Hello Guys and Gals!
Have you ever prayed that God remove you from this world; take you from this life so that your pain, suffering, depression, loneliness, and misery of life ends? I have!
I know that many of you, my dear friends, are hurting in some way or another right now. Some with the loss of a loved one. Some with the hurtful treatment of those who would be your friends. Some with the pain of separation or divorce from one you love. Some simply because you are hurting. I have been there! I know the pain of each and every one of these things. I know where you are today and where you can be tomorrow.
But I am writing this so that you may have hope! Have you ever read Psalm 23?
Psalm 23
The LORD, the Psalmist's Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the tvalley of the shadow of death,
I fear no tevil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will tdwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Did you know that David wrote this psalm while being pursued by Saul, the father of David's best friend and King of Israel, and David felt as if he had nothing to live for and no hope left in his life! Have you ever felt that? I have!
What I want to focus on is the line 'He restores my soul'! I cannot begin to describe how low I was and how much God has restored my soul to value my life again, to think that my soul is contributing to helping others better their lives, to feeling worthy again in His sight!
Do you know how I started getting help from God? I was just about to stick a needle in my arm once again. The guilt and shame of that overcame me and the Holy Spirit convicted me right there in a bathroom. I prayed that I had not the strength to give up the methamphetamines and life I was living. I told God that if He wanted me out of this life that He would have to do every part of it because I had not the strength or will to even move my head enough to turn around and look behind me at my life before when I was not on meth! It was by His strength, His effort, His might, His will, and His love that I was healed of that!
I encourage each and every one of you to simply pray! Even if you do not have any words, the Holy Spirit will translate your innermost groanings to God so that a clear message of what you are feeling and wanting to say are understood clearly by God so that He will send His son, Jesus Christ to you and help you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring you out of the pain and suffering you are experiencing right now! Jesus will be there for you and carry you when you have no more strength for your journey out of this horrible state you are in right now! That is His promise to you that He will never leave nor forsake you! Think about that word 'forsake'! This means that even should you rebel against Him and do your utmost to get Him to turn from you, he will not forsake you to even your own desire for destruction!
Here is a passage from Psalm 18, also written by David:
4 The cords of death encompassed me,
And the torrents of tungodliness terrified me.
5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice out of His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.
15 Then the channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were laid bare
At Your rebuke, O LORD,
At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the LORD was my stay.
This is the might and power of God that comes to rescue you from His throne in Heaven! Know this! Believe this! Trust Him as He saves you!
And if there be any of you who think that He cannot save you, just look at me and how He has transformed me and changed my life for your hope! He can do it and will do it if you only ask Him for help!
God bless you all this day!
10 January 2012
25 December 2011
The Truth Of Jesus Christ... In Love!
Good morning and Merry Christmas Guys and Gals!
I went to bed early last night. I prayed that God help me to figure out what to write about this morning. He did! He told me to write about His love!
Do you love people like Jesus did? Do you spend time with them even if they are still living in sin? I'm not talking about sinning with them but being a light of hope for them to guide them out of their sin! Do you speak the truth to them about their sin? I'm not talking about just what the bible says, but in the way you live your life as well! Do you stand firm in the truth as He did and let them walk away if they so choose, but being ready to be there for them should they turn to you for help?
I think that today so many people are twisting the message that Jesus brought to the world. He brought the message of truth through love! It did not matter who Jesus was speaking to, He spoke the truth to them! He did not worry about how it would be viewed politically, or socially, or even if some thought His message was one of hate and not love! He told the truth about it! With that truth, He also offered to show the way out of the sinful life into the life of Salvation through Him! He told the people of that day that following the Law by the letter is never what he wanted. Instead, He told them about following the Law from the heart and what it meant to do so! For if you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind; and if you love your neighbor as yourself; then you will establish the very tenets of the Law with your actions because it will come naturally from your heart!
If someone says that the truth you are speaking to them is hateful, kindly correct them that you are telling them the truth in love so that they will know and understand that their sin is hurting them and as long as they keep sinning in their sin, their life will have the curse of that sin upon it! Here is the important part though... that is only half the message! You also have to tell them how God gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins on the cross so that they, as sinners, would be able to come to Him, Jesus Christ, and receive forgiveness of those sins and start, yes I said start, a path to righteousness!
See, the cross of Jesus is where we begin our journey! It is a long journey and often filled with perils and hazards which we must pass through! As Christians we will have hard times and troubles! But Jesus Christ, the Son of the Ever Living God, will be right there beside us and within us as we pass through those perils and hazards! And for every thing we suffer for His name's sake here in these mortal bodies of ours, we store up treasures in Heaven for when we arrive there with the hope of Eternal Life and Incorruptible Bodies waiting for us when we get there! This is our hope! This is our joy! That we get to live Eternity with Jesus Christ in Heaven!
But others also need to hear of Jesus! And if you do not speak the truth to them about Jesus, then how will they know? So go and speak the truth, in love, to those you love and even those you may feel that you hate! Do it today! Do it with love and gentleness! Because just as it was hard for you to face the truth of sin in your life, so it will be hard for them to face the truth of sin in their life! But remember this, if they choose to turn from you and walk away, let them! But be ready to receive them back with love when they repent and turn from their sin and seek Jesus Christ who is their only hope of Salvation!
This is my Christmas message to you today! May God bless every one of you this day!
I went to bed early last night. I prayed that God help me to figure out what to write about this morning. He did! He told me to write about His love!
Do you love people like Jesus did? Do you spend time with them even if they are still living in sin? I'm not talking about sinning with them but being a light of hope for them to guide them out of their sin! Do you speak the truth to them about their sin? I'm not talking about just what the bible says, but in the way you live your life as well! Do you stand firm in the truth as He did and let them walk away if they so choose, but being ready to be there for them should they turn to you for help?
I think that today so many people are twisting the message that Jesus brought to the world. He brought the message of truth through love! It did not matter who Jesus was speaking to, He spoke the truth to them! He did not worry about how it would be viewed politically, or socially, or even if some thought His message was one of hate and not love! He told the truth about it! With that truth, He also offered to show the way out of the sinful life into the life of Salvation through Him! He told the people of that day that following the Law by the letter is never what he wanted. Instead, He told them about following the Law from the heart and what it meant to do so! For if you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind; and if you love your neighbor as yourself; then you will establish the very tenets of the Law with your actions because it will come naturally from your heart!
If someone says that the truth you are speaking to them is hateful, kindly correct them that you are telling them the truth in love so that they will know and understand that their sin is hurting them and as long as they keep sinning in their sin, their life will have the curse of that sin upon it! Here is the important part though... that is only half the message! You also have to tell them how God gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins on the cross so that they, as sinners, would be able to come to Him, Jesus Christ, and receive forgiveness of those sins and start, yes I said start, a path to righteousness!
See, the cross of Jesus is where we begin our journey! It is a long journey and often filled with perils and hazards which we must pass through! As Christians we will have hard times and troubles! But Jesus Christ, the Son of the Ever Living God, will be right there beside us and within us as we pass through those perils and hazards! And for every thing we suffer for His name's sake here in these mortal bodies of ours, we store up treasures in Heaven for when we arrive there with the hope of Eternal Life and Incorruptible Bodies waiting for us when we get there! This is our hope! This is our joy! That we get to live Eternity with Jesus Christ in Heaven!
But others also need to hear of Jesus! And if you do not speak the truth to them about Jesus, then how will they know? So go and speak the truth, in love, to those you love and even those you may feel that you hate! Do it today! Do it with love and gentleness! Because just as it was hard for you to face the truth of sin in your life, so it will be hard for them to face the truth of sin in their life! But remember this, if they choose to turn from you and walk away, let them! But be ready to receive them back with love when they repent and turn from their sin and seek Jesus Christ who is their only hope of Salvation!
This is my Christmas message to you today! May God bless every one of you this day!
22 December 2011
Give Those You Love Something Of Yourself!
Hello Guys and Gals!
With Christmas closing in fast, I ask each one of you to give something to those you love that really matters! I ask you to give yourself!
Too often, we find that we are under pressure to prove our love to our loved ones with the pocketbook. We have to show our love with what we spend on them. That is the message that Society teaches us today! I say we should send a different message. I think we should give something, anything, or ourselves to make a meaningful gift that will be remembered long after that new piece of technology is dust and ashes!
So what can you give? Well ask yourself this question: what do you do well? Think about that for a minute! Figure out what you do that you look upon and conclude that you do this thing well. Do you make cards? Do you work with wood? Do you sing? Do you write poetry? Do you recite poetry? Do you work well? Figure it out! It will be different for each and every one of you. So figure it out and then think about how you can make that thing you do a gift for others. Then use your effort and work to give that as a gift to those you love this year!
I promise you this: if you give of yourself to those you love, it will mean more to them in the years to come than any other present you can buy them this year!
Another thing I ask you to do: spend time with those you love! Get together and watch a movie. Cook a meal... together. Bake some cookies or ornaments. Go fishing or hunting. Build a campfire and have a conversation about anything. Play a game, not a video game but a board game. Go do something, anything, to spend time with those you love this year! The relationship you have with people is far more important than anything that comes from the pocketbook!
So give something of yourself and spend some time with those you love this Christmas!
God bless you all this day!
With Christmas closing in fast, I ask each one of you to give something to those you love that really matters! I ask you to give yourself!
Too often, we find that we are under pressure to prove our love to our loved ones with the pocketbook. We have to show our love with what we spend on them. That is the message that Society teaches us today! I say we should send a different message. I think we should give something, anything, or ourselves to make a meaningful gift that will be remembered long after that new piece of technology is dust and ashes!
So what can you give? Well ask yourself this question: what do you do well? Think about that for a minute! Figure out what you do that you look upon and conclude that you do this thing well. Do you make cards? Do you work with wood? Do you sing? Do you write poetry? Do you recite poetry? Do you work well? Figure it out! It will be different for each and every one of you. So figure it out and then think about how you can make that thing you do a gift for others. Then use your effort and work to give that as a gift to those you love this year!
I promise you this: if you give of yourself to those you love, it will mean more to them in the years to come than any other present you can buy them this year!
Another thing I ask you to do: spend time with those you love! Get together and watch a movie. Cook a meal... together. Bake some cookies or ornaments. Go fishing or hunting. Build a campfire and have a conversation about anything. Play a game, not a video game but a board game. Go do something, anything, to spend time with those you love this year! The relationship you have with people is far more important than anything that comes from the pocketbook!
So give something of yourself and spend some time with those you love this Christmas!
God bless you all this day!
01 December 2011
Truth! Not Political Correctness!
Hello Guys and Gals!
I have been hearing more and more of late about how we are supposed to be careful with the truth we share because those hearing it may be offended and turn away from hearing about Christ and the cross! I do not think this is right! I believe with all my heart that this is wrong! I believe that we should call sin for what it is, that is sin, and that we should call a lie for what it is, that is a lie! If we are not bold, in love, in telling the truth about Jesus, then why would anyone continue to believe in the Jesus we preached to them if we held something back when we should have spoken up?
Look at what Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet." - Matthew 10:14. Jesus knew that they would not be received by many people! He told them to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them when they leave!
And when Jesus healed on the Sabbath and spoke against the Pharisees of that day, did they not immediately start planning to kill him? Do you think that Jesus did not know of their plotting? So when Jesus sees the Pharisees again, he rebukes them because they were saying he casts out demons by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons. This is where Jesus speaks about how a house divided cannot stand in Matthew 12:22-29!
But what about those who didn't believe in him? When Jesus returned to Nazareth the scriptures say that he didn't do many miracles there because of the people's unbelief (Matthew 13:58).
I can go on and on about the many examples where Jesus preached the truth and was not concerned with his own safety, or whether or not he would offend the hearers of his words! Anyone living in sin will be offended by the words of truth you speak about Jesus no matter how nicely you put it! But if you do not speak the truth, then you turn the testimony of Jesus Christ into a lie!
What about those who have been brought up being told lies about their history and would be offended in you correcting their misconceptions of historical fact? You tell the truth anyway! If there is something that they do not understand because of a lie that has been taught to them, you correct that lie to them! If you know the truth and remain silent, then you are just as guilty of the lie they believe as the one who taught it to them!
Look at when Jesus spoke the truth to people. Do you think they were not offended and walked away? They did! But I did not see Jesus go after them! He didn't chase them saying wait, maybe you didn't hear me! I love you! Why are you still walking away? Maybe I didn't say it in the right tone. I love you! Why are you still walking away? Maybe I didn't learn enough of your traditions to be able to explain myself accurately enough so as not to offend you when telling you of myself!
Jesus did not chase after them! He did not change the truth he spoke! He did not worry about offending them! He knew they would be offended and walk away and even plan to do him harm! He spoke the whole truth anyway! He even rebuked those who were already planning to do him harm with the truth that he spoke openly and publicly to them!
So why, I ask you, do we today preach in such a way as to be politically correct and inoffensive in presenting Jesus Christ to people? Do you not know that the holiness of Jesus Christ and the very message of him is offensive to every sinner? Why are we mincing our words? How do you know that the very truth you speak, even though it offends the sinner at that time, won't have a huge impact upon the person hearing it and the Holy Spirit won't guide them into finding out the truth of what you said? How do you know that they won't say to themselves 'if this person told me the truth about this thing, maybe they are telling me the truth about this Jesus as well'?
The point I'm making here is quit being Politically Correct Christians! Jesus was about as Politically Incorrect as they come! So what if you offend someone in speaking the truth in love about Jesus Christ? Yes I keep saying in love because I do not believe that you should yell someone into salvation! But you should still be firm and kind in doing so! You can tell the truth, calling their lies a lie and calling their sin a sin and the power of the Holy Spirit will give strength to your words, if they are the truth, and that person you spoke that truth to, even though they may walk away, has had a seed planted within them! Why is it that we Christians believe that we are the ones who are supposed to reap the harvest of our planting? Are there not other laborers out there doing God's will?
So when you hear someone say that they are offended by the gospel that you speak, simply tell them you know they are and why you know they are! But do not stop speaking the truth of Jesus Christ for if you do then the very lies that you do not correct you will take a share of the guilt of that person believing those lies!
May God bless you all this day!
I have been hearing more and more of late about how we are supposed to be careful with the truth we share because those hearing it may be offended and turn away from hearing about Christ and the cross! I do not think this is right! I believe with all my heart that this is wrong! I believe that we should call sin for what it is, that is sin, and that we should call a lie for what it is, that is a lie! If we are not bold, in love, in telling the truth about Jesus, then why would anyone continue to believe in the Jesus we preached to them if we held something back when we should have spoken up?
Look at what Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet." - Matthew 10:14. Jesus knew that they would not be received by many people! He told them to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them when they leave!
And when Jesus healed on the Sabbath and spoke against the Pharisees of that day, did they not immediately start planning to kill him? Do you think that Jesus did not know of their plotting? So when Jesus sees the Pharisees again, he rebukes them because they were saying he casts out demons by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons. This is where Jesus speaks about how a house divided cannot stand in Matthew 12:22-29!
But what about those who didn't believe in him? When Jesus returned to Nazareth the scriptures say that he didn't do many miracles there because of the people's unbelief (Matthew 13:58).
I can go on and on about the many examples where Jesus preached the truth and was not concerned with his own safety, or whether or not he would offend the hearers of his words! Anyone living in sin will be offended by the words of truth you speak about Jesus no matter how nicely you put it! But if you do not speak the truth, then you turn the testimony of Jesus Christ into a lie!
What about those who have been brought up being told lies about their history and would be offended in you correcting their misconceptions of historical fact? You tell the truth anyway! If there is something that they do not understand because of a lie that has been taught to them, you correct that lie to them! If you know the truth and remain silent, then you are just as guilty of the lie they believe as the one who taught it to them!
Look at when Jesus spoke the truth to people. Do you think they were not offended and walked away? They did! But I did not see Jesus go after them! He didn't chase them saying wait, maybe you didn't hear me! I love you! Why are you still walking away? Maybe I didn't say it in the right tone. I love you! Why are you still walking away? Maybe I didn't learn enough of your traditions to be able to explain myself accurately enough so as not to offend you when telling you of myself!
Jesus did not chase after them! He did not change the truth he spoke! He did not worry about offending them! He knew they would be offended and walk away and even plan to do him harm! He spoke the whole truth anyway! He even rebuked those who were already planning to do him harm with the truth that he spoke openly and publicly to them!
So why, I ask you, do we today preach in such a way as to be politically correct and inoffensive in presenting Jesus Christ to people? Do you not know that the holiness of Jesus Christ and the very message of him is offensive to every sinner? Why are we mincing our words? How do you know that the very truth you speak, even though it offends the sinner at that time, won't have a huge impact upon the person hearing it and the Holy Spirit won't guide them into finding out the truth of what you said? How do you know that they won't say to themselves 'if this person told me the truth about this thing, maybe they are telling me the truth about this Jesus as well'?
The point I'm making here is quit being Politically Correct Christians! Jesus was about as Politically Incorrect as they come! So what if you offend someone in speaking the truth in love about Jesus Christ? Yes I keep saying in love because I do not believe that you should yell someone into salvation! But you should still be firm and kind in doing so! You can tell the truth, calling their lies a lie and calling their sin a sin and the power of the Holy Spirit will give strength to your words, if they are the truth, and that person you spoke that truth to, even though they may walk away, has had a seed planted within them! Why is it that we Christians believe that we are the ones who are supposed to reap the harvest of our planting? Are there not other laborers out there doing God's will?
So when you hear someone say that they are offended by the gospel that you speak, simply tell them you know they are and why you know they are! But do not stop speaking the truth of Jesus Christ for if you do then the very lies that you do not correct you will take a share of the guilt of that person believing those lies!
May God bless you all this day!
23 November 2011
The Bigger Threat!
Hello Guys and Gals!
I usually try and not bring politics into my blog but you all know how passionately I feel about it. But this morning I am doing just that because I believe it has to be said.
Back when Rick Perry was leading the polls, out came people who said because he did this or that, they will never vote for him!
Then we had Herman Cain in the lead and the allegations of sexual assault. Again we hear the same thing!
Now that Newt Gingrich is leading, there is a push against his policies and history as well. Again we are hearing the same thing from voters on how they will never vote for him!
Now I am not telling anyone how to vote or how to hold their conscience in their voting. But I think, because of our morals on the right, that the Left uses our very morals against us by bringing up accusations and allegations of those things which violate our moral principles with the very people we have portraying our values as our prospective candidates! All they have to do is push forward an allegation, whether it is true or not, whether it is 15 years old or recent, and play on our moral values in order to get the candidates which we are currently looking hard at out of the lead! It is in this way that the Left is able to pick and choose which candidate they will have to face when it comes time for the actual election!
But there is a bigger threat! I say we should continue to vet our candidates and explore them very critically! And I say that we should vote our hearts and minds, especially our minds, when we nominate the candidate to run against Barach Obama! But Obama is the bigger threat! I would happily take any one of the candidates running for the Republican ticket over another 4 years of Barach Obama!
So stick to your convictions during the nomination process! Absolutely! But once the nominee has been chosen to run against Barach Obama, then we must all rally behind that one candidate in order to make sure that Barach Obama is a one term president!
United we stand, divided we fall!
Do you guys not remember what happened with Ross Perot splitting the Republican vote and ensuring that Bill Clinton wins with a 40% share of the vote? I say to you now that anything that the candidates for the Republican nominee have done in their past is nothing compared to what Obama is doing now and will do in the future! I believe that if Obama is elected, that it will be the last election held in America and that elections will be eliminated under his next term, if not before then!
I want you also to think about Ninevah in the book of Jonah! God had punishment in store for Ninevah. Yet the people of Ninevah, at the preaching of Jonah to repent, humbled themselves, repented and prayed! These were not Israelites but Gentiles who did this! God saw their repentance and relented in bringing the punishment of that nation until a later time! I believe that America is ripe for God's Anger and justifiably so! But I also believe that if we humble ourselves, repent, and pray; that God will hold off the punishment He is bringing against America for the sins we have allowed to corrupt our society!
We are One Nation Under God! That is not the God of Allah, or Buddha! That is YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! We believe in YHWH as the one and only God! All other gods are false for they are not living gods! It is the beliefs and principles of the Christian Bible under which this great nation was founded and which we need to return to!
So pray about this and whatever candidate is nominated for Republican nominee, rally behind that candidate because I can most assuredly state that whoever this person will be, they will be a far better choice than Barach Obama as the leader of our nation, for Barach Obama is the bigger threat!
May God bless you all this day! Happy Thanksgiving!
I usually try and not bring politics into my blog but you all know how passionately I feel about it. But this morning I am doing just that because I believe it has to be said.
Back when Rick Perry was leading the polls, out came people who said because he did this or that, they will never vote for him!
Then we had Herman Cain in the lead and the allegations of sexual assault. Again we hear the same thing!
Now that Newt Gingrich is leading, there is a push against his policies and history as well. Again we are hearing the same thing from voters on how they will never vote for him!
Now I am not telling anyone how to vote or how to hold their conscience in their voting. But I think, because of our morals on the right, that the Left uses our very morals against us by bringing up accusations and allegations of those things which violate our moral principles with the very people we have portraying our values as our prospective candidates! All they have to do is push forward an allegation, whether it is true or not, whether it is 15 years old or recent, and play on our moral values in order to get the candidates which we are currently looking hard at out of the lead! It is in this way that the Left is able to pick and choose which candidate they will have to face when it comes time for the actual election!
But there is a bigger threat! I say we should continue to vet our candidates and explore them very critically! And I say that we should vote our hearts and minds, especially our minds, when we nominate the candidate to run against Barach Obama! But Obama is the bigger threat! I would happily take any one of the candidates running for the Republican ticket over another 4 years of Barach Obama!
So stick to your convictions during the nomination process! Absolutely! But once the nominee has been chosen to run against Barach Obama, then we must all rally behind that one candidate in order to make sure that Barach Obama is a one term president!
United we stand, divided we fall!
Do you guys not remember what happened with Ross Perot splitting the Republican vote and ensuring that Bill Clinton wins with a 40% share of the vote? I say to you now that anything that the candidates for the Republican nominee have done in their past is nothing compared to what Obama is doing now and will do in the future! I believe that if Obama is elected, that it will be the last election held in America and that elections will be eliminated under his next term, if not before then!
I want you also to think about Ninevah in the book of Jonah! God had punishment in store for Ninevah. Yet the people of Ninevah, at the preaching of Jonah to repent, humbled themselves, repented and prayed! These were not Israelites but Gentiles who did this! God saw their repentance and relented in bringing the punishment of that nation until a later time! I believe that America is ripe for God's Anger and justifiably so! But I also believe that if we humble ourselves, repent, and pray; that God will hold off the punishment He is bringing against America for the sins we have allowed to corrupt our society!
We are One Nation Under God! That is not the God of Allah, or Buddha! That is YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! We believe in YHWH as the one and only God! All other gods are false for they are not living gods! It is the beliefs and principles of the Christian Bible under which this great nation was founded and which we need to return to!
So pray about this and whatever candidate is nominated for Republican nominee, rally behind that candidate because I can most assuredly state that whoever this person will be, they will be a far better choice than Barach Obama as the leader of our nation, for Barach Obama is the bigger threat!
May God bless you all this day! Happy Thanksgiving!
30 October 2011
Whoever Said Life Was Fair?
Hello Guys and Gals!
I am asking you a question today. Whoever said life was fair? The reason I am asking this question is because I have been seeing many people saying 'that's not fair' or 'why me' lately. It seems like everyone is exhibiting an entitlement to fairness in their life. Why? Who said life was fair? Who said you get the rose garden with the little house and the white picket fence?
In my own life, I have come through a lot of adversity to say the least. I am addicted to methamphetamines! Yes I still claim it as an active addiction because I believe it will never go away! Do you know what that is like? Well, some of you do. Some, on the other hand, do not. It is the most addictive substance known to man! There is nothing more addictive in the eyes of the medical community today. Yes even compared to Heroine!
I am beating that addiction! I had no help doing it other than Jesus. Everyone seems to want these drug treatment programs and seem to say that this is the only cure. I didn't use one. But I can honestly say that without Jesus in my life, I would still be on that junk today! But He was the only one! Not my family! Not my friends! Not my co-workers! Not even my church! It was solely Jesus! I had no help whatsoever from anyone in beating this addiction except for Jesus!
Yet, you do not hear me complaining about why did I have to be tempted with Meth. You do not hear me complaining about why did I not have anyone help me through this like a drug treatment program. I don't complain because I am running the race set before me! 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 states:
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Now the race that I run and the the race that you run are not the same race! Every single one of us runs a different race! There is a different race set before each one of us! Yet our goal is that imperishable wreath! The one given by Jesus alone! So what that my race is different from your race! Run the race set before you to win it!
Is your race easier than mine? Is your race harder than mine? I do not know the answer to that question. I only know that they are different races. It does not matter if the race set before you is easier or harder than the race set before someone else! What matters is that you strive for that wreath! What matters is that you run the race before you to win! What matters is that when you fall down, and you will fall down, that you get back up and continue on toward the goal! That is your race! This is my race! They are different and fair does not even enter into it! You have what you have and I have what I have! Both are challenging to the runners! Will you overcome your challenge? I am sure striving to overcome mine!
May God bless you all this day!
I am asking you a question today. Whoever said life was fair? The reason I am asking this question is because I have been seeing many people saying 'that's not fair' or 'why me' lately. It seems like everyone is exhibiting an entitlement to fairness in their life. Why? Who said life was fair? Who said you get the rose garden with the little house and the white picket fence?
In my own life, I have come through a lot of adversity to say the least. I am addicted to methamphetamines! Yes I still claim it as an active addiction because I believe it will never go away! Do you know what that is like? Well, some of you do. Some, on the other hand, do not. It is the most addictive substance known to man! There is nothing more addictive in the eyes of the medical community today. Yes even compared to Heroine!
I am beating that addiction! I had no help doing it other than Jesus. Everyone seems to want these drug treatment programs and seem to say that this is the only cure. I didn't use one. But I can honestly say that without Jesus in my life, I would still be on that junk today! But He was the only one! Not my family! Not my friends! Not my co-workers! Not even my church! It was solely Jesus! I had no help whatsoever from anyone in beating this addiction except for Jesus!
Yet, you do not hear me complaining about why did I have to be tempted with Meth. You do not hear me complaining about why did I not have anyone help me through this like a drug treatment program. I don't complain because I am running the race set before me! 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 states:
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Now the race that I run and the the race that you run are not the same race! Every single one of us runs a different race! There is a different race set before each one of us! Yet our goal is that imperishable wreath! The one given by Jesus alone! So what that my race is different from your race! Run the race set before you to win it!
Is your race easier than mine? Is your race harder than mine? I do not know the answer to that question. I only know that they are different races. It does not matter if the race set before you is easier or harder than the race set before someone else! What matters is that you strive for that wreath! What matters is that you run the race before you to win! What matters is that when you fall down, and you will fall down, that you get back up and continue on toward the goal! That is your race! This is my race! They are different and fair does not even enter into it! You have what you have and I have what I have! Both are challenging to the runners! Will you overcome your challenge? I am sure striving to overcome mine!
May God bless you all this day!
13 October 2011
Adhere Yourself To The Truth!
Hello Guys and Gals!
When Jesus spoke the truth to people, often times they did not want to hear the truth and went away as we see in Matthew 19:21-22,
21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
As you see here, Jesus did not chase after him saying, 'Wait, maybe you did not understand. Maybe I should try explaining it yet another way!' No, Jesus did not chase after him but simply let him go! Yet Jesus is willing to be there for when that man came to the full knowledge of the truth and was willing to come back to Jesus. Did this man ever do that? I don't know! But I do know that we must all struggle with the truth before we come to a full acceptance of it!
But what if the person who walks away is family? Then let them walk away! But what if I love them? Then let them walk away! If you have told them the truth, meaning the Gospel or possibly something else that has happened in your life that has brought strife, then the truth will do your speaking for you. You do not have to try and convince them of more truth by more talking!
Do not throw your pearls before swine who will trod on them and grind them into the mud! In other words, if they are not receptive of the truth you are speaking, then let them walk away and let them be as a Gentile to you! This means you let them, by their choice, walk out of your life! Do not go and chase after them begging them to stay in your life!
Why not? Because this puts them in a position of authority over you! Do not let this happen! Do not let them think within their minds that they are the one who has the truth because you have come back to them! Stand firm in the truth as God has revealed it to you and as you know it! Adhere yourself to it even if it means that they are cut off and out of your life!
I have had to do this because certain people would not hear the truth. I have cut off these people and let them live in their lies until they come to the full knowledge of the truth! I have to adhere to this because if I do not, then they will think that I am somehow less than the liar! I will not have that! You should not have that! You should have your firm conviction the the truth which God has shown to you! Stand up for it! Speak it in love! And when they walk away, do not chase after them! Let them face the truth and come to terms with it! Even if it takes years and years! Even if they never come to terms with it! Stand firm in the truth and adhere yourself and your life to it!
May God bless you all this day!
When Jesus spoke the truth to people, often times they did not want to hear the truth and went away as we see in Matthew 19:21-22,
21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
As you see here, Jesus did not chase after him saying, 'Wait, maybe you did not understand. Maybe I should try explaining it yet another way!' No, Jesus did not chase after him but simply let him go! Yet Jesus is willing to be there for when that man came to the full knowledge of the truth and was willing to come back to Jesus. Did this man ever do that? I don't know! But I do know that we must all struggle with the truth before we come to a full acceptance of it!
But what if the person who walks away is family? Then let them walk away! But what if I love them? Then let them walk away! If you have told them the truth, meaning the Gospel or possibly something else that has happened in your life that has brought strife, then the truth will do your speaking for you. You do not have to try and convince them of more truth by more talking!
Do not throw your pearls before swine who will trod on them and grind them into the mud! In other words, if they are not receptive of the truth you are speaking, then let them walk away and let them be as a Gentile to you! This means you let them, by their choice, walk out of your life! Do not go and chase after them begging them to stay in your life!
Why not? Because this puts them in a position of authority over you! Do not let this happen! Do not let them think within their minds that they are the one who has the truth because you have come back to them! Stand firm in the truth as God has revealed it to you and as you know it! Adhere yourself to it even if it means that they are cut off and out of your life!
I have had to do this because certain people would not hear the truth. I have cut off these people and let them live in their lies until they come to the full knowledge of the truth! I have to adhere to this because if I do not, then they will think that I am somehow less than the liar! I will not have that! You should not have that! You should have your firm conviction the the truth which God has shown to you! Stand up for it! Speak it in love! And when they walk away, do not chase after them! Let them face the truth and come to terms with it! Even if it takes years and years! Even if they never come to terms with it! Stand firm in the truth and adhere yourself and your life to it!
May God bless you all this day!
11 October 2011
Not Peace, But A Sword
Hello Guys and Gals,
I have been thinking about this topic for a while now. With this mornings devotions though, I feel I must speak about this. Jesus said this in Matthew 10:34-36,
34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.35 For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;36 and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
Jesus draws a clear line through all of humanity! That line separates those who accept His salvation and those who do not accept it! Which side are you on? Are you saved? Or have you rejected His Grace?
Do you not realize that once you have heard the Gospel, that it either looses or binds you by the strength of itself? The loosening comes through Salvation and the binding comes through the rejection of that Salvation!
Matthew 16:19 says,
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:18 says it again,
18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
And John 20:23 goes on to say,
23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."
Therefore, if you show others how to have their sins forgiven through Jesus Christ, then their sins will be forgiven upon their acceptance of His salvation. But if they reject that salvation, their sins are bound to them by the very power of the gospel.
This is why we are divided and why our very family members turn upon us with violence! They will see that you have been saved through Jesus Christ and they do not want to give up their independence and sin! By not giving up and giving in to His will, they reject, of their own will, the very same salvation that you have received. In that rejection, they have their sins bound to them for all time and having tasted and rejected the gospel are then to be considered as Gentiles or Unbelievers and considered not a member of the church! They see that they do not have the same blessings as you and it results in envy being born in them and that envy turns to hate and anger and violence! This happens every single time in some fashion or another! Do not mistake me, it will happen again and again!
This is why we need to present the gospel in a loving way, but also to make sure those we present the gospel to know the consequences of rejecting the gospel! You must tell them that by rejection of the gospel, they sentence themselves to eternal damnation and hellfire such as they will experience in the Lake of Fire, also known as Gehenna! But the most torturous of all those punishments, and make no mistake, they are punishments from God for the rejection of His Son, is that God will withdraw His presence from them! Do you not know that the Lake of Fire is nothing compared to the withdrawal of God's presence? Even Hitler and Pol Pot and Stalin and every other evil person that has ever lived knew the presence of God throughout their whole life! There was only one who knew the absence of God's presence here on Earth and that is Jesus as he died on the Cross when he said in Matthew 27:46,
"ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"
This was when God withdrew His presence from Jesus so that the full punishment and wrath of God was paid in full by His Son so that our sins through His sacrifice could be forgiven and we be restored to a loving relationship with God Almighty, the Creator of all that was, is, and will be! There is nothing that exists that did not come from Him!
I have often said that you should always speak the truth, for it is like a surgeon's scalpel and while it may hurt when it is heard, it heals through the pain it brings! So you must speak the truth in love about the gospel! And part of the gospel is Gehenna and Separation from God! It is the truth and unbelievers deserve to know the whole truth!
But remember this, when you are attacked, and you will be attacked, it is because you have gained salvation and they have not! They are envious of your salvation but they want that salvation their way and not God's way! They think they have the power to control their own lives and when they see you have given that power to God, as if he never had it all along, they begin to hate you for your surrender of yourself to Him and that is why they attack you! So pray a simple prayer. Pray that God draws near to them! If their heart will be changed, then salvation will come from it. If their heart will not be changed, then His presence will drive them far from you!
May God bless you all this day!
I have been thinking about this topic for a while now. With this mornings devotions though, I feel I must speak about this. Jesus said this in Matthew 10:34-36,
34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.35 For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;36 and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
Jesus draws a clear line through all of humanity! That line separates those who accept His salvation and those who do not accept it! Which side are you on? Are you saved? Or have you rejected His Grace?
Do you not realize that once you have heard the Gospel, that it either looses or binds you by the strength of itself? The loosening comes through Salvation and the binding comes through the rejection of that Salvation!
Matthew 16:19 says,
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:18 says it again,
18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
And John 20:23 goes on to say,
23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."
Therefore, if you show others how to have their sins forgiven through Jesus Christ, then their sins will be forgiven upon their acceptance of His salvation. But if they reject that salvation, their sins are bound to them by the very power of the gospel.
This is why we are divided and why our very family members turn upon us with violence! They will see that you have been saved through Jesus Christ and they do not want to give up their independence and sin! By not giving up and giving in to His will, they reject, of their own will, the very same salvation that you have received. In that rejection, they have their sins bound to them for all time and having tasted and rejected the gospel are then to be considered as Gentiles or Unbelievers and considered not a member of the church! They see that they do not have the same blessings as you and it results in envy being born in them and that envy turns to hate and anger and violence! This happens every single time in some fashion or another! Do not mistake me, it will happen again and again!
This is why we need to present the gospel in a loving way, but also to make sure those we present the gospel to know the consequences of rejecting the gospel! You must tell them that by rejection of the gospel, they sentence themselves to eternal damnation and hellfire such as they will experience in the Lake of Fire, also known as Gehenna! But the most torturous of all those punishments, and make no mistake, they are punishments from God for the rejection of His Son, is that God will withdraw His presence from them! Do you not know that the Lake of Fire is nothing compared to the withdrawal of God's presence? Even Hitler and Pol Pot and Stalin and every other evil person that has ever lived knew the presence of God throughout their whole life! There was only one who knew the absence of God's presence here on Earth and that is Jesus as he died on the Cross when he said in Matthew 27:46,
"ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"
This was when God withdrew His presence from Jesus so that the full punishment and wrath of God was paid in full by His Son so that our sins through His sacrifice could be forgiven and we be restored to a loving relationship with God Almighty, the Creator of all that was, is, and will be! There is nothing that exists that did not come from Him!
I have often said that you should always speak the truth, for it is like a surgeon's scalpel and while it may hurt when it is heard, it heals through the pain it brings! So you must speak the truth in love about the gospel! And part of the gospel is Gehenna and Separation from God! It is the truth and unbelievers deserve to know the whole truth!
But remember this, when you are attacked, and you will be attacked, it is because you have gained salvation and they have not! They are envious of your salvation but they want that salvation their way and not God's way! They think they have the power to control their own lives and when they see you have given that power to God, as if he never had it all along, they begin to hate you for your surrender of yourself to Him and that is why they attack you! So pray a simple prayer. Pray that God draws near to them! If their heart will be changed, then salvation will come from it. If their heart will not be changed, then His presence will drive them far from you!
May God bless you all this day!
05 October 2011
If Not You, Then Who?
Hello Guys and Gals!
I would like to talk about our attitude of careless disregard today. I don't know how or why, when someone speaks the truth about any situation, they can be dismissed out of hand by uncaring people because what they speak about 'does not really matter'!
I do not know if I am a considered a 'prophet' by any stretch of the imagination. I am not saying that I am. What I am saying is that History repeats itself and we can look to the actions of those in the past to predict the actions of those who are doing the same things in the present!
Yet we have seen 'prophets' rejected even back before the time of Jesus! In Matthew 23:34-36 we see Jesus speaking about how the prophets He has sent have been rejected time and again:
34 ``Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
So when people speak the truth, whether it be from God directly, or whether it be from knowing the where the actions of those leading us will lead if we continue to let them go down that path, why is it that so many do not take it to heart? Why do so many dismiss it out of hand? Why do so many think that the person who is speaking this truth is a 'Kook'?
Is it because your hearts have hardened so much that you no longer recognize truth when you see it?
Today, of all the times in the world to have the privilege of living, we can research the facts given so easily! Just twenty years ago we did not have this ability. If someone did research, they had to go to actual libraries and spend hours researching facts to come to the truth behind what someone was saying. They had to go to the archives of newspapers and seek through microfilm to find the reference that would allow you to pull up the actual newspaper and read what it actually said back at that time! Today we have the internet and search engines! We have the ability to type in key words and pull up tons of information that has been written about those key words!
Now it is true that you have to use reason and logic and follow sources listed and check them out to find out if they're true or not in order to disseminate whether what you pull up is accurate or not. But you can do that in record time today! Why do people not do this? It is so easy!
The simple answer is that, because it is so easy, we have become lazy! We do not see if someone is lying or telling the truth! We simply render a judgment on what we already perceive to be the truth and either judge it to be accurate or false on our perception! What ever happened to doing your homework?
What if what someone says is actually from God in His effort to put a stop to what is happening today through the warnings of the past? What if you have dismissed what this person has said without doing the research? What if it comes true? What if, had you listened to the person previously, you could have been instrumental in stopping it from happening? What if you had that opportunity and you failed in it? What if millions of people were killed because of your inaction?
Personally, I'm not willing to be one of these people who are indifferent to the truth! I do my research! I do my fact checking! I do compare everything I have to God's Word and see whether it lines up with His truth or not!
Mostly, and most important to me, I do not want to stand before the Throne of God and have no excuse for me not doing everything I can do to help other people come to a saving knowledge of Him in my lifetime! I do not want to stand before my Lord and my God and have Him be disappointed in what He gave me to work with and not having done all I can with it for His glory! Even though I am already afraid I have failed Him for the past I have lived.
So what about you today? Will you stand idly by and dismiss what is the truth because you didn't do your homework? Will you stand before the Throne of God and have no excuse because you stayed silent when you could have spoken out?
All it takes for Evil to succeed is for Good Men to do nothing!
May God bless you all this day!
I would like to talk about our attitude of careless disregard today. I don't know how or why, when someone speaks the truth about any situation, they can be dismissed out of hand by uncaring people because what they speak about 'does not really matter'!
I do not know if I am a considered a 'prophet' by any stretch of the imagination. I am not saying that I am. What I am saying is that History repeats itself and we can look to the actions of those in the past to predict the actions of those who are doing the same things in the present!
Yet we have seen 'prophets' rejected even back before the time of Jesus! In Matthew 23:34-36 we see Jesus speaking about how the prophets He has sent have been rejected time and again:
34 ``Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
So when people speak the truth, whether it be from God directly, or whether it be from knowing the where the actions of those leading us will lead if we continue to let them go down that path, why is it that so many do not take it to heart? Why do so many dismiss it out of hand? Why do so many think that the person who is speaking this truth is a 'Kook'?
Is it because your hearts have hardened so much that you no longer recognize truth when you see it?
Today, of all the times in the world to have the privilege of living, we can research the facts given so easily! Just twenty years ago we did not have this ability. If someone did research, they had to go to actual libraries and spend hours researching facts to come to the truth behind what someone was saying. They had to go to the archives of newspapers and seek through microfilm to find the reference that would allow you to pull up the actual newspaper and read what it actually said back at that time! Today we have the internet and search engines! We have the ability to type in key words and pull up tons of information that has been written about those key words!
Now it is true that you have to use reason and logic and follow sources listed and check them out to find out if they're true or not in order to disseminate whether what you pull up is accurate or not. But you can do that in record time today! Why do people not do this? It is so easy!
The simple answer is that, because it is so easy, we have become lazy! We do not see if someone is lying or telling the truth! We simply render a judgment on what we already perceive to be the truth and either judge it to be accurate or false on our perception! What ever happened to doing your homework?
What if what someone says is actually from God in His effort to put a stop to what is happening today through the warnings of the past? What if you have dismissed what this person has said without doing the research? What if it comes true? What if, had you listened to the person previously, you could have been instrumental in stopping it from happening? What if you had that opportunity and you failed in it? What if millions of people were killed because of your inaction?
Personally, I'm not willing to be one of these people who are indifferent to the truth! I do my research! I do my fact checking! I do compare everything I have to God's Word and see whether it lines up with His truth or not!
Mostly, and most important to me, I do not want to stand before the Throne of God and have no excuse for me not doing everything I can do to help other people come to a saving knowledge of Him in my lifetime! I do not want to stand before my Lord and my God and have Him be disappointed in what He gave me to work with and not having done all I can with it for His glory! Even though I am already afraid I have failed Him for the past I have lived.
So what about you today? Will you stand idly by and dismiss what is the truth because you didn't do your homework? Will you stand before the Throne of God and have no excuse because you stayed silent when you could have spoken out?
All it takes for Evil to succeed is for Good Men to do nothing!
May God bless you all this day!
27 September 2011
Take Up Your Cross
Hello Guys and Gals!
I have been pondering the question of what does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus. Matthew 16:24-27 reads,
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, ``If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.
But what does this truly mean? I have been thinking about it and this is the conclusion I have come to!
Will you be in such stress during prayer that you sweat blood?
Will you be willing to have one you love dearly betray you completely?
Will you be willing to have the rest of the people who should be supporting you in your time of need turn their backs upon you and abandon you?
Will you be willing to stand before a court where they are lying to bring charges against you and not say a word in your defense?
Will you be willing to be whipped and scoured?
Will you be willing to be beaten so badly that you are no longer recognized as a man?
Will you be willing to carry your cross through a crowd of people who are beating and spitting on you as you pass, cursing you through it all?
Will you be willing to be stripped naked and nailed to that cross with spikes piercing your wrists and feet?
Will you be willing to hang from that cross, being made a curse, having to life your body with your arms and legs in order to take a breath?
Will you be willing to hang there, naked and bleeding, before your own mother and loved ones?
Will you be willing to be ridiculed by those who are being tortured similarly as you are?
Will you be willing to speak the truth even during all this so that you can say to someone that you love them and forgive them?
Will you be willing to have your side pierced with a spear to prove that you are truly dead?
Will you be willing to have people hate you, even after you are dead, because of the truth you speak?
Will you be willing to do all of this just so that you can speak the truth of God's love to those who are lost?
This is what it means to take up your cross and follow after Jesus! I do not know if you will face any of the above things I have listed, or if you will face some newly devised torture in the minds of those that hate Jesus Christ. But I do know that you will face something of the sort if you are to truly take up your cross and follow Jesus Christ!
Pretty scary stuff huh? But do you not also know that Jesus has already done this for us? Do you not also know that He will be there with us as we go through what we are to go through? Do you not also know that great will be your reward in Heaven?
Lord Jesus Christ, I will take up my cross and follow You no matter what I have to face!
May God, the Lord of all creation, bless you all this day!
I have been pondering the question of what does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus. Matthew 16:24-27 reads,
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, ``If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.
But what does this truly mean? I have been thinking about it and this is the conclusion I have come to!
Will you be in such stress during prayer that you sweat blood?
Will you be willing to have one you love dearly betray you completely?
Will you be willing to have the rest of the people who should be supporting you in your time of need turn their backs upon you and abandon you?
Will you be willing to stand before a court where they are lying to bring charges against you and not say a word in your defense?
Will you be willing to be whipped and scoured?
Will you be willing to be beaten so badly that you are no longer recognized as a man?
Will you be willing to carry your cross through a crowd of people who are beating and spitting on you as you pass, cursing you through it all?
Will you be willing to be stripped naked and nailed to that cross with spikes piercing your wrists and feet?
Will you be willing to hang from that cross, being made a curse, having to life your body with your arms and legs in order to take a breath?
Will you be willing to hang there, naked and bleeding, before your own mother and loved ones?
Will you be willing to be ridiculed by those who are being tortured similarly as you are?
Will you be willing to speak the truth even during all this so that you can say to someone that you love them and forgive them?
Will you be willing to have your side pierced with a spear to prove that you are truly dead?
Will you be willing to have people hate you, even after you are dead, because of the truth you speak?
Will you be willing to do all of this just so that you can speak the truth of God's love to those who are lost?
This is what it means to take up your cross and follow after Jesus! I do not know if you will face any of the above things I have listed, or if you will face some newly devised torture in the minds of those that hate Jesus Christ. But I do know that you will face something of the sort if you are to truly take up your cross and follow Jesus Christ!
Pretty scary stuff huh? But do you not also know that Jesus has already done this for us? Do you not also know that He will be there with us as we go through what we are to go through? Do you not also know that great will be your reward in Heaven?
Lord Jesus Christ, I will take up my cross and follow You no matter what I have to face!
May God, the Lord of all creation, bless you all this day!
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