Ready to Face God?

Click here to listen to blog

Now, Israel, I myself will deal with you. Get ready to face your God!  I created the mountains and the wind. I let humans know what I am thinking. I bring darkness at dawn and step over hills. I am the LORD God All-Powerful!

Amos 4:12-13

Are you ready to come face to face with God?  That is what will happen to every human being when they leave this earth.  

If you don't see God now and if you don't believe in God now, there will be a day, a final day when you will know for certain that God Almighty is real and that Jesus Christ was the only hope you had on this earth!

If you come face to face with Jesus now, you will be ready to come face to face with God on the Day of Judgement.  You will not be blessed if you don't meet Jesus before you meet God!  

Jesus is the only way to encounter God and live forever.  If you want to be ready to meet God at the Day of Judgement, then meet Jesus while you are still alive on this earth!  Call out to Jesus, come to Jesus, trust in Jesus, and give your heart to the One who gave His life for you!  

"Lord Jesus, may I know You better today, so that I will be ready to meet God and live with You forever!  Praise Your Holy Name, now and always!  Amen."

Climate Change

Click here to listen to blog

God punished the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and this is a warning to anyone else who wants to sin.  Lot lived right and was greatly troubled by the terrible way those wicked people were living. He was a good man, and day after day he suffered because of the evil things he saw and heard.  So the Lord rescued him.  This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings and to punish evil people while they wait for the day of judgment.

2 Peter 2:6-9

Climate change, formerly called Global Warming is very high on the priority list of millions of people around the world.  They want us to sacrifice everything to "save the world."  Some make dire predictions about the effects of Climate change, including the end of the world in 12 years!

But I can say with great confidence that the world will not end in 12 years because of human pollution!  If the world ends at that point in human history it will be because God Himself has chosen that year to be the time for the End!

Very high on God's priority list, and it is more important than saving the earth from pollution, is saving the lost from the consequences of their sins! 

Frankly, it is rather arrogant to believe that human beings can control the global thermostat.  But God can turn up the temperature on earth, or turn it down at any time He chooses to do so.  

The Bible clearly says that God rescues the righteous and punishes the wicked, even here on this earth!  If a world wide disruption of the climate happens and even kills many people, remember that it happened at least once before during the time of Noah.  

The best way to stop the terrible suffering that may come because of Climate Change is to turn to God and repent!  If the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had done that, their story would have ended quite differently.

"Thank You Jesus, for rescuing Your people from suffering and for punishing the wicked of this world as they wait for the Day of Judgment.  I pray that every wicked man and woman on earth today will hear about Your love, turn away from sin and give their hearts to You.  Praise Your Holy and Righteous Name, now and forever.  Amen."

The Great Escape

Click here to listen to blog

We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God's own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness.  God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.

2 Peter 1:3-4

Do you struggle with sin?  Often it is the same sin over and over.  You think you have finally put that sin out of your life, and then it comes back!  Sometimes its comes back stronger than ever before.  How do you finally get rid of that sin?

These verses in 2 Peter chapter 1 tell us the answer to and solution for the addiction of sin.  God does not sin and when His nature becomes a part of you, you will not sin either!  It really is that simple and that profound.  

You will be like Jesus.  It was the nature of God in Jesus Christ that enabled His human flesh to always say no to Satan!  The Holy Spirit living in your heart will do the same for you.  

A victorious life on this earth is one that is filled with the Nature of God and controlled by the Holy Spirit Himself!  That man or woman will be able by the power of God to escape evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world!

Any other way of self discipline or personal rehabilitation will ultimately fail!  Unless you are empowered by God to overcome evil, you will not overcome it!

"Lord Jesus, thank You for making a way for me to live as You did and have the Victory because of Your Precious Blood!  Praise Your Name Now and Forever.  Amen."

The First Thing To Do

Click here to listen to blog

The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him.  When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, "Here is the Lamb of God!"  John's two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.  When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, "What do you want?" They answered, "Rabbi, where do you live?" The Hebrew word "Rabbi" means "Teacher."  Jesus replied, "Come and see!" It was already about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.  One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.  The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, "We have found the Messiah!" The Hebrew word "Messiah" means the same as the Greek word "Christ."

John 1:35-41

Satan spreads disease like the Holy Spirit distributes the Gospel.  When one infected person comes in contact with a person who does not yet have the disease the sickness often spreads to that person.

When one Holy Spirit convicted person makes even casual contact with someone who doesn't know Jesus, the urge to tell the un-evangelized person about Jesus is often uncontrollable!  

Why is evangelism so hard in my part of the world?  Perhaps it is because, unlike Andrew, the brother of Peter, men and woman are trying to spread the Gospel without ever meeting Jesus themselves!  Once you meet the Lord and encounter Him in your daily life, telling someone else about Jesus can be as easy as talking about the weather!  Will they believe you when you talk about the One who died for you?  Some will and some will not.  Closing the deal and making the sale is not our responsibility.  If you plant a seed and then stand there waiting for the plant to germinate and grow and finally the fruit to come, you will not plant many seeds or see much fruit.  

Some who plant the seed will never see the fruit of their labor.  They scatter the seed wherever they go and trust the Lord to make it grow and bring the fruit.

Just as it says in Colossians 1:6, " The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in that same way among you, ever since the first day you learned the truth about God's wonderful kindness."

"Lord Jesus, may I be one who spreads the Good News of Jesus Christ all over the world.  Praise Your Holy Name now and forever.  Amen."

Beggar and Billionaire

Click here to listen to blog

There was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food.  But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man's house.  He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them.  The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.

Luke 16:19-22

This story is certainly a warning to people who are rich.  You can be very successful in this world and go to Hell when you die!  

Often overlooked about these verses is the fact that the poor man who was sick, and had become a beggar went to a place of honor next to Abraham when he died.  So the very encouraging truth for many, many people is that you can be a total failure as far as the world is concerned and still be pleasing to God and honored in Heaven when you die! 

It is not a sin to be rich, but if you are living with the major focus of your existence an attempt to become the "rich man" you are missing so much that God has to offer!  

You can live a life pleasing to Jesus whether you are a beggar or a billionaire.  This story teaches the obvious truth that it is easier to please the Lord as a beggar than it is as a billionaire.  

If you are seeking power, wealth and status in life you will find that all these things will wage war against your relationship with Jesus!

If you are seeking Jesus, you can please Him as a beggar eating the scraps from the rich man's table!

"Lord Jesus I do want to seek You and only You in this life.  You are the only success I need!  Praise Your Holy Name now and forever.  Amen."

In God We Say We Trust?

Click here to listen to blog

Israel, I, the LORD All-Powerful, was very angry with your ancestors. But if you people will return to me, I will turn and help you.  Don't be stubborn like your ancestors. They were warned by the earlier prophets to give up their evil and turn back to me, but they paid no attention.

Zechariah 1:2-4

Ancestor veneration or ancestor worship is still alive and well in Asia.  Perhaps that is why the culture in China has lasted so very long.  When you worship those who came before you, you certainly must live the way, and do the things they did. Change does not come easily. 

In the West, we do the same thing, just a little differently.  We would never claim to worship our ancestors, but we do follow their example in the way we live, even in the things they did that we're wrong.  

The United States is proclaimed to be an "In God We Trust" country, but consider how we have lived for even the past 100 years.  I have been alive for almost 73 of those years and can tell you that having a "personal, active and interactive relationship with Jesus Christ" for most of my growing up years was considered to be strange, if not insane.  If God "talks to you" even today, it certainly makes you a fringe part of normal society.   Even if you look at some of the movies from the 40's and 50's God will be there, but not as an active or important part of the plot.  Even some of the most G rated presentations ignored God altogether.  Where was God in "Leave it to Beaver," or "Father Knows Best?"

The problem is that today we are about to be swept down the drain of a political philosophy that denies God completely.  The only way to stop the certain death of a way of life that gives men and women the freedom to choose how they will live is to "give up our evil and turn back to God." Freedom and Liberty are from God, not from the Devil.  

For a short time to come, those who love God and hate evil may be able to keep our way of life by voting.  But when the number of those who hate God and love evil grows into a majority.  One election will change everything!  

Don't seek to make us into the country that would please the Founding Fathers.  Rather seek the approval of God Almighty in the way we live as a nation on this earth!  When we do that the future will be bright and America will be Better than Ever.

I know that many of you who read or listen to these blogs do not live in the United States, but the principle is true for your country as well.  Give up your evil and turn back to God!

"Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for the sins of the whole world.  May we glorify your Name in what we do every day, and may we as nations of people glorify You as well.  Praise Your Holy Name now and forever.  Amen."

When You Say the Name of Jesus

Click here to listen to blog

Then the angel told me, "Put this in writing. God will bless everyone who is invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." The angel also said, "These things that God has said are true."  I knelt at the feet of the angel and began to worship him. But the angel said, "Don't do that! I am a servant, just like you and everyone else who tells about Jesus. Don't worship anyone but God. Everyone who tells about Jesus does it by the power of the Spirit."

Revelation 19:9-10

If you are a Christian you may have found it difficult sometimes to tell another person about Jesus.  Even speaking the name of Jesus to another person can seem awkward at best.  

Here is a good test.  Determine that you will say the name of Jesus to the person running the cash register the next time you are at the grocery store.

These verses in Revelation 19 tell us that in order to tell someone about Jesus you need to do it by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Telling the story of Jesus stirs up the Enemy of all that is good and right.  Satan sees it as a personal challenge when you start talking about the Lord!  

When you tell someone about Jesus Christ, you will be attacked by the Devil!  Unless you are moving in the power of the Holy Spirit that attack will be at least painful and potentially debilitating.  

But if you are armed with the Sword of the Spirit and He is living in your heart, you will be able to withstand every attack from the Enemy. Then you will find yourself comfortable in the battle of telling others about the Lord Jesus Christ!

"Lord Jesus, fill me with Your Spirit so I can do battle as I tell everyone I meet about You.  Praise Your Holy Name now and forever.  Amen."