Born Again

WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS?

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WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS?

In our world today, I’m sure most people are looking for some form of good news. Most of the news on the media, for the most part, is bad news. Even in our personal lives most of us are searching for some good news. It appears that we are all suffering from some sort of trial(s) in our life. Trials appear in all aspect of our lives: marriage, family, financial, jobs, friendship, health, and the list goes on. It seems that on rare occasions, we have a brief encounter with some good news. No one has a perfect life although some appear too.

So what is the answer? In order to understand why we have all this bad news, we have to understand what caused the problem. It all started back with a couple called Adam and Eve. They were disobedient in regards to God’s commands. This was a sin against God and His instructions. God hates sin because He is a Holy God. Everyone needs to understand this. When you come to understand what your Creator expects from you, then your life will be transformed into His love and peace and understanding. That is why He provided you with a Book of Instructions called the Bible. This is where you will find the truth for your life.

The translation of “Good News” comes from “What is the Gospel?” The problem is no one deserves to go to heaven. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Agnostics, and Atheists are not worthy to go to heaven. Worthy means to be deserving. Do you think you deserve to go to heaven when you die? Do you deserve an eternity of peace and good in return for the life you’ve lived? Everyone was born into a world of sin. That makes everyone a sinner and according to God, we all sin. God’s Word tells us if we break one of God’s commandments, we break them all. Look at what 1 John 1: 8 (NIV) says: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

In Romans 3:23 (NIV) it states: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

God is “holy, holy, holy”. He is set apart from all that we know. What we do know is that He is revealed in the Bible as just and very loving. He created each one of us in order to love us and for us to love Him. He wants everyone to enjoy His presence for eternity. That is why He provided a salvation solution through His son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is the core of the Gospel or the Good News. This provision is by the grace and mercy of God Almighty.

God provided a sacrificial Lamb for our sins. His name is above all names. It is Jesus Christ. Jesus took everyone’s sins upon Him when He was crucified on the Cross of Calvary. This gift of salvation is a free gift. According to the Bible, we must receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. According to John 3:3 (NIV): Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again,” he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This birth is a spiritual rebirth where the Holy Spirit joins together with your spirit and guides you into the truth. You repent (turn away) of your sinful life and join Jesus as a new person fully cleansed of your sins by the blood of Jesus Christ and now have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life where you will spend eternity (forever) with a Heavenly Father who loves you very much. This is the Good News. No more bad news forever (eternity). Love to all.

Growing in Christ

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 I am going to assume that the majority of people reading this post are adults or soon to be. Everyone started out in this physical realm as a new born child. As you continued to grow physically, you are now an adult. Depending on your age, it has taken time for you to become an adult. As a child you continued to grow as you were fed physical food. I only bring this up because it helps us to gain understanding of spiritual growth.

There are many similarities between physical growth and spiritual growth. In order for you to enter into a spiritual growth, you must be born again. John 3:3 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” It comes down to this, flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit gives birth to spirit. Born again literally means born from above. Also, it can mean becoming children of God through your trust in Jesus Christ.

God created you in three parts, body, soul, and spirit. Our body is our outer part containing our five senses with which we contact all the things of the physical, material realm. Our soul is our inner part containing our mind, emotion and will with which we contact all the things of the psychological realm. Our spirit is our innermost part with which we contact God and substantiate all the things of the spiritual realm.

You may ask, why does a person have to be born again? The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1 (NKJ), and you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. In Romans 3:23, Paul said sinners are spiritually dead when they receive spiritual life through faith in Jesus Christ. This is related to a rebirth. Only those who are born again have their sins forgiven and begin their relationship with God.

Let us look at additional verses from God’ Word that follow your rebirth in receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior.

2 PETER 3:18 (NKJ) 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen

MATTHEW 4:4 (NKJ) 4 but He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'”

EPHESIANS 4:15 (NKJ) 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ –

1 PETER 2:2 (NKJ) 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.

1 TIMOTHY 4:15 (NKJ) 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

James 1:22 (NKJ) 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

The Holy Bible is your spiritual food. You must feed your spirit on the Word of God and act on what you learn just as you have done in your physical life. When you were a toddler, you learned to walk after falling down many times. Even as you got older you attempted many things and failed. You only mastered something after many attempts. You will fall many times or fail to understand what God has said to do or don’t do as a new born Christian. You don’t become an adult Christian overnight. When you fall, get up and try again.

There are several versions of the Bible that are easy to read. My suggestions are that you begin to read Books of the Bible that are easy to understand such as 1, 2, 3, John, the letters to the Galatians, Ephesians Philippians, and Colossians. Before you begin to read any Scripture, ask for the leadership of the Holy Spirit as He is the one that will guide you into all truths. Meditate on what you read and pray for God’s revelation on what you read.

Always remember that God is your Heavenly Father and He will watch over you and protect you as any good parent would do. Don’t ever be afraid of Him as He loves you very much and so do I. Love to all.

WORSHIPPING GOD

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WORSHIPPING GOD

This topic follows my experience of going to church with my granddaughter and her husband. I have to say that it was a delightful and rewarding time. Also, I have to say that it is a church of the 21st century. Although it seemed strange at first, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Most of my experience of going to church during my almost 80 years has been of the old traditional style of church services. Even when I preached, it was the old traditional services. Don’t misunderstand, I love the old time religion, but I believe that we must learn what true worship is regardless of where you are.

The church services are held in the local High School auditorium since it is a new church on the rise. It is a “come as you are” church which I have to say pleased my heart. My past experiences have witnessed churches that had and some still have policies that prevent a certain class of people from attending services. All I can say regarding churches that set standards that make it difficult for people to worship God, “ ask yourselves, is your way the way of God?”

According to Webster’s Dictionary, 1828, it defines worship as to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission. Worship is not songs we sing, nor the amount of money that you put in the offering, nor how much you volunteer. Yes, these and other acts you may perform are important but do not define true worship. The Book of Psalms has many references regarding worship. Look at what (Psalm 96:9 (NKJV) says: Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.

If you believe in God, then you must worship God because He is God. Period. True worship is defined by the priority you and I place on where God is in our lives and where God is on our list of priorities. Do we submit to what God wants or what self wants? I must say that I sought after my selfish desires for part of my life. I know that I missed out on a lot of God’s blessings all because I wanted to satisfy my worldly desires.

So, what is true worship? According to the Apostle Paul. He described true worship in Romans 12:1-2, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”

The above passage contains all the elements of true worship, motivation, the mercies of God, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession and much more.

When we worship God, I am referring to true worship, God will begin to inspect our hearts. True worship is asking God to inspect our hearts for anything that is not according to His will. This is the promise of true worship as He will begin to reveal His truth about what the condition of our heart is in, then upon surrender of self He will begin to be transform us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

I would ask you to stop for a moment and reflect on God’s love for you. He has given all he has in order for you to have eternal life with Him in His Kingdom. He will come to you in all His glory and commune with you if you will worship Him as He deserves to be worshiped. The promise is that He will come to you. John 4:23-24 NIV 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Have you ever thought about what it would be like if you lived in a world that God’ Spirit was not present. I’m sure that many will worship their evil desires since this world is under the influence of Satan as many are now enjoying. Yes, there is a day coming that God will withdraw His presence and let those remaining to come under the rule of the devil. The good news is that Jesus Christ will return again and set up His Kingdom.

If you ask the question, how do I know if I’m properly worshipping God? Here are a few simple rules to follow. Jesus stated in Matthew 22: 36 NIV: the greatest commandment is that you Love your Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This does not say we are to divide our attention between God and worldly things. We must give to God the glory He deserves. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, giving all to God totally. That includes our hearts, mind, thoughts, attitudes and our hands to help. This is done by the renewing of our minds through the reading and studying God’s Holy Word. This will help develop wisdom and prayer. We must not depend on emotions as emotions will not lead you into God’s truth. Where the mind goes, the will follows. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us to have the mind of Christ. You can only renew the mind through the knowledge of the Word of God, the Holy Bible. That is followed up with prayer or communicating with our Heavenly Father. True worship is God-centered worship.

Worship is only reserved for God. We are not to worship His servants (Revelation 19:10), saints, prophets, statues, angels, false gods, or anything of this world such as careers, material possessions, money, health or anything that absorbs our time including families. Again, it is important to realize that worship is reserved for God. Also don’t get caught up in the false worship in hopes for something in return. We must not mock God. God knows our every thought, Psalm 94:11.

True worship comes from the redeemed heart of a man or woman who has been justified before God by faith and who has trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior for forgiveness of their sins. Sin must be dealt with by the washing of the blood of the sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ. John 3:3-7 says that a person must be born again.

True worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise although these are good and we are told to do them. True worship is our acknowledgement of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. It includes being obedient to Him and His Word.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus discusses the subject of worship with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus said “you Samaritans worship what you do not know.” They worshipped God in a half-heartedly way because they were not totally committed to God. Today, even true believers can fall into this error.

True worship is a sincere desire to increase your knowledge of God by daily reading and study of the Bible. We need to continue to fill our mind with the things of God. Everything should be done with reference to Him. The Greek word for worship also means “service”. Every day we should offer ourselves first and foremost as a living sacrifice to God. Sacrifice means giving to the Lord whatever He requires of our time, our earthly possessions, and our energies to further His work. The Lord commanded, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Our willingness to sacrifice is an indication of our devotion to God. People have always been tried and tested to see if they will put the things of God first in their lives.

Today, purify your heart and renew your mind so that you may worship God in spirit and in truth. Remember God is holy and someday we will all stand before Him in judgement. Also, He loves you more than you love yourself. My love to all.

Do You Understand The Covenants?

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Do You Understand The Covenants?

There are two covenants in the Bible, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. What is important is that you understand that the Old Testament is not exactly the same as the Old Covenant. The same is true in that the New Testament is not exactly the same as the New Covenant.

In the Old Testament it is recorded that the Old Covenant was an agreement between God and the people of Israel. In the New Testament it is recorded that the New Covenant is an agreement between God and Jesus Christ.  This means that in order for you and me to have salvation, we must be united with Jesus Christ. As the Book of Ephesians says many times: “all those who are in Christ have salvation.”

Hebrews 8:13 NKJ 13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The New Testament reveals and explains the New Covenant very well. The New Covenant did not begin until after the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The New Covenant was not sealed until the precious blood of Jesus Christ was shed and He paid the price for the remission of sins for all who confess and believe in Him. Jesus said that the New Covenant involved His blood being shed on the Cross of Calvary.

MATTHEW 26:28 NKJ 28 “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

HEBREWS 9:14-17 NASB 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. 17 For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

You may ask why this is so important.  Because the Bible says that we need to rightly divide the Word of God. 2 Timothy 2:15 NIV 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

How can you have a clear understanding of the New Covenant and what the New Covenant is about if it is confusing to you? One of the main problems is that many teach different things regarding what is in good standing with God. One of the trends today is to preach and teach a feel good way of life. In these types of messages, the message of Jesus Christ is seldom emphasized. I must ask why the core of our salvation is taken away from the truth.

I believe that one of the best explanations of the New Covenant is found in the Book of Ephesians. The phrase “in Christ” is found 28 times. You must ask, why the Apostle Paul brought this to our attention so many times. A person must realize that Jesus is the Truth.

Let us look in Matthew 19:16 the rich young ruler asked Jesus what to do so he could have eternal life. Jesus’ answer in Matthew 19:17 to “keep the commandments” is much different than the answer in Acts 16:31 which says simply to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” or 1 John 5:13 which says those who believe in the Son of God may know they have eternal life. In Matthew Jesus is speaking under the Old Covenant. In Acts and 1 John Jesus is speaking under the New Covenant. Although we must not ignore what Jesus said under the Old Covenant, we must realize that we live under Grace and not under the Law.

Under the Old Covenant, keeping the commandments was required as the way to have good standing with God. Under the New Covenant, good standing with God is a gift which comes with believing in Jesus Christ  (Romans 5:17-18, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

In Hebrews 8:6 it says that the New Covenant was established on better promises through Jesus. ROMANS 6:23 NKJ 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If a person is not careful, they can misunderstand the true message of Jesus Christ. We need to realize that there was a dramatic change due to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His teaching changed between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

After Jesus ascended into Heaven, He continued to speak to us through His apostles by the leadership of the Holy Spirit, mainly by the recordings of the letters to the church, Romans through Revelation in the New Testament. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are about the life of Jesus. Acts is the history of the beginning of the Church.

The truth of understanding only comes through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit only comes to those who have confessed their sins and received and believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior according to John 3:3 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Don’t be misled by thinking that Jesus is done speaking. If that were so then there would be no need for the Holy Spirit who speaks to those who have come to know Jesus as their Savior. What a promise God has given to them who know Jesus as their Savior in Hebrews 10:16-17 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Praise the Lord for the New Covenant. Love to all.

Are You Willing To Change?

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ARE YOU WILLING TO CHANGE?

Before I begin my post, I want to say that I am not out to condemn anyone regardless of your position regarding your beliefs on God, Jesus, or Christianity. You are free to believe whatever you want. You will stand before God on judgment day just as I will and answer for what you did with your life here on earth.

I am a sinner that God has shown His mercy upon. He has been with me even when I was not with Him. I have failed Him many, many times with my worldly and fleshly desires. Although I walked in my desires, I knew that there was something missing because of a nagging feeling that keep speaking to me. What is amazing is that God never stopped loving me nor did He ever leave me.

I was raised in a Christian environment. I went to Sunday School, Church, Youth Group meetings. I was baptized when I was 12 years old. I received Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was 19. Now, if you look at this picture, you will realize that something is not in order according to the Scriptures. Just out of High School, I started to follow my dreams. My life seemed to be going well. I meet my wife and we eloped to New York State as she was not of the legal age of 21 in Pennsylvania. We eventually had four daughters and life seemed to going well. By the way, we will be celebrating our 58th wedding anniversary this year.

I had become a journeyman carpenter and then life seemed to start having problems. It seemed that I was unemployed more than I was employed. I left Pennsylvania and traveled to New Mexico in search of work. I returned to PA and returned to NM within a 5 year time frame. While living in New Mexico I received a job offer to become a police officer in PA. I accepted and moved back to PA. I missed NM and decided I wanted to move back so I applied to the New Mexico State Police and was accepted to enter their Academy. I graduated and I thought life was going to get better. It did for a while and then it seemed that my life was falling apart.

I have to say that during all this time that God was with me and trying to persuade me to come back to Him. Because of my selfish ambitions I continued to ignore Him but not totally as I would go to Church occasionally. I guess that my little interest in God and Jesus that He stayed with me. I have to say that there was a lot more in my life of ups and downs that I will not go into at this time. 

Well, God let me have my way until I came to the conclusion that I needed to get right with my Savior Jesus Christ. One day I was home alone and God really spoke to me and convinced me that I needed to change my way of living. I got down on my knees and prayed and poured out my heart to Him asking that He forgive me of my sinful ways and for not following Him. I wept like a baby. At this time God took over my life and I found a Bible teaching Church and rededicated my life to Christ my Savior. I was baptized again and entered His service. I graduated from Bible College and became His servant..

Before I went into His service, I had another moving experience. I was listening to a cassette tape on brokenness while traveling in my car. At the end of the message the speaker ask if there was anyone who would consider the invitation to be broken. I asked God to break me. Well, He did and I began to cry out loud, asking God to take my life and do as He wished. I had to pull over to the side of the road as I did not have control of myself. This experience lasted about 45 minutes. This was a life changing time that I will forever cherish. Finally, I was back on the right road where God was and still is guiding my direction.

I want everyone to know that I still fall and stumble as I walk with my Lord and Savior. The joy I have now is that I know Jesus is with me in everything even though it may not be according to His way. He will correct the wrong way through His love for me and for you. I know that He took all my bad and took it to the cross so I may be made clean. What is so great, He will continue to do so until I join Him in His Kingdom. Because of sin in this world there will always be ups and downs. With Jesus in your life, let Him take care of it.

You see, I had to change and come to realize that there was no hope in the road of life that I choose to travel. The only hope anyone has lies with Jesus Christ. No one can enter God’s Kingdom except through the salvation of Jesus Christ. It is a free gift if you are willing to accept Him as your Savior and change your thinking and life to coincide with His. Don’t take my word for it, all you need to do is read the Bible and it is explained in great detail.

Are you willing to make a change in your life that is guaranteed to bring you peace and joy? I hope everyone does so that they will join me in Jesus’ Kingdom for eternity. Don’t let pride or misguided information cause you to miss the greatest opportunity to rest in God’s presence. Jesus loves you and so do I.

 

DOES GOD KNOWS YOU?

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DOES GOD KNOWS YOU?
Yes, God knows you a whole lot more than you know yourself. Following are scripture that supports this.
Psalm 139:1-5 (NIV) 1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
John 10:27 (NIV) 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Philippians 2:13 (NIV) 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Matthew 10:30 (NIV) 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
There are many more scriptures that show that God knows you. Now, I have to ask a more important question; DO YOU KNOW GOD? Around 95% of Americans say they believe in God. Believing in God is not the same as knowing Him. In order to make the answer clear, a person needs to answer these questions. Have you ever heard God call your name? Have you felt the touch of His Spirit? Has He reveal Himself to you through His Word (the Bible). God is constantly calling out to everyone through His Spirit wanting us to know Him.
You will never really know God unless He is revealed to you through a personal experience. How you come to know about God is quite different from knowing God. It is like this, I know a lot of people but I do not know them personally. The difference between knowing about God and knowing God is having a personal relationship with Him. You may say that God is not a person. How can I have a relationship with Him? Let me say that God is a person and that person is Jesus Christ. God came down to earth so He could reveal Himself to us. God exists in the relationship of three persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. John 10:30 (NIV) I and the Father are one.
I understand that it may seem difficult to really understand how incredible God is. The main problem comes from what we have been taught and listening to what others say about God instead of coming into a personal relationship with Him through His Word. The Bible tells us everything we need to know about Him. If we listen to false teachers, unbelievers, and those who spread fear about God we will never understand Him. Most of us were taught to respect and obey our earthly father. God the Father is asking for the same thing. God created you with the freedom to choose between Him and the world. The choice is yours. The promises of the Bible share that God in and through Jesus Christ is waiting for each person to come to a personal relationship with Him and share His eternal life.
We have to be faithful and want what God has to offer. There is an old saying: if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. I am one who claims the following verse: Jeremiah 9:24 (NIV) 24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,”
declares the LORD.
God specializes in love, mercy and grace. His love for each person is beyond our understanding. All we need to do is come into a personal relationship with Him and get to know all that God has to offer. You will be surprised if you already don’t know. He is standing at the door knocking and will come in and dine with you if you open the door. The door is your life. If you know God, you would love Him and want to be like Him. Love to all.
PS – I want to explain my absence on my blog sites. I changed providers and was unaware of the waiting period I had with the new provider. I cancelled my former provider without knowing that there was not an immediate switch over. I apologize and pray that I will be able to be more obedient to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

WHO DO YOU REPRESENT?

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WHO DO YOU REPRESENT?

Whether you realize it, you were created to represent God. Every person past or present was created by God to be His representative here on earth. The Scriptures makes it clear as to your responsibility to our Heavenly Father. As I have stated before, you cannot serve two masters. Matthew 6:24 (NIV) “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Is the prevalence of sin in our society becoming an influence regarding who we represent? False teachers have been around for generations and spreading lies about how we can live. There is a modern day theory that preaching a “feel good sermon” is the way to go. Don’t be misled by false teachings. Are you living a life that everything you say and everything you do is within the will of God?

Let us look at a few Bible verse that relate to our lead in question.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (NIV) 20 we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

1 Timothy 4:1 (NIV) The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

John 1:12-13 (NIV) 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

John 15:16 (NIV) 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

God’s love for you is beyond our understanding. He gave up His Son as a sacrifice so that you have an opportunity to be with Him in Heaven and He would call you one of His children. Although we are created by God, He gave us a free will so that we have a choice who we will represent. In order for you to be one of God’s children, you must receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and believe in Him. No one can come to God except through Jesus. In the Gospel of John, 3:3 and 14:6 are verses that teach God’s will for everyone regardless of who you may be. If you are not a representative of God, free yourself from trying to serve two masters and let Jesus lead you. Don’t let Satan steal from you all that God wants you to have through his lies and deceitful ways. Love to all.

WHERE IS YOUR BIBLE?

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WHERE IS YOUR BIBLE?

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If you have a Bible and I’m assuming you do as a poll shows that almost everyone has at least one Bible and some have at least four, where is it? Is it hidden away or on a shelf gathering dust? A poll shows that people realize that the Bible has value that would help them in their daily lives and spiritually, but they just don’t read it. The majority (57%) only read the Bible four times a year or less and then only in a crises. Only (26%) read it more often. What category do you fall in? You may ask, how many Bibles do I have, dozens, and many different translations along with many study aids such as commentaries, dictionaries, concordances, etc.

It is evident that America is in a moral decline. It appears that the Bible has little influence on our society today. According to a poll, a third of our population believe that the moral decline is due to lack of reading the Bible. I have to agree as in my almost 80 years, I have witnessed events that have altered the course of this country. I remember when I was in school, we learned the Lord’s Prayer, pledged allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, learned patriotic songs of our country. We crossed our hearts when the Star Spangled Banner was played or removed our hats when the great USA Flag went by. In just my short span in life, there has been disregard for such things and is growing worse each day.

Our younger generation (18 – 28) seem to be moving away from having any connection with the Bible. It may be due to fact that parents ‘are too busy’ with their own desires that have neglected the importance of the Bible. Regardless of the reason, we are becoming a nation of biblical illiterates. The general pattern is evident in the way people are compromising God’s standards in areas of homosexuality, marriage, drugs and alcohol use, sexuality, language, and the list goes on and on.

I want to share a few Bible verses that may show how important the Bible is:

Matthew 4:4 (NIV) 4 Jesus answered, it is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

John 15:7 (NIV) if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) for the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

1 Peter 2:2 (NIV) like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.

I want to add that the Bible has an answer for any subject that you may have a question. It is important that you realize that in order for you to understand the true meaning of God’s Word you must have given yourself to Jesus Christ by a born again experience. The truth of this can be found in the Gospel of John chapter 3 especially in verses 3 thru 7 and it comes from Jesus himself. In order for a person to know the truth of the Bible, they must have the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit only comes to those that have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Notice that I included Lord as that is what Christ expects to be in your life. Don’t be misled by thinking that you can worship God and worldly things at the same time. It has to be one or the other as God is a jealous God.

Today, pick up that Bible and read what God is saying to everyone. If you have a hard to understand or hard to read Bible, get yourself an easy to understand version of the Bible so you are not discouraged and neglect one of the most important areas of your life. Love to all.

Loving God

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LOVING GOD

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Do you find it hard to love God or tell Him you love Him? Has the devil caused you to think of Him as some type of tyrant and He is not lovable? The devil is out to deceive all that he can in order to cause disbelief in any way he can. The problem is he succeeds when we let Satan into our lives and the only way he enters is through sin. Satan will distort God any way he can.

So, I ask the question, “Do you love God?” Does that question cause you to think about your love for Him? My second part of that question is “How much do you love Him?” In John 21:15 – 19 Jesus asked Simon Peter three times if he loved Him. How many times has Jesus asked you if you love Him and what has been your answer? Most people do not realize how lovable God is.

If you are having trouble understanding God’s love, it may be a lack of knowing what the Bible has to say about the subject or maybe you don’t care enough to learn. There are four types of love. God’s love for you and what He wants from you is the AGAPE love which is a sacrificial love. This love only flows from born again believers of Jesus Christ. The problem is that most people including “Christians” live under the other three types of love and think that it is Ok with God. I’m sorry to say that this is not meeting the requirement of God.

EROS includes passion or infatuation as well as sexual or romantic love.

STORGE refers to the natural affection between a parent and child.

PHILEO refers to the intimacy that good friends share.

AGAPE is sacrificial love–a commitment that motivates us to deny ourselves on behalf of another. This is the type of love the Lord had in mind when He commanded His followers to love one another.

Let us look at some verses in the Bible that give us further understanding of love.

JOHN 14:23 NKJ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

1 JOHN 4:19 NKJ We love Him because He first loved us.

1 JOHN 4:16 NKJ and we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

When you come to understand and believe God is lovable and He loves you more than you love yourself, then you will begin to walk in victory and receive His blessings instead of walking in failure. You need to discover the real truth about God and His love for you and what He has given to you in Jesus Christ. Don’t let the devil rob you with deceitfulness of the truth. The truth of God’s love will set you free, John 8:32. This will not be learned in the classroom.

When we know and believe the love God has for us, it is natural for us to respond to His love by loving Him back. The Bible is waiting for you to open it and read about God and His love. It is the greatest love story ever told. Love to all.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

HAPPINESS vs. JOY

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HAPPINESS vs. JOY

Is there a difference between Happiness and Joy?

The dictionary definition of happiness is, a state of well-being, enjoyment, a pleasurable or satisfying experience. The definition of the word rejoice, from which our word joy comes from means to feel great delight or to be glad. The Bible uses the word “happy” and “happiness” about 30 times. The word “joy or “rejoice” appears over 300 times. In the Bible. Let’s look at some of the verses so we can understand the difference between happiness and joy.

Psalm 144:15 (KJV) Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord. Most often people search for happiness in all the wrong places and it is usually temporary, it last for a short time. This verse says that true happiness is only found in God.

Let us look at the word joy. The word “joy” comes from the Greek root word chara and means “to be exceedingly glad. I know that I am exceedingly glad that I have found the love of my Savior, Jesus Christ and the joy He provides.

James 1:2 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds. Your first reaction to this verse is going to be, how is going through trials and difficulties a reason to feel joy? The answer follows in James1:3-4, knowing that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. You only become mature when you feed on God’s Word. It needs to be a daily habit. Happiness depends on temporal factors and other people as joy does not.

Joy is true contentment that comes from internal factors like faith in Jesus Christ. We need to realize that true joy does not come from circumstances. The Apostle Paul teaches us that we are to have true contentment in Jesus Christ despite our circumstances. Read the first chapter of Philippians. Either we are going to trust Jesus to find true joy or we are going to depend on ourselves to find a fleeting happiness. If you believe that you can have both, you are sadly mistaken. True joy is based on our relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want that pure joy and have not received Jesus Christ as your Savior, confess you are a sinner and ask Him to come into your life. It is a free gift. It is everlasting. Love to all.