Love Or Clanging Cymbal

The world can be a crazy place at times.  We live in an age where we can interact with people on social media at anytime.  We can call someone on our cell phones or we can text them.  We can send an instant message or email someone anywhere in the world.  Even with all of this technology at our finger tips and the ability to "reach out and touch someone" we still find it hard to connect with other people.  There are still people who feel lonely and isolated from others.  There is also something else that seems to be missing from our world and that is love. 

We are told in the Scriptures that we are to love the Lord with all of our hearts, minds, and souls and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We know that there are a lot of people suffering in our world today from many things.  There are many people who are sick with cancer and various illnesses.  There are also many people who are facing persecution for there belief in Jesus Christ. 

There are many people who feel cut off from others.  They may even feel unloved and uncared for.  We all feel that way sometimes I suppose and it is not a good feeling to have.  That got me thinking about all the people all around us that need to know the love of Jesus Christ.  We who are believers in Christ should be showing His love to those around us.

Sometimes we get caught up in doing things in the name of the Lord and we forget about doing it with the love for Jesus and a love for others.  We need to have the love of Jesus in our hearts first before we can ever minister and show the love of Christ to others. 

The Apostle Paul talks about love in I Corinthians 13:1-13 which says,

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,

and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,

but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient,  love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,  it is not proud.

It is not rude,  it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth.

It always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease;

where there are tongues,

they will be stilled;

where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

but when perfection comes,  the imperfect disappears.

When I was a child,  I talked like a child,  I thought like a child,

I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man,

I put childish ways behind me.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;

then we shall see face to face.

Now I know in part;  then I shall know fully,

even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain:

faith, hope, and love.

But the greatest of these is love." 

The Lord expressed His great love for us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins.  He rose Jesus from the dead and now He is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.  He also gives each of us, who have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit to be in each of us who believe in Jesus.

We who are believers in Jesus Christ ought to be loving other believers and showing the love of Christ to those outside the Church.  Sometimes that is a very hard task indeed because some people can be rather abrasive like sandpaper and are hard to love, but we must love them anyway.

We need the Lord's help to love them.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to love others through us by submitting to His promptings and His direction for our lives. 

Let us love others in such a way that they will come to know the love the Lord Jesus Christ has for them and for us.

Lord,
Thank You for loving us even when we are unlovable.
Forgive us when we don't act very loving.
Help us to love others as You love us.
Lead us an guide our steps.
In Jesus name,
Amen.

Our God Who Surprises Us

                There are times in our lives when we encounter things and situations that just do not make sense.  We may try to replay things over and over in our minds, but in the end we just can’t figure somethings out on our own not matter how hard we try to.  We do try to figure things out though.

                We try to figure God out and just when we think we know what He is up to HE surprises us with something completely unexpected.  Not that He lies to us or deceives us in anyway. Sometimes we try to keep God in a tiny, neat little box, but the truth is we can’t keep Him in a box.  He is God and all things are possible with Him.

                There is nothing our God can’t do.  He is all powerful.  He is all knowing.  He is ever present.  There is nowhere on the planet, solar system, or the universe that we can go and escape His presence.  He is an Awesome God. 

                The Lord loves us more than our minds can comprehend.  We are familiar with the verses of Scripture that talk about God’s love for us.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes on Him will not perish, but will have eternal life.”  Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

                What a Great God we have and serve.  God loved us so much that He sent His One and Only Son, Jesus, to come to earth and live a perfect sinless life.  Jesus went obediently to the cross and laid down His life for our sins.  He took the punishment for my sins and yours that we so rightly deserve.  What a Savior our Jesus is. 

                We come to Him by faith and we trust in His grace.  We can’t earn our forgiveness.  There is no way we can ever earn our way into heaven.  There is no way that we can ever be good enough to enter in on our own merit.  Jesus paid it all on the cross.  He shed His blood for us.

                We may walk through life on our own for a period of time and think we have everything figured out, but then out of the blue we realize that there is something missing in our lives.  We may not know what that is at first.  There are many people walking around today with that feeling that something is missing in their lives.  They may try to fill that void with drugs, alcohol, or sexual sin, but they soon find out that doesn’t fill the empty void in their hearts.  Those things can actually make it worse.

                The thing that is missing is a relationship with the Creator of the universe.  The Lord loves each of us and He wants to have a personal relationship with each of us and that is only available through Jesus Christ.  Jesus says of Himself in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  We must come to the Father through Jesus Christ the Son.

                We come to the Lord in faith and we live for Him by faith.  We can’t do anything in our own power.  We need Him to empower us to do what He wants us to do.  We must be led by the Holy Spirit who dwells within every person who has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.   The Lord will equip us to do those things that He has called us to do.  We may not think we can do them and the truth is we probably can’t on our own, but the Lord will do it through us by His Spirit all we have to do is be obedient to Him.  He may want us to get up in front of people and speak to them about Jesus and testify about His goodness.  He may want us to help a neighbor in need.  He may want us to write a blog so we can encourage fellow Christians around the world.  Whatever the Lord wants to do through us we must give Him the glory and praise for it.  It is not about us and our abilities.  It is about Him.

                He is the One who is worthy of our love, our praise, and worship.  I love you Lord.  Thank You for being a God full of surprises.

Lord,
We Praise Your name.
Bless us and draw us near to You.
In Jesus name,
Amen.

Breathe On Me Breath Of God

Here I sit in front of my computer trying to think of what I am going to write in tonight's blog post.

I got up early this morning and I had to work from 7am to 4pm and now I am tired. 

There are many people all around us today that are tired.  Some are physically tired.

Some people are emotionally tired.

Some are Spiritually tired.  Life can be hard and sometimes it is so easy for us to lose our focus.

We get so busy with work and life's pursuits that we fail to keep our eyes and attention of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the One who can give us rest and a peace within our very hearts that surpasses all understanding.

In our everyday routine shouldn't He be on our thoughts and in our hearts.  Shouldn't we be looking to Him for guidance and strength.

After all He is our Lord and Savior.  He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

He is worthy of our worship and praise.  He is definitely worthy of our attention.

Where are our priorities in life?

Does something need to change in our lives so we can spend more time with Him and seek His will in all the circumstances that we face or will soon face in life.

Sometimes when I get too busy to spend time with the Lord I notice I start to get spiritually dry.

Sometimes I don't notice right away.

I have been in some Church services where it was really dry and sometimes I realize that it was me that was the dry one.

When I think of those times it reminds me of Ezekiel 37:1-10 which says,

"1 The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.

References for Ezekiel 37:1

• Cross References

• 1 37:1 - S Eze 1:3 ; 8:3
• 2 37:1 - S Eze 11:24 ; Lk 4:1 ; Ac 8:39
• 3 37:1 - Jer 7:32
• 4 37:1 - S Jer 8:2 ; Eze 40:1

2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.

3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”

References for Ezekiel 37:3

• Cross References

• 5 37:3 - Dt 32:39 ; S 1Sa 2:6 ; Isa 26:19 ; 1Co 15:35

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!

References for Ezekiel 37:4

• Cross References

• 6 37:4 - Jer 22:29

5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.

References for Ezekiel 37:5

• Cross References
• Footnotes

• 7 37:5 - S Ge 2:7 ; Ps 104:29-30 ; Rev 11:11

• ž 37:5 - The Hebrew for this word can also mean "wind" or "spirit" (see verses 6-14).

6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”

References for Ezekiel 37:6

• Cross References

• 8 37:6 - S Ex 6:2 ; Eze 38:23 ; Joel 2:27 ; 3:17

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ”

References for Ezekiel 37:9

• Cross References

• 9 37:9 - ver 14; Ps 104:30 ; Isa 32:15 ; Eze 39:29 ; Zec 12:10
• 10 37:9 - Jer 49:36 ; Da 7:2 ; 8:8 ; 11:4 ; Zec 2:6 ; 6:5 ; Rev 7:1

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army."

The nation of Israel needed to be restored Spiritually and physically.  That is what this passage is talking about.   Israel needed to be revived.

The Lord did just that.

We too need to be restored and revived.

Our Nation needs to be restored.

The Church needs to be restored in the Spiritual sense.

We believers in Christ need to be restored as well.

We need a revival.

We need a Spiritual Awakening.

Sometimes when I have my quiet time with the Lord I just ask Him to breathe on me and give me a fresh faith.

The Lord can and will do it.

Breathe on Your Church O Breath of God and Revive us.

Lord,

We come to You and we are tired.

Revive us O Lord.

Breathe on us and help us not to be so busy that we forget about You.

You are our God and we need You.

Thank You for Your goodness and mercy.

In Jesus name,

Amen.                                  

Sing To The Lord

I like it when I get to sing worship songs and hymns with other believers in Christ.  There is something great about gathering together with our brothers and sisters in Christ to sing songs to the Lord with our hearts overflowing with worship to Him.  He is definitely worthy of all of our worship and praise. 

When we think of all the good things He has done for us over the years and the many blessings He has showered upon us it should make us want to shout and sing His praises.  He is a good God.
He give us grace and mercy.  He loves us deeply and unconditionally. 

Psalm 98 says,

"Sing to the Lord a new song,
for He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm
have worked salvation for Him.

The Lord has made His salvation known

and revealed His righteousness to the nations.

He has remembered His love and His faithfulness

to the house of Israel;

all the ends of the earth have seen

the salvation of our God.

Shout for joy to the Lord,

all the earth,

burst into jubilant song with music;

make music to the Lord with the harp,

with the harp and the sound of singing,

with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn-

shout for joy before the Lord,

the King.

Let the sea resound, and

everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands,

let the mountains sing together for joy;

let them sing before the Lord,

for He comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

and the peoples with equity."

The Lord is the just judge and He is the One who will judge all the peoples of the earth.  He even provides salvation through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to all of those who believe on Him.

The Lord created the Heavens and the earth.  He made everything seen and unseen.  He is our God.

He is Mighty and Powerful.

He is willing to save and He wants to have a relationship with each of us.

That relationship is available to everyone.  We must come to Him by accepting what Jesus did for us on the cross.  He died for our sins.  He rose from the dead and one day He will come back.

What an Awesome God.

Let us sing out to Him a new song of praise.

Let us lift up our voices to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Praise the Lord!

Lord,

We praise Your name.

Help us to sing out to You.

May our hearts overflow with worship to You.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

What Peace and Safety?

The world in which we are living is indeed changing fast and I think most of have that sense that we are rapidly heading towards the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  We know that one day He will return.  We don't know when though, but we must be ready to see Him when He does come.

The world seems to be getting darker and dangerous.  The attitudes of people seem to be in a decline.  There seems to be more rudeness, selfishness, and anger.  I notice this.  The news on the television and the internet seems to agree with that conclusion.  I have heard other people say that too.

I was a little confused that other day when I heard a leader, whom shall remain nameless, say on television that the world is more peaceful now than any other time in history.  I thought maybe I heard him wrong.  Then I heard other people who support him say the same thing that he said.

This got me thinking about what the Apostle Paul said when he was writing to the Thessalonian Christians in I Thessalonians 5:1-11 which says,

"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief
in the night.

While people are saying, "Peace and safety, destructions will come on them suddenly,
as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will no escape.

But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this should surprise you like a thief.
You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.

We do no belong to the night or to the darkness.

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those that get drunk, get drunk at night.

But since we belong to the day,

let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate,

and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through Jesus Christ.

He died for us so that,

whether we are awake or asleep,

we may live together with Him.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,

just as in fact you are doing."

Paul was telling the Thessalonian Christians about the Coming of the Lord.  He warned them that He would come as a thief in the night.  That is without warning.

Many non-believers will be proclaiming "Peace and safety".

They will be surprised at the Coming of the Lord Jesus and will receive the wages of their sin.

We who are trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation should not be surprised at His Coming.  It shouldn't catch us off guard.  We are not to be like the unbelievers and asleep.

We believers need to live for Jesus and trust Him.

Jesus died for us to redeem us back into a right relationship with God the Father.

We escaped the wrath to come when we trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

We must encourage all of our brothers and sisters in Christ to keep trusting and living for Jesus Christ.

No matter how dark the world gets.  No matter how people end up treating us.

No matter who becomes the next President we must have our gaze upon the only One that truly matters and that is Jesus Christ.

He is the One that holds our future in His hands.

We need Jesus.

The people of this world need Jesus.

Are you ready for the return of Jesus Christ?

If you are trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then you are.

I would encourage you to keep seeking Him.

Read your Bible, pray to Him, worship Him, live for Him, and love Him.


Lord,
We thank You that You are with us even the darkest of times.
We know that we are safe in You when we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We praise Your name.
Help us to encourage others to keep seeking You.
In Jesus name,
Amen.

Jesus, The Resurrection And The Life

In the eleventh chapter of the book John we read that Jesus received word that His friend Lazarus was sick.  Jesus told the disciples, "This sickness will not end in death.  No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."

Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters.  When the Lord heard that Lazarus was sick He ended up staying where He was for two more days.   Jesus told His disciples that they were going to go back to Judea.  The disciples thought this was a bad idea since the Jews there tried to stone Him earlier.

Jesus answered them, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight?  A man who walks by the day will not stumble, for he sees by the world's light.  It is when he walks by night he stumbles, for he has no light."  After He told His disciples he plainly told them that His friend and theirs was dead and that He was going to go and wake him up.

The disciples were a little confused.  They thought Jesus meant natural sleep that is why they said, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."

Jesus looked at them and said plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.  But let us go to him."  Then Thomas spoke up and said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." 

When they got there they found out that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days.   Many people came to comfort Lazarus's sisters, Martha and Mary, at the loss of their brother.

John 11:21-27 says,

"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

Martha answered, "I know he will rise at the resurrection at the last day."

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Lord," she told Him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God.  He is the resurrection and the life.

All of those who put their faith and trust in Him will live for all eternity even though there fleshly bodies will die.  The Lord also promises to give us new spiritual bodies when He returns at His Second Coming.

There is hope in Jesus Christ.  This dark world that seems to be spinning of control is not our home.  There is a better place for you and I in a place called Heaven.  Jesus is the only way into Heaven.

Even though we will die eventually here on earth.  Our souls will go to be with the Lord Jesus if we are trusting in Him for Salvation.  We will be with Him forever.  What a wonderful place Heaven must be.  We will see Jesus the One who died for our sins and we will also see all of those Christians who have gone on before us. We will be more alive then we ever were on the earth in Heaven.

What a great day that will be when we see the Lord Jesus.

Lord,
We praise Your name.
You are Holy.
We Thank You for Your love.
Lead us and draw us nearer to You.
In Jesus name,
Amen.

It Never Gets Easy To Say Goodbye

There will always be those moments in life that will bring us great joy and fond memories.  There will also be those times that will bring us great sadness and sorrow.   Today seemed like just another ordinary day, but I received some bad news today.  I heard that a friend and fellow Christian had died today.  I am shocked and saddened at his loss.   He was an older gentleman, but even still a loss is still a loss no matter how long someone has been on this earth.

I am praying for his wife an his family and his countless number of friends that he has made throughout his life.  He will be missed by all that knew him.  He and his wife took care of a small Church in Selden, Maine.  They have invited me down there to speak for the past several years.  I end up preaching four or five Sundays and they have other people come and preach the Word also during the Summer months.  We always had fun and a good time in that little Church.

My mind is full of memories of my friend and his wife.  I remember last year he mentioned that he would like to have the song, "Hallelujah Square", played at his funeral.  I played that song for him on my guitar when I was down to Selden last year preaching.   I do like that song and every time I play it or think of it I am sure I will think of him.

The lyrics go like this:

Hallelujah Square

Recorded by the Cathedrals

Written by Ray Overholt

I saw a blind man tapping along

Losing his way as he passed through the throng

Tears filled my eyes, I said friend you can't see

With a smile on his face he replied to me

I'll see all of my friends in Hallelujah Square

What a wonderful time we'll all have up there

We'll sing and praise Jesus His glory to share

And you'll not see one blind man in Hallelujah Square

I saw a cripple dragging his feet

He couldn't walk like we do down the street

I said my friend I feel sorry for you

But he said up in heaven I'm gonna walk just like you

I'll see all of my friends in Hallelujah Square

What a wonderful time we'll all have up there

We'll sing and praise Jesus His glory to share

And you'll not see one cripple in Hallelujah Square

I saw an old man gasping for breath

Soon he'd be gone as his eyes closed in death

He looked at me and said boy don't look so blue

I'm going up to heaven well how about you

I'll see all my friends in Hallelujah Square

What a wonderful time we'll have up there

We'll sing and praise Jesus His glory to share

And we'll all live forever in Hallelujah Square

There is hope for us in Jesus Christ.  One day we will be reunited in Heaven with all of those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus for salvation.   It is appointed for each one of us to die once and then we must appear before the Lord.  Only those who are trusting in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will enter into Heaven.  I know my friend was ready to see Jesus and that he is in the Lord's presence right now.  He has no more pain, no fear, no aches, or pains. 

Are you ready for eternity?

Are you trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

I pray that you get ready before it is too late.

I know that one day I will see my friend once again at the throne of God.

I am trusting in Jesus Christ.  He died for my sins and yours.  Come to Him and receive His forgiveness and the promise of eternal life with Him in Heaven.

I will see you later, Don, in Hallelujah Square.

Lord,

It hard to say goodbye. but we trust You to be with us in times of grief.

Be with my friends family and his wife.

Lead us and guide our steps towards You O Lord

In Jesus name,

Amen

Does Jesus Love Me?

I am willing to say that most of us or maybe all of us have heard that old yet familiar song, "Jesus Loves Me."  We usually leave it for the children to sing during a Sunday School activity or let them sing it to the older congregation.   I think this simple song is a great reminder for us older believers in Jesus Christ.  No matter what our age is we too need this reminder especially as we live in our world today.

We need to hear the Hymn "Jesus loves me", by William Batchelder Bradbury which says,


"Jesus loves me—this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong—
They are weak, but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me—He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me—loves me still,
Though I’m very weak and ill;
From His shining throne on high
Comes to watch me where I lie.

 Jesus loves me—He will stay
Close beside me all the way,
Then His little child will take
Up to Heaven for His dear sake."

The Bible clearly tells us that yes, Jesus does indeed loves us very much.

We can even recite John 3:16 which clearly says,

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

God does love you.  Jesus loves you so much that He died on the cross for your sins.  He took the punishment that you and I so rightly deserve.

We may know in our minds and hearts that Jesus loves us, but we may still be battling doubts because of the trials or troubles that we are going through.

We may wonder if Jesus really doe love us even we are walking through a deep dark valley of hardship and pain.  We may feel threatened on every side.  We may feel cut off from others and God Himself.  We may be facing persecution for our belief in Jesus Christ.  We may be suffering with an illness that just doesn't seem to want to go away.  We may be tempted to think that Jesus doesn't love us because things are difficult, but that is not true.  The devil wants to get us to think that way, but I urge you to not allow him to do so.  The Lord Jesus loves you even if you are going through this trial and pain.  The Lord has not abandoned you.  He is near to the broken hearted.  He is with you in your loneliness and despair.  You are loved by the creator of the entire universe.  He wants to have a relationship with you and that is available through Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8 says,

"But God demonstrated His own love for us in this:
While we were sinners,
Christ died for us."

God loves us so very much and demonstrated that love to us by sending Jesus to die for us sinners.

In our difficulties in life we may even wonder is anything can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ.  Well if you are trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then the answer is no, but if you have rejected Him then He will reject you and you will be eternally separated from Him in a literal place called Hell.

The Apostle Paul was talking to believers in Christ who were wondering if they could be separated from the love of Jesus Christ.

We can read what Paul says in Romans 8:35-39 which says,

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine

or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through

Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present or the future, nor

any powers, neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

If you are trusting in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross then nothing can separate you from His love.  Jesus loves you so very deeply and we can experience His love for us by just coming to Him in faith.  We need to open our hearts to His tender mercies that are new every morning.

Have you received His love for you?

I pray that you know that Jesus loves you not because some children song says so, but because the Lord says so to you from His Holy Word and through His Holy Spirit who dwells within every believer in Jesus Christ.

Lord,
Thank You for loving us so much even when we act so unlovable.
We praise Your name.
We uplift all of those suffering in various trials.
Touch them and heal them O Lord and draw them to You in love.
In Jesus name,
Amen.

Trusting In The Lord

Sometimes people fail us and sometimes we fail other people as well.  We may intend to do good, but sometimes we fall short.  We want to do what is right and good.  Sometimes our good intentions are misunderstood.

There will be times when people we know and trust will let us down.  They may not intend to hurt our feelings when they do let us down.  There will also be some people in our lives that will purposely try to hurt us and I think those times may be the hardest moments to deal with.

Even though people may fail us and hurt us we know that the Lord will never fail us or hurt us if we are trusting in Him.  Sometimes He does allow pain and trials to enter our lives, but it is not to hurt us or damage us in anyway.  He wants us to grow spiritually and learn that we can indeed trust Him in all situations and circumstances.

The lessons and testing of faith are very hard to endure, but we can know that the Lord will be with us each step of the way on our journey.  He is a good God and He wants the very best for His children.  We may wonder where He is during our trials because we may not sense His presence immediately, but we can rest assured that He is not far from us at all.  He promises us in His Word that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that He will always be with us even to the very end of the age.  We may not feel His closeness right away.  We must keep seeking Him in prayer and worship.  We must continue to read the Bible and ask Him to speak to our very hearts what He wants us to learn from it.

The Lord loves you and He doesn't want to see you hurting, but He does indeed know what is best for us.  He knows how to draw us our of our comfort zones.  He knows what it will take for us to have total trust and faith in Him.  He may put us in situations that are beyond our abilities.  He does this so that we will go to Him for strength and directions.  We can't do anything on our own and in our own strength.  We must depend on the Lord and His strength and power.

When we depend on the Lord during trials and testing we will be able to say as the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:13 which says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Sometimes we do try to do things in our own strength and they don't turn out very well.  We need to learn that the Lord knows best and we can trust in Him in all things.  This is a lesson that I am still learning and I am pretty sure it is a lesson that you too are learning as well.

We serve an Awesome Loving God.  We can trust in Him instead of trying to figure things out on our own and in our own wisdom.  Sometimes we get foolish and think we can handle things on our own, but we soon realize how weak and powerless we human beings can be at times.  We may think we figure out everything that comes our way, but we must realize that we can't always and we need the Lord our God to help us each and everyday.  We need Him every moment of everyday.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says,

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight."

There will times and situations that will make no sense to us.  Those moments may shock us to the very core of our being.  Our faith in the Lord Jesus may be shaken by something that occurs in our life, but we must stand firm upon His Word and on who He is.  He is our Lord and Savior.
He is our God.  He is the true living God and there is no other God but Him and Him alone.
There is no other name under Heaven in which people are to be saved by and that is the name of Jesus Christ.  We can trust Him in all areas of our lives.  We can trust Him to be with us in the great joyful times of life and we can trust Him to be in the most horrible life altering experiences that we can imagine.

The world in which we live is changing fast and we can all see that very well.  The world is a dark fallen sinful place in which we live.  We are told in the Word that we believers in Christ are to be in the world, but not of it.  We must not conform to the pattern of this world if we are truly to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.  We must live for Him and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live for Him.

The Lord Jesus Christ loves you so very much and I want to let you know that, whatever trial you are facing or will face in the future, you can trust Him to be with you through it.  He is always faithful and true to His Word.

Do you trust Him?

Lord,
We trust You with our lives and the lives of our friends and families.
We uplift all of those who are hurting and facing trials.
Give us strength O Lord and wisdom.
Help us to live our live for You in complete trust in Your mighty power.
We know that all things are possible with You O Lord.
Bless us this day as we turn our eyes upon You.
In Jesus name,
Amen.

Seeking The Lord In Hard Times

Sometimes life hurts.

Everything may be going just great and then the bottom falls out and we find ourselves in a mess.

There have been a number of shootings and terrorist attacks lately in our world.

Many people are nervous not knowing what is going to happen next.

We are on edge.

We who are believers in Jesus Christ must not crumble in despair as if there is no hope.

There is hope for you and I and our world.

Our hope is not found in a political party.

Our hope will not be found in a presidential candidate.

Our hope should not be on any world leader no matter how popular and charming they may be.

Our hope and the hope of the entire world is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is my hope.

He is our hope.

He is the only One that has the power to forgive sins based upon His death on the cross.

He shed His precious blood for you and me and the entire world.

He walks with us everyday no matter how dark and difficult the journey may be.

We must seek His face when life gets tough.

Life does indeed get tough at times.

We must cling to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We must continue to read the Bible and listen to what He has to say to us.

We can't afford to be distracted by worldly things.

We need Jesus.

The people of this world need Jesus.

I don't want people to perish.

I want people to have a chance to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

There is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ and trusting in His shed blood on the cross.

We know bad things happen in our world.

We can see it on the news on television.

Times are hard no matter what people may say.

The Lord will see us through the times of difficulty,

We must trust Him.

I am reminded of a verse of Scripture.

It is found in Romans 8:28 which says,

"And we know that in all things

God works for the good of those

who love Him,

who have been called

according to His purpose."

This doesn't say that all things that happen to us will be good.

Sometimes very bad things happen to us even though we are believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

God can use those bad times and turn them out for our good.

We can learn something from our experiences even of they are bad and cause us hurt.

We can learn that no matter the difficulty, the Lord will always walk us through them.

We are never alone in our hardships.

The Lord promises us in He Word that He will never leave us and never forsake us.

He loves us so very much.

He wants to help us.

Are we allowing Him to help us?

Let us continue to seek the Lord and trust in Him in all things.

Our God is an Awesome God.

We can trust Him.

Jesus loves you.

Do you love Him?

I pray that you will draw near to Him and trust Him.

Lord Almighty God,

We praise Your name.

Thank You for being with us during life's hard times.

Thank You that You love us.

We love You to Lord.

Help us to seek You more.

Keep us safe.

Heal our broken hearts.

Heal our land.

Help us Lord.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

Worshiping Our Creator

I was sitting here trying to think of what to write in tonight's blog entry.

Sometimes I have that slight fear of getting writer's block or that I will just go blank and not know what to say or do.

I think I will just start at the beginning.

We all have a beginning you know.

We were all born into this world.

Throughout our lives we begin different things.

We begin to talk.

We begin to crawl.

We begin to walk.

We begin to go to school.

We begin to have friends.

We begin to drive the family car.

There are a lot of beginnings for us in our lives.

There is One who has no beginning and no end.

That One is our God.

He created the heavens and the earth.

I like reading the creation story.

Sometimes we neglect to read through the book of Genesis and the rest of the Old Testament, but we can still learn a lot from these Scripture writings.

They are inspired by the Holy Spirit after all.

Should we not read them as we read the New Testament.

We can find the creation account in Genesis 1:1-31

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

References for Genesis 1:1

• Cross References

• 1 1:1 - Ps 102:25 ; Pr 8:23 ; Isa 40:21 ; 41:4,26 ; Jn 1:1-2
• 2 1:1 - ver 21,27; Ge 2:3
• 3 1:1 - ver 6; Ne 9:6 ; Job 9:8 ; 37:18 ; Ps 96:5 ; 104:2 ; 115:15 ; 121:2 ; 136:5 ; Isa 40:22 ; 42:5 ; 51:13 ; Jer 10:12 ; 51:15
• 4 1:1 - Ge 14:19 ; 2Ki 19:15 ; Ne 9:6 ; Job 38:4 ; Ps 90:2 ; 136:6 ; 146:6 ; Isa 37:16 ; 40:28 ; 42:5 ; 44:24 ; 45:12,18 ; Jer 27:5 ; 32:17 ; Ac 14:15 ; 17:24 ; Eph 3:9 ; Col 1:16 ; Heb 3:4 ; 11:3 ; Rev 4:11 ; 10:6

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

References for Genesis 1:2

• Cross References

• 5 1:2 - Isa 23:1 ; 24:10 ; 27:10 ; 32:14 ; 34:11
• 6 1:2 - Isa 45:18 ; Jer 4:23
• 7 1:2 - Ge 8:2 ; Job 7:12 ; 26:8 ; 38:9 ; Ps 36:6 ; 42:7 ; 104:6 ; 107:24 ; Pr 30:4
• 8 1:2 - Ge 2:7 ; Job 33:4 ; Ps 104:30 ; Isa 32:15
• 9 1:2 - Dt 32:11 ; Isa 31:5

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

References for Genesis 1:3

• Cross References

• 10 1:3 - ver 6; Ps 33:6,9 ; 148:5 ; Heb 11:3
• 11 1:3 - 2Co 4:6 *; 1Jn 1:5-7

4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

References for Genesis 1:4

• Cross References

• 12 1:4 - ver 10,12,18,21,25,31; Ps 104:31 ; 119:68 ; Jer 31:35
• 13 1:4 - ver 14; Ex 10:21-23 ; Job 26:10 ; 38:19 ; Ps 18:28 ; 104:20 ; 105:28 ; Isa 42:16 ; 45:7

5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

References for Genesis 1:5

• Cross References

• 14 1:5 - ver 8,10; Ge 2:19,23
• 15 1:5 - Ps 74:16
• 16 1:5 - ver 8,13,19,23,31

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”

References for Genesis 1:6

• Cross References

• 17 1:6 - S ver 3
• 18 1:6 - S ver 1; Isa 44:24 ; Jer 10:12 ; 2Pe 3:5
• 19 1:6 - ver 9; Ps 24:2 ; 136:6

7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.

References for Genesis 1:7

• Cross References

• 20 1:7 - Ge 7:11 ; Job 26:10 ; 38:8-11,16 ; Ps 68:33 ; 148:4 ; Pr 8:28
• 21 1:7 - ver 9,11,15,24

8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

References for Genesis 1:8

• Cross References

• 22 1:8 - S ver 5
• 23 1:8 - Job 9:8 ; 37:18 ; Ps 19:1 ; 104:2 ; Isa 40:22 ; 44:24 ; 45:12 ; Jer 10:12 ; Zec 12:1
• 24 1:8 - S ver 5

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.

References for Genesis 1:9

• Cross References

• 25 1:9 - Job 38:8-11 ; Ps 33:7 ; 104:6-9 ; Pr 8:29 ; Jer 5:22 ; 2Pe 3:5
• 26 1:9 - Ps 95:5 ; Jnh 1:9 ; Hag 2:6
• 27 1:9 - S ver 7

10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

References for Genesis 1:10

• Cross References

• 28 1:10 - S ver 5
• 29 1:10 - Ps 33:7
• 30 1:10 - Job 38:8 ; Ps 90:2 ; 95:5
• 31 1:10 - S ver 4

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.

References for Genesis 1:11

• Cross References

• 32 1:11 - Ps 65:9-13 ; 104:14
• 33 1:11 - ver 12,21,24,25; Ge 2:5 ; 6:20 ; 7:14 ; Lev 11:14,19,22 ; Dt 14:13,18 ; 1Co 15:38
• 34 1:11 - S ver 7

12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

References for Genesis 1:12

• Cross References

• 35 1:12 - S ver 11
• 36 1:12 - S ver 4

13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

References for Genesis 1:13

• Cross References

• 37 1:13 - S ver 5

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,

References for Genesis 1:14

• Cross References

• 38 1:14 - Ps 74:16 ; 136:7
• 39 1:14 - S ver 4
• 40 1:14 - Jer 10:2
• 41 1:14 - Ps 104:19
• 42 1:14 - Ge 8:22 ; Jer 31:35-36 ; 33:20,25

15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.

References for Genesis 1:15

• Cross References

• 43 1:15 - S ver 7

16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

References for Genesis 1:16

• Cross References

• 44 1:16 - Dt 17:3 ; Job 31:26 ; Jer 43:13 ; Eze 8:16
• 45 1:16 - Ps 136:8
• 46 1:16 - Ps 136:9
• 47 1:16 - Job 38:33 ; Ps 74:16 ; 104:19 ; Jer 31:35 ; Jas 1:17
• 48 1:16 - Dt 4:19 ; Job 9:9 ; 38:7,31-32 ; Ps 8:3 ; 33:6 ; Ecc 12:2 ; Isa 40:26 ; Jer 8:2 ; Am 5:8

17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth,

18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

References for Genesis 1:18

• Cross References

• 49 1:18 - Jer 33:20,25
• 50 1:18 - S ver 4

19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

References for Genesis 1:19

• Cross References

• 51 1:19 - S ver 5

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

References for Genesis 1:20

• Cross References

• 52 1:20 - Ps 146:6
• 53 1:20 - Ge 2:19

21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

References for Genesis 1:21

• Cross References

• 54 1:21 - S ver 1
• 55 1:21 - Job 3:8 ; 7:12 ; Ps 74:13 ; 148:7 ; Isa 27:1 ; Eze 32:2
• 56 1:21 - Ps 104:25-26
• 57 1:21 - S ver 11
• 58 1:21 - S ver 4

22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”

References for Genesis 1:22

• Cross References

• 59 1:22 - ver 28; Ge 8:17 ; 9:1,7,19 ; 47:27 ; Lev 26:9 ; Eze 36:11

23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

References for Genesis 1:23

• Cross References

• 60 1:23 - S ver 5

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.

References for Genesis 1:24

• Cross References

• 61 1:24 - Ge 2:19
• 62 1:24 - S ver 11
• 63 1:24 - S ver 7

25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

References for Genesis 1:25

• Cross References

• 64 1:25 - Ge 7:21-22 ; Jer 27:5
• 65 1:25 - S ver 11
• 66 1:25 - S ver 4

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^a and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

References for Genesis 1:26

• Cross References
• Footnotes

• 67 1:26 - Ge 3:5,22 ; 11:7 ; Ps 100:3 ; Isa 6:8
• 68 1:26 - Isa 45:18
• 69 1:26 - ver 27; Ge 5:3 ; 9:6 ; Ps 8:5 ; 82:6 ; 9:6 ; 1Co 11:7 ; 2Co 4:4 ; Col 1:15 ; 3:10 ; Jas 3:9
• 70 1:26 - Ac 17:28-29
• 71 1:26 - Ge 9:2 ; Ps 8:6-8
• 72 1:26 - Ps 8:8

• a 1:26 - Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text "the earth"

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

References for Genesis 1:27

• Cross References

• 73 1:27 - S ver 1
• 74 1:27 - Ge 2:7 ; Ps 103:14 ; 119:73
• 75 1:27 - S ver 26; 1Co 11:7
• 76 1:27 - Ge 5:1
• 77 1:27 - Ge 5:2 ; Mt 19:4 *; Mk 10:6 *; Gal 3:28
• 78 1:27 - Dt 4:32

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

References for Genesis 1:28

• Cross References

• 79 1:28 - Ge 33:5 ; Jos 24:3 ; Ps 113:9 ; 127:3,5
• 80 1:28 - S Ge 17:6
• 81 1:28 - S ver 22; Ge 6:1 ; Ge 9:1,7 ; Lev 26:9 ; Ac 17:26
• 82 1:28 - ver 26; Ps 115:16
• 83 1:28 - Ps 8:6-8

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

References for Genesis 1:29

• Cross References

• 84 1:29 - Ge 9:3 ; Dt 12:15 ; Ps 104:14 ; 1Ti 4:3

30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

References for Genesis 1:30

• Cross References

• 85 1:30 - Ge 2:7 ; 7:22
• 86 1:30 - Job 38:41 ; Ps 78:25 ; 104:14,27 ; 111:5 ; 136:25 ; 145:15 ; 147:9

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

In the beginning we find God.  He has always existed.

He is eternal.  He has no beginning and no end.

He isn't going anywhere.

After reading the creation account I just want to worship the Lord all the more.

He is an Awesome God and creator.

Isn't He worthy of all of our praise.

All that He made was very good.

God doesn't make junk.

When we look at the beautiful telescope pictures of deep space and see the stars, the galaxies, and nebula we can know that God did that.

We are not some weird accident.

God is the Creator of all things seen and unseen.

When we fail to see the truth of who God is we will fail to worship Him as we ought too.

He is God.  We are not.

He is ultimately in control.  We are not.

We are all accountable to Him.

Sin entered the world when Adam disobeyed God and from the forbidden tree.

We are all born with a sin nature and separated from God.

God had a plan from the very beginning to redeem us.

The Lord sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ on a rescue mission to save us from our sins.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins past, present, and future.

What Savior!

Let us praise His name.

Let us worship our Creator and our Savior and King.

Our God is an Awesome God.

Lord,

You are an Awesome Loving Creator.

We thank You that You spoke the Heavens and the Earth into existence.

You are mighty and Holy.

Thank You for saving us from our sins by sending Your Son, Jesus Christ.

We praise Your name.

In Jesus name,

Amen.