To my followers and friends who have been reading this blog. I have decided to begin blogging on a new site that will gain me more exposure since I want the message about Jesus to reach as many people as it can. It is my goal to see as many saved as I can in my lifetime. My posts at the new site have been read by more people in the last week than this site has since I began writing on it.
The new site is faithwriters.com. When you go onto the site you will need to click on the "Search Writer" tab next to the Faithwriter's logo, then follow the instructions to get to my blog. While you are there, feel free to read the many, many articles that are published there, and you will see that God is moving amongst His people in a tremendous way.
I am very thankful for all of you who have read my stuff on this site. But I know that you will enjoy the new site more.
Thank you for your readerahip.
It's not over yet!!!!!!!!
Bobby
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION? (Part One)
What's in it for me? Isn't that what we always ask ourselves when we are asked to do something for someone else? We seem to think that unless it benefits us in some way, it's not worth doing. Why should I help you get to work when your car is getting fixed if you are not going to help with gas; and it doesn't matter if we work at the same location either? Why should I lend you money when I know that there is no way you are ever going to pay me back? Why should I…why should I…why should I…. Those three words should be taken out of our vocabulary. Why should we: because we are all in this life together. There was this one woman I read about who helped a homeless person only to find out that the one she helped was really a millionaire looking to see if anyone truly cared, and she was rewarded for her actions toward someone who seemed less fortunate than she was. Though this is not the norm, we are rewarded every time we take the time to help someone in need.
Take Jesus for instance… What did it benefit Him to being whipped short of death and hung on a cross to save us from our sins? He was tortured, beaten, spit at, criticized, mocked, yet He said not a word as He was being interrogated by those who thought they were better than everyone else. Again, what did Jesus gain from all of this pain and suffering? He gained us back from Satan so He could give us back to God. God wants to reconcile us all back to Him, but He will not force us. Salvation is voluntary. Either you want it or you don't, but you can't have it both ways. You are either for God or you are against Him, which means, whether you want to believe it or not, you are for Satan, the Devil, Lucifer. As I will explain during these next few posts, you are either saved or you are wicked, as the Bible calls those who have not accepted the Salvation of Jesus Christ.
But if you do, and when you do, accept God's free gift of salvation, you will experience many benefits that you will wonder how you ever lived without them before. I'm excited! How about you?
Let's get started.
Eternal Life In Heaven
Without salvation, we can’t be sure where we will spend eternity – Heaven or Hell. By accepting God’s gift of salvation, Jesus Christ, our entry into Heaven is secure. Christians who are truly born again can say with confidence that we know where we are going when we die. Jesus was very clear about those who did not choose to follow Him when He said in Matthew 7:21-23, "21Not all those who say that I am their Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants. 22On the last day many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ 23Then I will tell them clearly, ‘Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you.’ Jesus said that there are two kinds of people (in the same chapter), "24Everyone who hears my words and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on rock. 26Everyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house, and it fell with a big crash.” (Both New Century Version) God wants us to obey Him in all things, but the one thing most of all that He wants us to obey Him in is accepting His Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Again, He wants all of us in Heaven with Him. But only those who hear the words of His Son and obey them will get into Heaven. No matter how many good deeds we've done on this earth, none of them will get us into Heaven. Only Jesus can get us there, but we have to know Him first.
I cannot lose my salvation
For those who believe, or have been told, that you can lose your salvation once you have gained it need to read what the Apostle Paul wrote to His student Timothy. In 2 Timothy 2:11-13, he wrote from the Spirit "This is a sure thing: If we die with him, we’ll live with him; (12)If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him; If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us; (13)If we give up on him, he does not give up—for there’s no way he can be false to himself." (The Message)
This is the great news of the Gospel: You can never, never, never, never, never, lose your salvation. Once you are saved, you are saved forever!!! Let no one tell you different. Jesus said in John 10:28, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." (New International Version) Even if we turn our backs on Jesus, He will never turn His back on us. Because Jesus promised us that we could not be snatched away from Him, He would be lying if He gave up on us. Even if we turn away from Him, He will still do everything He can to get us to turn back to Him again. This is where the trials and tribulations in our lives come into play. Jesus would never willingly put us in harm's way, but He can and will allow them to persist until we once again see our need for Him and turn back to His loving ways.
So, rest assured: Jesus will never let you go no matter what you do. That doesn't give us a license to sin, but it does give us the freedom to do the good works that the Holy Spirit will give us to do without the fear of persecution or even death. Feel free to really live for Jesus. You will find that life is worth living and that following Jesus was the best decision you've ever made in your life.
I know that I have never regretted making that decision. Where once I was truly dead to the world, I am now truly alive in Christ, and I would never trade the two, even upon pain of death. But don't believe me; believe the Savior. Let Him show you a life that He knows you truly want. Don't deny yourself of life any longer. There is life in the Cross of Christ. Bow down to the One who created you. Give Him what is already His. You were meant for something greater, and in your heart you know you want to achieve that greatness. Until you accept and trust Jesus Christ with your life you will never even come close to the true life you want. Cry out to Jesus. He will respond and show you how life is to be truly lived.
May God bless you with His love.
Friday, January 28, 2011
WHAT WILL I DO WHEN MY FAITH IN JESUS BRINGS ME SALVATION?
Gaining salvation in Jesus Christ is the ultimate experience any human could have. It is the only true freedom that we can obtain. It is not of this world and could never be. Some of the things we call freedom are nothing of the kind. How about the freedom to smoke? Are we really free when smoking can lead to the bondage of cancer, lung disease, and death? How about abortion? Does the freedom to murder babies in the womb really bring freedom for the woman who doesn't want the baby? Or does it bring to her the bondage of knowing that she did indeed murder a baby that, years later, she regrets getting rid of when she is not able to have children of her own due to a botched abortion? Whatever happened to the right to live? What about the bondage of homosexuality? God created marriage to be between one man and one woman. How else can children be brought into this world? A homosexual couple cannot do it together. Sure, they can raise a child, but God made it so that a child could only be brought up in a balanced way with a man and woman as parents. If one of those is missing in the relationship then the child will suffer greatly as he or she goes through life confused as how they are to be and act as a man or woman. If two men raise a child together, then the female aspect of the child's life will be missing. The same for women, the male aspect won't be there. Let's face it: a man cannot teach a girl how to be a woman, and a woman cannot teach a boy how to be a man.
Ah, but that is the wonderful thing about finding salvation in Jesus. I am a firm believer that homosexuality is a choice not inherited. For whatever reason, a boy or girl chooses to be homosexual whether they realize it or not. But when you give your life to Jesus, He can bring you into wholeness again and change you back into the person He created you to be. Now that's real freedom. We all want to be who we were made to be. We all long for a reason and a purpose for living. We all have this hope that, someday, we will find that certain something we are looking for to make our lives complete.
That completeness can only come by the salvation of Jesus Christ. There is no other way in this universe to find the real freedom we are all searching for. Once you allow Jesus into your life things will begin to change. You will surely become more peaceful, more hopeful of the future. The things from your past that haunt you now will slowly diminish to a memory. I had a very bad past due to being sexually abused. For 36 years I buried it down inside, not realizing that the way I was acting outwardly was a reflection of that abuse. When it surfaced again I tried to kill myself 5 times without success. When Jesus came along a called me to Him, things began to change quickly. I was able to look at the abuse from His eyes and see that, without it, I couldn't have become the man I am today. That's not to say that Jesus wanted it to happen. No. But He allowed it to happen because He knew my future. He knew that I would one day become the man He created me to be. I'm not all there yet, but I can see the changes being made to get me there, and the journey is fantastic. It's not always easy, but it is fantastic. Give Him your heart and you will see just how fantastic it is and feels.
I will praise Him for his grace of salvation
Isaiah 12:1-2 says that: In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. (2)Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” (New International Version)
When Jesus saves us, He begins the journey to completeness. Before we let Him into our lives, God was angry at us. Not angry as in violent: angry as in, "I love you so much that I wish you wouldn't do that thing that will ultimately bring you harm." But after we accept His Son, Jesus, God's anger falls away as easily as the rain falls from the sky. God loves us immensely because He created us. God has promised us that, if we believe in His Son, He would give us a life worth living with meaning and purpose. He promised us that we would, someday, be with Him in Heaven for all of eternity. He promised us through His Holy Spirit that He would guide us through our day to day lives. If you trust in what Jesus has said He will do for you (read your Bible) He will never let you fall or fail. Trust in His strength and not your own to get through each day as you give up bad habits and create new ones. We call salvation the "Grace" of God. Grace is an extended favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. We can't work hard enough or do enough good deeds to earn God's love, He gives it to us freely though Jesus.
I will take refuge in His love and faithfulness
Psalm 57:1-3 says: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. (2)I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. (3)He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends his love and his faithfulness. (New International Version)
No matter who is pursuing you God has your back if you accept His Son, Jesus, as your Lord and Savior. When problems arise we can find refuge in God. That means that whenever we have a problem, no matter how great or small, God will take care of you until the trouble has passed. Remember, Jesus never said He would keep you free from trouble, but would help in your time of need. Without trouble or problems we wouldn't grow as people, we would stay stuck in "infancy" and not grow into adulthood. Unfortunately, there are a lot of adults walking around that are still children on the inside. That's how I was with the abuse in my life until I gave it to Jesus. And not until we do give it all to Jesus will we grow up to be the kind of adults we are supposed to be. Go to God if you have a problem. Fall upon His mercy to see you through the hard times, and He will faithfully help you as He said He would always do.
I will show others what He has done for me, and will tell them of His love for me
In Psalm 40:1-3, David said, "I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. (2)He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. (3)He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the LORD. (New Living Translation)
After Jesus takes over our lives and begins to bring us true freedom, others will see the changes in us and want to know how we did it. They will see that our attitudes have softened. They will see behaviors like smoking, drinking, premarital sex, cursing, the kind of movies we watch, and the way we conduct ourselves, among others, change. When we are so far down and mired in what seems like a hopeless situation, God will come through and help you get back up again. He will make your paths straight again and, if you let Him, will take your problem upon Himself, and give you the peace that you will need to see it through. God will not always take away the problem, but He will give you the wisdom, peace, and faith to help you overcome it.
As Christians, we are to be a light to the world. If we are truly walking with the Lord others will see it and want to know what's happened to us. Some will be amazed at the changes they see in you, and some will be angry at you for becoming a "Jesus Freak." Your old bar friends won't be happy when you tell them that you won't go out with them Fridays after work anymore to get drunk and watch baseball. They will think you are a pansy because you won't want to see any R rated movies anymore; and especially when you tell them that some of the PG-13 movies are questionable to you anymore. These friends may abandon you and that's okay because you will have gained a new family in your new church friends. But, still, there may be a couple of friends that may want to know about Jesus, and that's what it's all about.
It's all about freedom: Freedom to live right: freedom to live with a purpose; freedom to enjoy life…period.
Monday, January 24, 2011
What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Seven)
In Jesus’ Love For Me:
To truly give the topic of Jesus' love for us the kind of consideration it truly deserves would take a book. Many have written about the love of Jesus: Pastors and theologians who have a much deeper understanding of Jesus through Scripture. What I write about here, today, is but a very small glimpse of His love for us. Giving His life up for us on the Cross was the greatest act of love anyone could have done for us. It is my prayer that when we get to the topic of Love in the future, after we talk about Hope, you will see Jesus in a new way, or perhaps in way that will open your eyes to the truth of your need for Him.
Today, I want to talk about how Jesus' love for us can help us through our day to day lives. At the end, it is my prayer that you will see Him as the only one who can truly keep you sane as you go through your day, battling whatever comes your way, good or bad.
His love for me allows me to give Him every anxiety I feel and He will take it from me
The Apostles did not only live with Jesus, they experienced Jesus. To experience Jesus is not only to know Him, but to live as He did, following God, the Father. God does not want us worrying about anything at anytime. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (New International Version) Jesus walked around this earth not caring what people thought of Him. If something started to bother Him, He would listen to what God had to say before He opened His mouth in response. The apostles did the same thing as they walked around spreading the Gospel to the masses. They first watched how Jesus conducted Himself and then, when it came their time to go out, they followed His example through prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Remember, when they were on their own, just as Jesus was when He walked this earth, they were able to put into practice what they had seen and were now able to experience for themselves the peace that Jesus had at all times.
But how do we experience the peace of Jesus? How do we not worry about yesterday, today, or tomorrow, when situations we would rather not deal with are thrown in front of us consistently? We do what the Apostles did when they ran into trouble: we run to Jesus. Peter 5:7 tells us to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (New International Version). Peter could not have written that statement if he didn't believe it or had not experienced it for himself. I'm sure, like all of us, it took Peter some time to give up everything to Jesus. I'm sure there were times that Peter felt he could handle whatever was thrown his way. But the more he gave up his troubles to Jesus, and the more he found peace in any given situation, the more he found that he could live a peaceful life by letting Jesus be in control of it.
Jesus wants us to give Him every situation we go through. Even little things like who to marry, what car to drive, what house to buy, what books you should read, what church to attend, where you should go to school, and that's just for starters. To you it may seem ridiculous or small, or not worth anyone's time, but to Jesus it is everything. He wants to be involved in every aspect of your life from the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed. He doesn't want you to worry about anything, nada, nothing at all. He wants you to lean on Him for direction every step of the way because He knows exactly where we should be and what we should be doing.
Remember, He created us and gave us the gifts we have so we could be used by Him to spread the Good News of His salvation to the world, such as I am doing through this blog. As of today, the blog has been read by people in 10 different countries and continues to average about 7 hits a day. All I did was take the gift of writing that God has given me to spread the news of salvation that is found only in Jesus. By giving Him my cares and worries each day, I keep my mind tuned into his Holy Spirit, whereby I am at peace and my mind is uncluttered. If you've read my post "My Life In Christ" you saw that this was not always so.
But why does Jesus want all our worries and troubles? Simple: because He loves us dearly and wants us to enjoy Him and our lives, which we can't do if we stay focused on our problems. It gives us a little taste of Heaven where there will be no troubles at all. Jesus already knows the outcome of all our problems and the outcome will be the best outcome for the situation at hand. Jesus has our backs, but we must give our troubles to Him.
In Righteousness:
Jesus will sustain me and never let me fall
Pursuing God is how we get the power of God into our lives. When we look to Him to figure out the solution to our problems, we are left to focus on Him even more. There is nothing in the world that Jesus can't handle. There is no power greater than the power of God. There is no situation that He can't handle. God never intended for us to handle our problems alone. He fully expects us to look to Him during all our trials in life. He wants to help us with as much intensity as He used in creating the universe and everything in it. You never have to suffer alone when you are a child of God. We suffer alone when we try to fix a bad situation without anyone's help. But when we ask for help, the problem gets solved faster, and in a way we may not have thought of ourselves. God has all the answers. All we have to do is what our next verse tells us to do.
Psalm 55:22 says: "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." (New International Version) This may not be easy since we humans think we know everything. But there comes a time in your life when you have to admit that you don't, that you need help from someone who knows what to do. Casting your cares on Jesus does not mean that you are weak; it means that you are strong in admitting you need help, because, as we all know, asking for help is the hardest thing for us to do. And, besides, who wants the problem to persist any longer than it has to? As a child of the living God, you will never fall or fail as long as Jesus has your back, front, every part of you.
Who are the righteousness ones?
Truly righteous people are those who are faithfully walking with Jesus Christ, and are living as He did when He was here on earth. We are called children of God because we have put our faith and trust in Jesus for our salvation and future. It was through Jesus death and resurrection that we who asked Jesus into our lives and to forgive us of our sins are declared righteous. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (New International Version). Righteousness is another way of saying that we as Christians are "right with God."
When I obey God I am showing Him that I love Him by following the example of Jesus
After being declared right with God, He expects us to obey Him in every way. Since we know that He has only our best at heart, we should want to obey Him. It's not always easy since we have free will, but it can be done. Each day we should strive to be more like Jesus which would make our lives much easier to live and survive. As 1 John 2:3-6 says: "When we obey God, we are sure that we know Him. (4)But if we claim to know Him and don’t obey, we are lying and the truth isn’t in our hearts. (5)We truly love God only when we obey Him as we should, and then we know that we belong to Him. (6)If we say we are His; we must follow the example of Christ. (CEV The Promise)"
The example Of Christ is the only true example of love for others. Faith in His power and not ours is the only way to a peaceful, enjoyable life.
See you next time.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Six)
In My Love For Jesus Christ:
When I am faithful to Him, my love for Jesus protects me from harsh punishment
Where do you think you would be today without the discipline of your parents when you were young? Sure, being grounded or hit with a belt was not pleasant, but did these things make you rebellious or more disciplined in your own life. How many times have you heard some people say that if it hadn't been for the discipline of their parents they might have turned out either dead or in jail? You see, discipline is not a bad thing no matter what teenagers say because we all know that we really want discipline in our lives to give us structure.
That's why we have laws that keep us from harm. They are there to protect us from injury or wrongdoing. Have you ever asked yourself where our laws really come from? Do you think they originated from man? No way! We are a very much undisciplined people. If we really had our way we would allow ourselves to do anything we wanted without the guilt and condemnation of our actions. But is that a good thing? How many people would be left on the earth if we killed everyone we were mad at to get them out of our lives? None at all whatsoever. Again, without discipline, we would all be miserable. If we could fulfill all of our dreams all at once what would there be to live for? What kind of future would our kids have to look forward to if everything was handed to them instantaneously?
That's why we have laws and rules. Every good and moral law we have on the books comes from God. If you read the Bible you would be surprised just how many laws we get from its pages: Laws that God gave us to follow. If this world would turn back to God, and the laws He created to protect us, we would all be joyful, free from discipline and guilt. God gave us these laws to show us how much He loves us. Parents show their children how much they love them by disciplining them when needed.
Now, what if I am a believer in Christ? God says that we are to obey Him and the laws He has written on our hearts and in His Word, the Holy Bible. When we don't obey Him then we are to expect the consequences of our actions. Sometimes God disciplines us Himself, or He will let other people do it. If you talk meanly to your wife, you can expect to make your own dinner that night. All kidding aside, if I murder someone then I expect to get the death penalty. If I don't then something in the justice system has gone wrong.
How do you think God feels when His children disobey Him? It causes Him pain and heartbreak the same as it does to parents who are disobeyed by their children. God always, always, always has our good in His heart. He doesn't want anything evil to happen to us, but we live in an evil world where evil happens quite frequently. It would take me a lot of posts to explain to you why God just doesn't do away with evil right now. The really short version is that He would have to do away with just about everybody living on this earth right now, excluding those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
Which brings us to today's message:
Psalm 31:23-24 says, "Love the LORD, all you faithful ones! For the LORD protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes all who are arrogant (proud -- New International Version). (24)So be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the LORD! (New Living Translation)
We as believers have a lot to be thankful for. Not only did Jesus save us from our sins and give us eternal life, He also showed us how to love others. But loving others can only come from Jesus loving us first. As we say "Love conquers all", but may I add that it only happens with the love and power of Jesus Christ’s Spirit living within us.
Before we come to know Christ, we humans only think we know what love is. When we say we love someone, we sometimes say it no stronger than if we say we love our car, house, or TV show. We like to say "love means never having to say you're sorry." Try telling that to your spouse the next time you do something wrong toward her. Even God wants us to say we are sorry to Him when we sin, so He can forgive us. But as believers, we learn from Jesus how to love others, including Him.
As the above verse says, we are to love the Lord for all the things He has done for us. We are to be faithful to Him because He is faithful to us in giving us the kind of life He said He would give us when we accepted His death and resurrection.
Being loyal to Christ means to follow Him only and no one else. No one should we worship other than Jesus. He should be our all in all. His being faithful to us brings us protection from evil. Satan can tempt us, but as believers, he has a harder time getting us to give in to the temptation because we have the power of God within us through the Holy Spirit. Still, as believers, we can give in to the temptation only when we try to not give in on our own strength. One misconception the world has about Christians is that we should never sin and should always do the right thing in every situation. True, we as Christians should never sin since we have Jesus, but as I have said once before, God gave us free will to ultimately choose what we want to do. Our bodies and our minds are still in a fallen state. When Jesus saved us He saved us from God's wrath and from Hell, and brought about the forgiveness we needed from God. It won't be until He comes back that we, as believers, will be changed into an immortal state of being. That is why verse 24 tells us to be strong and to have the courage that the hope we have in Jesus will be fulfilled in due time.
I will conclude this section, "What will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him" in the next post.
Give your life to Christ and let Him set you free.
Monday, January 10, 2011
What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Five)
In Trust In Him:
"Who do you trust, hubba hubba? Who do you trust?" Yes, this is a line from the first Michael Keaton Batman movie, asked by the Joker towards the end of the film. What was he really asking here? Joker was talking to the people of Gotham about whether they should trust him (the bad guy) or Batman (the good guy). It all comes down to who you trust.
Where am I going with all of this? Let me ask you some questions about putting your trust in others. Who would you trust more: Someone who said that they would help you pay your bills for the next month if you were having trouble, or someone who actually did help you pay them? Someone who told you they loved you or someone who actually showed you they loved you by their actions? Someone whose motives you know are selfish, or someone who has always shown you that his motives are pure, not only by what he said, but by what he did? Would you trust your spouse if they were coming home late from work every night for no good reason, or the friend who saw him leave a restaurant that night with another women on his arm? Would you trust your spouse if you found strange phone numbers in his possession, and when you called them a voice you don't recognize answers? Would you trust a parent who constantly beat you even if you did nothing wrong to warrant it? Would you trust…? I think you get the point.
Now what about when it comes to God. Do you trust Him? Do you know that you can trust God? Answering these questions may be hard, especially if you grew up in a home where trusting someone could mean being hurt. Could you trust your father? If you learned not to be able to trust your father, then you were set on the path of not being able to trust any man. In my case, being sexually abused by a man made it absolutely sure that I could not trust another man for the rest of my life. Somehow I knew that I needed God in my life, but I felt I couldn't trust Him either. As I say in my post "My Life In Christ", it wasn't until I broke down from all the weight of the abuse and of trying to live my life through it on my own strength that I knew I couldn't survive on my own. If God hadn't "found" me, I would have never have had Him. Suicide is not an option.
But how do we learn to trust God? By first accepting Jesus as the Lord of our lives; by giving Him all control of every aspect of our lives. Until we accept Jesus as our Savior we will not be able to see God as the Father of our lives, we will not be able to see God for who He really is. And who is God to us? He is the only One who will ever truly love you in this universe because His love knows no boundaries, no limits. His forgiveness is immediate and forever. His power in your life will never be exhausted and will never diminish; His power will always be on full throughout the rest of your days. Only God will ever tell you the complete truth about who you really are to Him.
Which brings us to our first Scripture?
I must lean on God’s understanding, not on my own, or man’s wisdom
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, (6)in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.(New International Version)
It's not just about God changing your life it's also about accepting what God is telling you about your life for good or bad. God can tell us anything He wants, but if we don't accept what He says as truth then we won't believe it. If you've been told all of your life that you are nothing, after a while you begin to believe it. God has to break through that mistaken belief to show you what He believes you are. It may take a while, but that depends on whether you will believe the God of the universe, or some person on this earth who was once told they were nothing too.
It's not about how we or others see or think of us; it's how God sees us. Don't forget: humans have a sin nature which automatically makes everything we see or think distorted in some way or another. That includes how we see ourselves. Never trust another person when it comes to who you are and what you are. Trust God alone. He made you. Who would be the better choice to explain the meaning of a work of art – the artist who put everything he had into every brushstroke he used to create it, or an "expert" who is a hundred years removed from the time the painting was done and who learned about art from a book? My guess it you would want to talk to the creator. That's who God is: Our Creator. Who better than Him would know everything about us. Where do you think your dreams for the future, your talents, your gifts, (yes, even the kind of toothpaste you would use) come from? They come from the One who created you as an individual, and as an individual has a personality like no one else.
We must trust in Jesus by giving Him all control of every situation we become involved in, bad, or good. We do this by giving our problems to Him to handle for us, and by not worrying about the outcome, believing that Jesus will do what is best for us, according to His Purpose for our lives, since He has always known the outcome even before you were born.
Now let's turn to one of the biggest problems we face as human beings when it comes to anything that affects our lives, which is everything. Worrying is one of the biggest causes of illness in our world. We worry about everything from money, to jobs, to relationships, to clothing, to housing, the biggest needs we have or our lives. But we even worry about things life, how our hair looks, how heavy we are, will our team win the playoffs. But mostly, if you took a good look inside yourself, you would see that you worry about the smallest things like why can't I have a car like he does; why can't I have a husband like she does, why can't I seem to get along with my kids? I could go on forever.
But what does Jesus have to say about worrying? A lot. But I have chosen the two most direct Scriptures that Jesus Himself said during the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was speaking to a multitude of people of His day, but the Sermon on the Mount still speaks to us loud and clear today.
Worrying cannot lengthen my life, but can shorten it by the stress worry brings
First, Jesus told them in Matthew 6:27: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (New International Version)
I love how straightforward Jesus says things. How much more of a true statement could this be? Worrying can not give you more life, but it sure can take it away. If we were honest with ourselves, we would realize that we worry more than we think we do. But what is worry? Worry is anything you focus on that you have no control over. Worry is anything that we think about when we feel we can't do anything about the outcome. Worrying is when we think that other people are better than we are. Worrying about a situation doesn't solve the situation. It only perpetuates it for a longer period of time, and makes us more miserable.
So, since worrying isn't good for us, and can do nothing to make our lives better, then what do we do about it?
Worrying brings me more trouble than the situation itself
Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (New International Version)
First, we give the worry up to Jesus. 1 Peter 5:7 says: "7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. (New Living Translation) God loves you so much that he wants all of your problems and will happily take them upon Himself so you can live a joyful life. All we need to do is to take care of what we personally can take care of for this day and this day only. If there is something that we cannot do in our own power and strength then we give it to Jesus. Yes there are some things we can and have to take care of on our own during our day. We are still responsible for working, eating, and worshipping God. But God will take care of everything else. Even if it seems to be taking a long time don't give up waiting. God works on His own timetable, but will answer you when and only when you need the answer.
I'm sure that we all could do with a lot less stress on our lives. But let's not add stress where we don't need to. Please trust Jesus and you will find the joy in your life increase. May His peace be with you as you go through your day leaning on Him and not yourself.
Have a good one.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Four)
Let's continue looking at forgiveness…
Seek the Lord and He will be merciful
Isaiah 55:6-7 says: "Turn to the Lord! He can still be found. Call out to God! He’s near. (7)Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the Lord our God. He will be merciful and forgive your sins" (Contemporary English Version -- The Promise).
Always remember that God will forgive you of every sin you have ever committed, will ever commit, and haven't yet committed. God knows everything about your life past, present, and future. He is faithful to forgive you. There is nothing you can do to upset God's plans and purposes for your life. To God you are a "Somebody." There are no "nobodies" in God's Kingdom. You were created by God for a special purpose. Finding that purpose begins with confessing your sins to God through Jesus Christ.
As the verse says, the Lord can still be found. A lot of people think that God isn't concerned with us or the world we live in. They believe that once God wound up the universe, He left it to its own devices and ours as well. Many believe that God doesn't care about us anymore. "Why do you think the world is in such bad shape", they say. "If God really cared, He would do something about it." It's amazing: that's the same thing people said during Jesus' ministry on earth. They were looking for a military leader to overtake Rome Rome
When you think about it, Jesus is in fact also a military leader who will lead an army of saints (those of us who put our faith in Jesus) to overthrow Satan at the appointed time (Revelation 20:10: "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever" New International Version). But we must put our faith in Him before He cannot be found. There will come a time in the future when God will remove His Holy Spirit from this earth and salvation will no longer be possible for those who have waited too long to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Won't you call out to God right this very minute and secure your place in Heaven with Him for all of eternity, while He can still be found?
What is the first thing that Jesus will do for me after I accept Him into my life?
I will be cleansed and forgiven
In Jeremiah 33:8 we read: "I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. (New International Version)
Again, the Scripture is talking about the Israelites returning to God yet again. When you read the Old Testament, you will find that God called out to his people through the prophets many, many times to return to Him so He could heal them and forgive them. In all of these times God was showing them, and us, that He will not give up on us, that He will keep pursuing us until we have made a definite decision to either accept Jesus or reject Jesus. Until you make a definite decision, God will keep on calling to you because He does not want you to miss out on His love. Satan has no love for you. All he wants to do is destroy you (1 Peter 5:8B: "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (New International Version)) so that God can't get you into His kingdom. As I have said in an earlier post, Satan hates God and anyone who sides with him. For those who walk around this earth saying "God is dead" Satan has already destroyed them spiritually. If Satan can keep you from accepting God's Son as your Savior then he has won a great victory. Satan wants you to keep on sinning, because the more you sin, he believes, the more guilt and condemnation you will feel about them and would never go to God because God could never accept a sinner like you. Please do not believe that for a second. Go to God no matter how you feel. Don't trust your feelings because they will lie to you. God will forgive you.
Here is an example of how much God loves you and will forgive you:
God’s Abundant Forgiveness
Place some sand into a bucket to represent all of humanity since the beginning of time until now. Now think about all the sand left on every beach in the world. This represents God’s love for us. If you don’t think that God will forgive you, or that there is not enough forgiveness from God for everyone, just think about how many grains of sand there are in that bucket and compare it to the amount of sand left on God’s beaches. For every grain of sand in that bucket there are trillions of grains of forgiveness from God for each person who has or will ever live, past, present, and future. Seen in this light, we realize that God’s love for us will never diminish, never run low, and never run out. We as humans can never sin enough to take away every grain of sand on God’s beaches. There are enough grains of sand to cover the sins of all of God’s children forever.
Never say to yourself that God would never forgive someone as bad as you. There is nothing "bad" enough you go ever do to get God to stop loving you, no matter what Satan says. Satan is a liar. Please remember that. If you don't like yourself, if you don't care about your life, if you just want to give it all up and die because the world will get along just fine without you, if you believe that no one cares about you or loves you, or any one of a million thoughts like these, then you must realize that you are being lied to by the master deceiver himself, Satan.
If you read my post "My Life in Christ" you will see how I once believed all of these lies about myself. But if it wasn't for Jesus pursuing me until I realized that I needed Him, then you wouldn't be reading this post from someone who has been where you are at today. God loves you, and I love you, and there is nothing that will ever change that. Believe it with all your heart.
Please, today, answer the call. God is waiting to hear your voice saying His name. Tell Jesus that you want Him in your life and that you need Him. Surrender all that you are to Him and I guarantee that He will make good on His promise to forgive you, cleanse you, love you, and change you into someone who you can be proud of. His love is everlasting, it will never die. If your heart is being tugged and your mind has turned toward Jesus, please respond to His voice. You will know it is His voice because you will feel peaceful perhaps for the first time in your life. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20: “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends." (New Living Translation) Jesus is knocking. Answer the call won't you?
Monday, January 3, 2011
What Will Jesus Do For Me If I Have Faith In Him? (Part Three)
In Forgiveness:
Even the prophets knew that Jesus would forgive me if I believe in Him
Hundreds of years before Jesus was even born, prophets (through the Holy Spirit) foretold not only of Jesus’ birth, but also of His miracles, His death and resurrection, and even how He would conduct His Kingdom. Today, I want to focus on forgiveness.
In Acts 10:43 we read, “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (New International Version)”
As Israel went through its times of rebellion against God, God would send a prophet to speak for Him, to tell the people that God would lovingly take them back if they would just give up their idols and sinful ways. Unfortunately, they didn’t always listen, so along with a message of hope, God would tell them what would happen if they didn’t listen to him and return to His ways. The prophets would speak of wars and captivity that the Israelites would have to face if they kept on doing things their way, and God was true to His word. You see, God’s word is always true, and whatever He says will come to pass. But you also need to see that God always has our good in mind, as we talked about last time, even if we don’t think so.
The Israelites, as we would say today, talked out of both sides of their mouths. On one hand, they would complain to God that He wasn’t doing enough to get them out of their situation, that He was being too tough on them. With the other hand, they would cry out to God for deliverance from their troubles. Through His prophets, God always told the people what they would have to do if they wanted Him to save them. His solution was always the same: 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Also in Ezekiel 36:25-32, God says, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!
Yes, no matter how deep their rebellion against God was He would always forgive them their sins and return them back to a state of righteousness and would heal their land. And God says the same thing to us today. If this country would stop doing the evil things it does, and if we will all cry out to God to save our country, our youth, our way of life, and truly mean it, then He will heal our land and make this country great once again.
Even then, God let His people know that, one day, He was going to send a Savior to free us from our sins and from ourselves. About 500 years before the birth of Jesus, God told the prophet Isaiah to tell the people about this future Savior, in Isaiah 9:6-7, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this (New International Version).” We hear verse six every Christmas at church. But did you notice who it is who will accomplish this for us? The verse says the ZEAL of the Lord will accomplish this. His Zeal. That means with everything that is within Him, He will forgive and free us if we just believe that He can and will do so. Remember: Faith is believing. If you truly believe that God will do for you what He said He would do, then your faith will be strong and nothing in this world can shake you from that belief.
God has said that if you come to Him and ask Him to forgive you of all your sins, you just have to believe that it’s true. If you don’t believe it fully, then it will not happen. God does not like double-minded people, because they will never be able to make up their minds, and will always doubt whether what they see and hear is true or real. That’s why God doesn’t just save everybody. He wants you to want him. He will not force Himself on you. What kind of relationship does a marriage have in it when two people are forced to marry each other? It would be a marriage without love, just obligation. You see God doesn’t want you to feel obliged to come to Him because He knows that obligations don’t always sit well with us humans. Tell the truth now: How many soccer moms, after the first couple of weeks, really want to take their kids to the field for a game? Or at your job? Or even at church. Obligations are not always fun and do not give us the satisfaction that say a hobby does, since that is something you do because you want to. It is the same with God. If you come to Him freely, because you want to, I can tell you from my own experience, you will have a more satisfying relationship with Him because you are both mutually joined together forever.
Now, let’s take note of that one all-inclusive word that is found in the middle of the verse from Acts. The word is “everyone”. In the Greek, the word means everyone, every way, continually, forever, perfectly, all men, all people, just to name a few (from the New American Standard Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries © 1981, 1999 The Lockman Foundation). Pretty straightforward, isn’t it? God forgives everyone who asks Him to. God will forgive your every sin in every way, no matter what it is or will be. God will continually forgive you of any new sins when you ask Him to forgive you of them. God will forever forgive you, because, when you gave your life to Jesus, you are forgiven for all sins for all time. God forgives perfectly, all the way, not just a part of your sin, but all of your sins. God’s forgiveness is for all men, women, and children. God’s forgiveness is for every human being living on the face of this planet we call Earth.
I call that Good News. Please hear it. Please embrace it. Please make it your own. If God is tugging at your heart at this very minute, then He has just given you all the faith you will ever need to believe in his Son, Jesus. God is telling you that He wants you to join with Him for eternity. Remember: God always gets what He wants, and right now, you’re it. Embrace Jesus. Embrace God. Your life will never be the same.
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