
Brutal enemies pounded us
like a heavy rain
or the heat of the sun at noon,
but you were our shelter.
Those wild foreigners struck like scorching desert heat.
But you were like a cloud,
protecting us from the sun.
You kept our enemies from singing
songs of victory.

Isaiah 25:1-5

When a nation honors God by crafting its laws according to God's Word, there are blessings for everyone. The greatness that was America came not from it's military and economic power or even it's freedom. Trusting in and honoring God was the key that unlocked everything else.

Were we perfect in that trust? Of course not, but those of us who are now old and were once young remember what it was like. It was not like it is now. Atheism was a strange bird that rarely ever flew over this land. Moral perversion hid itself from the light of day and wasn't proclaimed as "newsworthy." Unless we turn and trust God again the decline and fall of the Empire that was America will soon be complete.

I cannot restore a nation to one that trusts in God again, but I can choose to trust God myself. Just as a blizzard is the result of billions and billions of individual snowflakes, the nation will only be restored to God when enough individuals make that choice. When a man trusts in and depends on God nothing can steal his peace. It is like a rich man whose wealth is locked away in a vault. Someone may steal his coat but that will not harm him at all. Satan may steal all that you have on this earth, but your riches remain secure in Heaven.

"Lord, show me how I am not trusting You today and give me the wisdom and strength to trust You at that point of doubt! Lord, I believe, please help my unbelief."

"Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin. The Blood of Jesus whispers peace within."

Bill Steensland

Remember the Scars!

Lighten Your Load!

Nearer the Throne!

Bang, You Are Dead!

Drifting From Truth!

Nothing But Truth!

Good News for Death Row!

Suffer Together!

Godly Rich Man!

Vicarious Faith!

Wise Become Foolish!

Be Truly Amazed!

Think Like God!

Jesus Said No!

Love For Hate!

The Sin of Jonah!

Just Do It!

The Breath of God!

I Can’t Imagine!

God Knows My Steps!

New Life of Resurrection!

Final Preparations!

Paid in Full!

No Dentists in Heaven!

Jesus Loves the Lost!

A Nation Like Edom?

Another God?

The Word in My Heart!

No Earthly Good!

Offense of the Cross

The Promises of God!

Obey God or Men?

Let God Choose the Weapon!

A Gift for God!

Jesus is the Answer!

Are You a Pretender?

Jesus is the Treasure!

Fellowship with the Heart of God!

Does Newt Fear God?

Journey to Eternity

Smaller is Better!

Faith Alive!

Quiet Time With God!

Keystone Pipeline War

Contagious Sin!

Jesus Loves Me!

It Will Happen!

Wet or Dry?

Like Selling Candy to a Kid!

The Go Back Temptation!

Take Jesus to Work Day

No Pain No Gain!

Jesus is My Only Desire

Sidetracked on the Way to Heaven!

The First Supper in Heaven!

Learn Like a Baby

Wiki Word?

My Sin!

Bootstraps and Fences!

When all of this happened,the Lord All-Powerful told you to weep and mourn,to shave your heads,and wear sackcloth.

Falling in the Darkness

Keep on Walking!

Turn Back Again!

Shroud of Turin

“Weapon of Mass Construction”

Release the Dove!

Who Are You God?

Love is What You Do!

Ready to Rejoice!

Finish Carpenter!

God’s Gift List!

The Asphalt Standard!

The Ultimate White Noise!

His Grace is Still Amazing!

Are You Still Wearing Your Crown?

The Specialness of Jesus!

Jesus Moments!

Broken Glass!

Never Say Amen!

When all of this happened,
the Lord All-Powerful told you to weep and mourn,
to shave your heads,
and wear sackcloth.