The Love In Jesus' Eyes!

Hello Guys and Gals!

Many years ago I had a dream on the night before Easter. In this dream, I felt as if I was taken from where I was and placed at the foot of the cross of Jesus while He was being crucified upon it. This was one of the most vivid dreams I have ever had. I saw Him up on the cross in His tortured state. And when I looked up at Him, He looked down upon me and told me, 'I am doing this for you!' When He said that to me, He looked upon me with love in His eyes that I have never seen before and will only see again when I meet Him in heaven.

It was one of the most personal personal, heart piercing, dreams I have ever had. In that moment, I knew that Jesus had died on the cross for me alone. Everything he suffered was for me and me alone. He wanted me to know that I was worth all that suffering to Him and I felt it in His loving gaze.

It is the same for each and every one of you! Jesus also died for you and you alone! If He had to do it all over again just for you, He would! That is how much Jesus loves us. Each and every one of us.

It is my prayer today that you can see the love in Jesus' eyes as I have seen and know, beyond any doubt, that He sacrificed all in loving you and me!

God bless you all this day!

Kidney Stone!

Sorry for not writing in the last few days. I am suffering from a kidney stone and do not want to write while on pain meds.

God bless you guys today!

David and Peter!

Hello Guys and Gals!

I wonder if any of you have ever wondered what David and Peter had in common? Both men were great leaders of faith under God! But what did they have in common? They both, after serving the Lord faithfully, fell short in something, and were admonished for it and went on to continue to serve the Lord!

Let's look at David first. In 2 Samuel 11, it tells about how David stayed home from the battlefield and chanced upon Bathsheba bathing from the roof of his house. He inquires of her and finds out that she is the wife of Uriah. He sends a messenger to Joab telling him to place Uriah in a place where fighting is very dangerous. In so doing, Uriah dies in battle. After the time of mourning, David takes Bathsheba for his wife.

Now let's look at what happened. First, David was not at the battlefield where he should have been. Second, when he saw Bathsheba bathing, instead of averting his eyes, he found her beautiful and inquired after her. Third, he sent a messenger to Joab to place Uriah in a very dangerous place essentially murdering him. Fourth, not only did he sin against God and Uriah, but also led Joab to sin against God and Uriah as well.

In 2 Samuel 12, it tells about how the prophet Nathan tells a little story to rile David's wrath against the sinner of the story. Then Nathan tells David that the sinner in the story is none other than David himself. Because of David's sin, the Lord said that the sword would never depart from his house and that the Lord would raise up evil from David's own household and even take David's wives before David's eyes and give them to his companion who would lie with them in broad daylight.

Now David immediately repents of his sin and the Lord immediately takes Davids sin away and David does not suffer the punishment of the sin by dying! But the consequences that the Lord said would happen because of David's sin are still there! Just because David repented does not mean that he does not still suffer the consequences of his sin.

Let us now look at Peter. In Galatians 4, Paul opposes Peter to his face. Why? Because Peter, when eating, would eat with the Gentiles. Yet, when certain circumcised persons would attend, Peter would hold himself aloof fearing what the circumcised persons would say about him. In doing this, other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy. It says that even Barnabas was carried away by the hypocrisy. So Paul, in front of everyone said, 'If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?'

Now we know that Peter went on to become the 'rock' upon which Jesus would build His church. But we also see here that he too was fallible.

Why have I place both David and Peter together? Because both men were Godly men who did great things in His name both before and after their sins! I want to say to you that sin does not prevent us from doing great things in God's name. Now we may have to suffer the consequences of the sin, or may have to deal with the scars that sin leaves upon our lives. But that should not keep us from doing His will!

So what that you have sinned. So what that you have a stain on you from that sin. 'Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' Hebrews 4:16. This has to be one of my favorite verses in the whole bible! It tells us that it does not matter what your sin is, but come boldly to the throne of God's grace. Why? So we may receive God's mercy AND find grace within ourselves to help others in their time of need! What an amazing witness. God has turned our sin into an avenue by which we can help others who are in need!

So if you're facing a sin that you think is preventing you from doing God's will, get up and boldly go to God's throne of grace! Do it right now! Do not let sin win in your life. Let God turn your sin into a witness for Him!

God bless you all this day!

Our Trials and Tribulations!

Hello Guys and Gals!

Have you ever wondered why you were going through a particular trial or tribulation in your life? Have you ever thought God to be unjust by putting you through it, or allowing you to go through it? Boy, I sure have!

I have been through many trials and tribulations in my life. With each and every one, Jesus has been there right by my side. Yet I only seem to realize this after the fact. I think one of the reasons we go through troubling times is to build our faith in God. He wants us to know that He is the one we should turn to in times of need and knows that by us putting our trust in Him to get us out of this troubling time, that we strengthen our faith in Him.

But surely that is not the only reason. Then I've considered some of the trials or tribulations I have been through and looked at them separately. What was the trial about? How did going through this trial help me? I looked at one in particular. About five to six years ago I started having panic attacks. This is one trial that was particularly tough for me. You see, my ex-wife used to have panic attacks, and when she did, I used to tell her to pull herself out of it and that it was mind over matter and she was way too smart to be having something stupid like panic attacks. So here I was, years later, having the very things I said she should be able to control. I thought I was helping her when she had her attacks. Now I was having panic attacks and I could do NOTHING to stop them from happening.

I think that God allowed me to go through this so that I would see what a defeating event they are in people's lives. I also believe that they helped me see that, no matter how small you think a problem may be, that this very problem could be very huge to the person suffering from it. I had not been seeing the problem from their eyes but my own. If I have ever done this to any of you, I apologize most sincerely.

Now I do not know if there are more reasons as to why we suffer trial and tribulations. But I know this, with just these two reasons, I thank God for putting me through each and every trial and tribulation I have faced. Thank you Lord Jesus for also being there with me through them!

God bless you all this day!

Just Be Yourself!

Hello Guys and Gals!

I wanted to write this message today more from my heart than from any research I've done over the years. When I was younger, all I wanted to be was 'cool'! I worked very hard at trying to do that, but it wasn't the real me. I felt that if I showed the real me to people that they wouldn't like me much.

So as I went through my teens, twenties, thirties, and so on, and so on...

All I did was change one definition of cool for another! I went through many stages in attempting to be in the cool crowd. Now I wonder how much different it would have been if I had just let myself be myself.

I changed in the last year or two. I changed immensely. Not that I haven't been changing over the many years as well. It's just that I finally realized that it didn't matter what other people think if I'm truly being true to myself and to God! I started giving my whole self to God, not just parts of me, but all of me. In doing so, I found out who I really am. What an awesome revelation. To discover the real me after all these years. And on top of that, find out that my real identity of myself had always been rooted in God!

Listen up Guys and Gals! Be true to yourself. Quit worrying about what others may think of your true personality. Quit worrying about what others will say about your hobbies and habits and anything else that you may have this concern in.

Be yourself! Figure out who you are and be that! Enjoy that! Live that! I encourage all of you to search in God's Word first to discover your true self. That is where I looked last and wish I had looked there first! Any way you do it, do it! Find yourself and be true to yourself by living and doing what gives you true happiness. For me, it's all about restoring relationships that I've had in the past, strengthen relationships I have now, and seek out new relationships with people I meet in the future! In all of this, I'm NOT seeking to destroy, but to build!

God bless you all this day!

The Whole Word Of God!

Hello Guys and Gals!

I want to talk to you today about the Holy Scriptures also known as the Word of God!

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.' John 1:1-5.

Many people think that the Word of God was made by men. Also, they believe that it is just a set of rules or principles made by men of old that instruct man on how to live a good life. This is not true! We can clearly see that the Word of God existed before anything else and it was with God and it was God!

'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.' John 1:14.

This passage testifies to the fact that God became man so that He could bring us both grace and truth! Jesus Christ is the very embodiment of truth. The Word of God is nothing more than a representation of who Jesus was when he dwelt among us. The truth of the Word of God is the truth of Jesus Christ given to us by God so that we may know the truth and no longer dwell in darkness.

This means that the whole of the Word of God, every last jot and tittle of it, is part of what God wanted us to have.

'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.' Exodus 20:2-6.

This is a difficult passage to understand completely. It talks about bringing Israel out of bondage in Egypt. If you are a Christian, then you have been adopted in to this very family through Jesus Christ, so that their history is also the history of your family! You could even take it a step further and say that the bondage God brought you personally out of was your bondage to sin.

It talks about idols. What is an idol? I'll give you the most simple definition of an idol I can think of; an idol is anything that you put in your life that hinders your relationship with God or you put before God in all that you do! Do you have any idols in your life?

Now comes the hard part. We know that God desires a personal relationship with each and every person on the Earth. He created us and desires it for us. Yet, in the above passage, God talks about visiting the iniquity, or sins, of the father onto the children for up to the third and fourth generation. Here is the key part, 'of those who hate Me'! God visits this iniquity on the father and his children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Him! God is punishing those who hate Him for the sins of their grandfathers. Hard stuff huh? Yet this is only for those who hate Him!

The good part comes next. God tells us that He will show loving-kindness to those who love Him and keep His commandments. There are many people out there who claim to love the Lord, yet they do not keep His commandments. God has clearly stated that you not only must love Him but also keep His commandments.

Jesus said, 'If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.' John 8:31-32.

How can we know we are doing what His Word says? James says this about it, 'But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.' James 1:22-25.

Do you do what the Word of God says? Or are you just a hearer of the Word? Yes, I am talking about the whole Word of God. Here is what I am getting at with this whole post. Many people today are saying that certain parts of the Word of God are no longer applicable today because society has advanced. This is not true!

When Paul talks about how women should be silent in church because they are subject to their husbands, this still holds today. When the bible talks about the act of a man lying with another man or a woman lying with another woman being an abomination in His eyes, this still holds today!

I know many of you will think badly of me for saying this, but I believe in the whole Word of God and not just a part of it. I also know that some will go to their bibles and start pointing out little points of contention here and there. And I say to them that when they consider the author's intent, the audience he was writing to, the history of what was going on then, and the actual full message being told; all these things together that the Word of God is still fully applicable and fully true today as it was when it was first written!

I want you all to know that all believers are under Grace, or the law of liberty, and not subject to the Law as it pertains to Israel who does not believe in Jesus as their savior! Everyone falls into one of three categories as pertaining to the Law.

The first is people who are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but have not accepted Jesus as Lord. These are the people under the Law!

The second are Gentiles, or those not descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These people are not under the Law and live in darkness.

The third are both descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Gentiles both who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. These people are neither under the Law or living in darkness, but are under the law of liberty, or law of Grace.

Through grace and our love of Jesus Christ, we live in such a way that our very words and actions establish the Law that Israelites attempt to live under. But we must know the whole of the Word of God in order to do His Will. This means all parts of it with no omissions just because you don't like it or you think that it doesn't apply today!

For if you strive to know and do the whole of the Word of God, then the blessings of God will flow over you. Now this does not mean that there won't be struggle as well. But through that struggle, you will gain strength in God and a certain knowledge that He will always be there for you!

God bless you all this day!

Don't Let Guilt Win!

Hello Guys and Gals!

I want to talk to you today about guilt!


guilt /gɪlt/ Show Spelled[gilt] Show IPA –noun

1. the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, esp. against moral or penal law; culpability: He admitted his guilt.
2. a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or imagined.
3. conduct involving the commission of such crimes, wrongs, etc.: to live a life of guilt.

This is the definition that dictionary.com gives about guilt. As you can see it is the fear or state of your knowledge that you have done wrong against someone. We all have guilt. All of us have to deal with that knowledge that we have done others wrong, that we have done God wrong. None of us is so pure that we haven't committed any wrong.

But do we have to live with that guilt the rest of our lives?

'For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.' James 2:10.

Clearly we see that if we stumble on just one little thing, that we are guilty of breaking the whole of the law. It does not matter if that guilt comes from a little, white lie, or from black murder. It is still an offense and we all have had many more than just one stumble in our lives.

'Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' Hebrews 4:14-16.

I love this passage! This passage lets us know that our intercessor, Jesus Christ, has also been tempted by the very same things we face when we are tempted. He knows what we have gone through and what we will go through. He will be there with us! So be sure to go to Him boldly and say, 'I want that grace!' For if you do, your guilt will be no more consequence.

'Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.' Hebrews 10:19-25.

Big passage here! Yet it states that we can draw near with a sincere heart being fully assured that our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. Our guilt is of no more consequence in His eyes!

So what now? Do we take this freedom we now have and go back to living the way we were? Heaven forbid! May it never be! Instead we are to stimulate and encourage one another to doing good deeds through our, and His, love of them. We are to keep to assembling together and not forsake it. Why? Because by gathering together on a regular basis, we encourage one another and draw strength from each other who are of like mind with us.

God wants us to use our gifts to bring about His will in our lives and the lives of others! Your gift may be leading a flock, teaching the Word, or simply being there to listen to someone who needs to be listened to. We all have different gifts. You know what it is that you do well. Use that gift and go encourage others in His love!

But don't let guilt win! Sometimes we are afraid to use our gifts because we remember that guilt from before and think that we are not worthy of furthering His will. But that guilt is only a memory! Remember that! It is no longer a part of your life having been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ! So put your remembrance of that guilt away from you and seek to help doing His will, not only in your own life, but also in the lives of others!

God bless you all this day!

Are Drugs Mentioned In The Bible?

Hello Guys and Gals!

Are drugs mentioned in the bible? I'll let you decide that. Here is what I know.

'Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.' Galatians 5:19-21.

Do you see the word 'sorcery'? You actually have to go back to the Greek to get an accurate translation of this word. I believe sorcery is mistranslated in today's language, yet it was accurately translated that way back in time. The original word in Greek is the word 'pharmakia'. Do you draw any conclusions yet? It is the same word from which we get the word pharmaceuticals, or drugs.

See, back then it wasn't known as 'drugs'. It was known as Sorcery or Alchemy or any other of a number of labels. It is just that the translators of the bible didn't know that it would no longer be called sorcery but drugs instead. This is a perfect example of how language changes over the ages. So now that we know the truth about it, does it change your mind about how you feel about drugs? Or not?

God bless you all this day!

Start Now!

Hello Guys and Gals!

There was a time when I had salvation but was not living a Christian life. I cannot beg for forgiveness enough from my Lord for the bad witness I gave during that time. But the day did come where I asked Him how I could start helping His cause. Do you know what he told me? He said to me to put my past failures and sins behind me and start now being a new creature in Him.

'Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' Hebrews 4:16.

We need to come boldly to His throne of grace so that he can give us our forgiveness and strengthen us to do His work.

I went boldly to His throne of grace and I promised Him that I would start now. I would not let my past hinder what I was doing and that I would rely upon His strength to do His will.

Needless to say, Satan also heard me and chose this time of commitment to try and persecute me from doing God's will. So Satan attacked me in many different ways. I have been accused of lying and deception for telling nothing but the truth. I have even been accused of using this very blog as a podium for my lies. Satan is attacking me at every side right now. But I claim the power of Jesus Christ and hold it fast to me and I will not be cowed into straying from God's will for my life.

Therefore, Satan, I will no longer allow your attacks against me, be they spiritual attacks, physical attacks, or mental attacks, to come between me and the work I do for my Lord and Savior, one Jesus Christ! I cast thee away from me in the name of Jesus Christ!

This is how you deal with doubt, deceivers, and those who would call your efforts false! The only standard you should be using when you hold what you're doing to scrutiny is the Word of God. But do it correctly! When you seek to understand what the bible is saying. You should consider the author's intent in writing what he wrote, the audience, the occasion for the writing, and what was going on at that time as well as the actual message. And do not take just a small snippet to try and understand what is being said. This is how so much scripture is misinterpreted. You must consider what was said before and after the scripture you are studying. This is how you accurately study what the Word of God truly says.

In conclusion, do not let your past dictate your future. Do not let your past hinder what you are doing in the name of Jesus Christ! Do not let those who point to your past convince you that what you are doing is wrong. Stand fast in the truth of God's Word, hold tight to Jesus Christ, and do great works in His name!

May God bless you all this day!

The Truth About Lying!

Hello Guys and Gals!

What do you know about lies? I used to think that I knew more than I did. Yet now that I know more about them, the more I realize that there is so little that I actually know! The same can be said for just about everything.

What does the Word of God say about lying?

'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.' Exodus 20:16.

I used to think that there was a loophole in this commandment. It says not just that 'you shall not bear false witness' but it adds on 'against your neighbor'! I used to think that when confronted with a situation where nobody would get hurt, like when your wife asks if the jeans she's wearing make her look fat, then a little lie, or a white lie, would not only be acceptable but appropriate in that situation. I no longer believe this!

John 2:21, 'no lie is of the truth.'

With this, we see that even a simple little white lie is not of the truth.

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about lying. 'Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.' John 8:43-44.

This tells me that any lie, no matter how small, is of Satan who is the Father of Lies. If you make a lie, then you are speaking directly from Satan's own mouth!

'A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells lies will perish.' Proverbs 19:9

In this we can see that not only is the liar going to perish, but also that the lie itself will not go unpunished. I believe that any who spreads a lie, even if they do not know they are spreading a lie, also partake in the punishment of that lie.

Now that we know what the Word of God says about it, let's get into what actually happens with a lie. When someone lies, the lie that they speak attacks the relationship that person is having with who they are telling that lie to. Now some of you might say that you do not care about that relationship with someone you do not know. But Jesus told us that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. He went on to define our neighbor as everyone you have contact with in your life! So when you lie, you are not seeking a good relationship but more attacking the relationship instead.

Even a simple white lie can rip a family to shreds. It brings division and lack of trust to a family. I have seen this with my own eyes many times. I am not speaking of just one incident here but what I have witnessed over the course of my life.

If any of you want to promote good relationships in your life, which is one of the things Jesus commanded us to do, then do not lie! For a lie tears at the very fabric that the relationship is made of. It is not a good thing and God will punish the Liar as well as the Lie and all who partake in it!

May God bless you all this day!