The Whole Truth!

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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.

God showed us this at the right time.

This is why God chose me to be a preacher and an apostle of the good news. I am telling the truth. I am not lying. God sent me to teach the Gentiles about faith and truth.

1 Timothy 2:4-7

What an amazing claim! The apostle Paul put the "whole truth" in thirty one words in English.

"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!"

We often make the Gospel way too complicated. Who God is and Jesus being the only way to God is followed by what Jesus did on the Cross. Once you have those things firmly planted in your heart you have grasped "the whole truth."

Everything else comes from those fundamental truths. Anything that contradicts or violates one of them is not from God.

Never forget Jesus is the only one who can bring you to God. There are not many ways to God. There is only one way and there is only one God. One day you will bow before Him because the Bible says "every knee" will bow. Your choice is this: You can decide whether you will bow in Faith or in Fear.

"Lord, may the whole truth fill my heart. Help me to remember those thirty one words so that I can tell others and so that I will never drift from knowing and pleasing You. Amen."

Story of Jesus!

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Has anyone believed us

or seen the mighty power

of the LORD in action?

Like a young plant or a root

that sprouts in dry ground,

the servant grew up

obeying the LORD.

He wasn't some handsome king.

Nothing about the way he looked

made him attractive to us.

He was hated and rejected;

his life was filled with sorrow

and terrible suffering.

No one wanted to look at him.

We despised him and said,

“He is a nobody!”

He suffered and endured

great pain for us,

but we thought his suffering

was punishment from God.

He was wounded and crushed

because of our sins;

by taking our punishment,

he made us completely well.

All of us were like sheep

that had wandered off.

We had each gone our own way,

but the LORD gave him

the punishment we deserved.

He was painfully abused,

but he did not complain.

He was silent like a lamb

being led to the butcher,

as quiet as a sheep

having its wool cut off.

He was condemned to death

without a fair trial.

Who could have imagined

what would happen to him?

His life was taken away

because of the sinful things

my people had done.

He wasn't dishonest or violent,

but he was buried in a tomb

among cruel, rich people.

The LORD decided his servant

would suffer as a sacrifice

to take away the sin

and guilt of others.

Now the servant will live

to see his own descendants

He did everything

the LORD had planned.

By suffering, the servant

will learn the true meaning

of obeying the LORD.

Although he is innocent,

he will take the punishment

for the sins of others,

so that many of them

will no longer be guilty.

The LORD will reward him

with honor and power

for sacrificing his life.

Others thought he was a sinner,

but he suffered for our sins

and asked God to forgive us.

Isaiah 53

I was headed on the road to Hell with no way to avoid it, but Jesus stepped in the line of fire and took Satan's best shot at me! The wound was fatal and life soon left the human body of my Lord.

But then came the miracle beyond all miracles. Jesus not only paid the price for my sins, but He conquered death and the grave. Jesus came back to life, rose from the grave and calls those who will believe on Him to an eternity of peace and joy with Him in Heaven!

Today if you don't feel loved, then you haven't heard the story of Jesus!

"Lord, tell me the story of Jesus and write on my heart every word! And Lord, I really like the end of the story, when You come and get me and take me to be with You forever! Amen."

Whole Life Testimony

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It is just as God says in the Scriptures, “Look! I am placing in Zion a choice and precious cornerstone. No one who has faith in this one will be disappointed.”

You are followers of the Lord, and this stone is precious to you. But it isn't precious to those who refuse to follow him. They are the builders who tossed aside the stone that turned out to be the most important one of all. 

They disobeyed the message and stumbled and fell over this stone, because they were doomed.

But you are God's chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things he has done. The Scriptures say,

“Once you were nobody.

Now you are God's people.

At one time no one

had mercy on you.

Now God has treated you

with kindness.”

1 Peter 2:6-10

If you build your life with Jesus as the Corner Stone and follow Him the finished product will be magnificent. Jesus is the "secret ingredient" that changes the flavor of your daily walk into an amazing gourmet meal.

Now you must tell all the wonderful things He has done!

When a man or woman gives a "testimony" it is usually about how their relationship with Jesus began. That is so incomplete! I met my wife about 48 years ago and that moment when I came face to face with her for the first time was significant and memorable, but my testimony about our relationship goes on to include 45 years of marriage and six children. We rejoiced together, prayed together, cried and suffered as one. There are more stories than I can tell and hopefully many more to come!

My testimony about Jesus only began the day I met Him. It has gone on for more than 50 years and is still getting sweeter every day!

I expect the best day of my marriage to be today and I believe that the best day of my walk with Jesus will also be today.

"Lord, open my eyes to the beauty of my relationship with You. May this day be the best day of my life with You, Jesus. Amen!"

No Way to Imagine!

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Jesus later appeared to his disciples along the shore of Lake Tiberias.  Simon Peter, Thomas the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, and the brothers James and John, were there, together with two other disciples.

Simon Peter said, “I'm going fishing!”

The others said, “We will go with you.” They went out in their boat. But they didn't catch a thing that night.

Early the next morning Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize who he was. Jesus shouted, “Friends, have you caught anything?”

“No!” they answered.

So he told them, “Let your net down on the right side of your boat, and you will catch some fish.”

They did, and the net was so full of fish that they could not drag it up into the boat.

Jesus' favorite disciple told Peter, “It's the Lord!” When Simon heard it was the Lord, he put on the clothes he had taken off while he was working. Then he jumped into the water. The boat was only about 100 meters 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 153 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. This was the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from death.

John 21:1-14

What would they do now?  The disciples had such great hope for Jesus and for their roles in supporting Him in this great work that Jesus was doing.  Jesus gathered large crowds and worked miracles.  He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and even raised the dead.  Then almost without any warning everything went wrong that night after they ate the Passover meal and Jesus Himself was dead.  

Now they were really confused.  Jesus was not in the grave and they had seen Him twice before this morning meeting by the lake.  But their encounters with the risen Lord were brief.  He would come and go quickly.  What were they to do with their lives now?  

Peter may have been expressing his frustration when he said "I'm going fishing."  He briefly went back to the old life before Jesus called him to be His disciple. But Peter had lost his touch for fishing.  They fished all night and caught nothing until Jesus appeared on the shore and told them where to fish!

Have you become confused in your walk with Jesus?  Everything seemed to be going well and then almost without any warning it all changed.  Your plans are not working out and the way you thought you were being led has come to a dead end.  You are tempted to go back to the life you had before you met Jesus and began this journey with Him.  

Remember Peter and the rest of the disciples.  On the morning of that last Passover meal with Jesus, if you had asked Peter what the rest of his life would be like, he would never have imagined the way Jesus would lead him over the years that remained.  The same is true with us.  There is no way you can know what lies ahead in your life, but you can know Jesus and He will be there with you every step of the way.  That is all you need.  Amen!

This is the Way!

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The [Lord] God is waiting
to show how kind he is
and to have pity on you.
The [Lord] always does right;
he blesses those who trust him.
People of Jerusalem, you don't need to cry anymore. The Lord is kind, and as soon as he hears your cries for help, he will come. The Lord has given you trouble and sorrow as your food and drink. But now you will again see the Lord, your teacher, and he will guide you.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice saying, “This is the road! Now follow it.”

Then you will treat your idols of silver and gold like garbage; you will throw them away like filthy rags.

Isaiah 30:18-22

God is not trying to catch you doing something wrong so He can punish you. Jesus came to the earth so that you will not have to be punished for your sin. Your Heavenly Father is not your enemy. Jesus came to "seek and save" those who are lost.

God wants to show you the right way to go. His desire is that you throw away your idols and worship only Him. He wants you to recognize that He is the source of everything good in this life.

So what do you do when you take a step in the wrong direction? That is the time to stop and listen to the Lord and His loving word of correction. "This is the way" are the words you will hear.

Satan speaks those same words trying to get you to go down the path that leads to Hell. So I must be able to recognize the voice of God and the voice of Satan. One tiny step in the wrong direction doesn't seem like it is very much, but if it is followed by another and then many more the water gets very deep.

"Lord, help me to recognize Your voice and know that You are the One speaking to me. Pull me back to Your way and let me walk only the path that You have laid out for me! Amen."

A Prayer of Trust in God!

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Have pity, God Most High!
My enemies chase me all day.

Many of them are pursuing
and attacking me,

but even when I am afraid,
I keep on trusting you.

I praise your promises!
I trust you and am not afraid.
No one can harm me.

Enemies spend the whole day
finding fault with me;
all they think about
is how to do me harm.

They attack from ambush,
watching my every step
and hoping to kill me.

They won't get away
with these crimes, God,
because when you get angry,
you destroy people.

You have kept record
of my days of wandering.
You have stored my tears
in your bottle
and counted each of them.

When I pray, [Lord] God,
my enemies will retreat,
because I know for certain
that you are with me.

I praise your promises!

I trust you and am not afraid.
No one can harm me.

I will keep my promises
to you, my God,
and bring you gifts.

You protected me from death
and kept me from stumbling,
so that I would please you
and follow the light
that leads to life.

Psalm 56:1-13

Amen!

Let Jesus Touch You

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Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk. They begged Jesus just to touch him.

After Jesus had taken him aside from the crowd, he stuck his fingers in the man's ears. Then he spit and put it on the man's tongue.  Jesus looked up toward heaven, and with a groan he said, “Effatha!” which means “Open up!”

At once the man could hear, and he had no more trouble talking clearly.
Jesus told the people not to say anything about what he had done. But the more he told them, the more they talked about it.

Mark 7:32-36

What do you want Jesus to do for you? Are you deaf and can hardly talk? Are you blind? The people who brought the deaf man to Jesus simply begged Him to touch the man. When Jesus touches a man He does much more than simply heal his body.

It is better to ask Jesus to touch you than to ask Him to heal you. When Jesus touches you there is healing in your heart and your mind and your way of thinking changes. If Jesus only heals your body, you may simply be made stronger to live in this world of sin and death!

The need you think you have may not be your greatest need. Let your first request of the Lord be that He simply touch you. Let Jesus decide how to minister to your need.

"Lord, there are so many things in my life that are not the way they should be and I need Your touch on all of them. So, Lord, I just ask You to touch me and change the things that need to be changed. Let me see the miraculous results of Your touch on my life. And may it all be to Your glory. Amen."