A Call To Turn To The True Living God

Sometimes it can be hard to connect with people so it seems.  We live in a world that is full of technology that allows us to communicate with anyone at anytime anywhere in the world if we wanted to.  Even with all that technology however there seems to be a great disconnect among people. 

Sometimes it is hard to get to know new people and start up conversations.  I am not very good at starting conversations and I am even worse at keeping conversations going.  These are a few things that I need to work on among many other things. 

The Apostle Paul was great at starting conversations.  When I think about what Paul was like I picture him to be someone that was very well versed in the art of conversation.  Paul knew what to say and when to say it through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

I am reminded of the time Paul appeared in Athens and had the opportunity to speak to the Areopagus which was a place where people gathered to talk about new ideas.  We can read of what Paul said in Acts 17:22-31(ESV) which says,

"22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 
                                                                                                       

23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ¹'To the unknown god.'²What therefore you worship ³as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

24 ⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, being ⁵Lord of heaven and earth, ⁶does not live in temples made by man,                                                                              

25 nor is he served by human hands, ⁷as though he needed anything, since he himself ⁸gives to all mankind ⁹life and breath and everything.

26 And ¹⁰he made from one man every nation of mankind to live ¹¹on all the face of the earth, ¹²having determined allotted periods and ¹³the boundaries of their dwelling place,

27 ¹⁴that they should seek God, in the hope that ¹⁵they might feel their way toward him and find him. ¹⁶Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

28 for ¹⁷"'In him we live and move and have our being';^bas even some of ¹⁸your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'^c

29 ¹⁹Being then God's offspring, ²⁰we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

30 ²¹The times of ignorance ²²God overlooked, but ²³now he ²⁴commands all people everywhere to repent,

31 because he has fixed ²⁵a day on which ²⁶he will judge the world ²⁷in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ²⁸of this he has given assurance to all ²⁹by raising him from the dead."

Paul started out by acknowledging that the people were religious because he noticed all of their idols that they worshiped.  They even had an altar with the inscription, "To the unknown god".  Paul used this to introduce the people who were listening to him to the True Living God.

The Lord God is the true living God.  The Lord is the Creator of everything we see and even the things we don't see.  The Lord is our Maker.  He made us.  The Lord loves us.

The Lord's desire is for people to come to Him and acknowledge the truth of who He is.  There are many people around us today that are very religious, but they don't have a relationship with the Living God.  That relationship is only available through a personal relationship through Jesus Christ whom God sent into this world to live a perfect and sinless life. 

Jesus is God's one and only Son and He sent Jesus to the earth on a rescue mission.  We have all sinned and have fallen short of God's standards.  Jesus died on the Cross for our sins and was raised to life three days later.  We must repent of our sins and turn to Jesus Christ and trust Him as our Lord and Savior. 

There is coming a day when Jesus will return to judge the world.  Those who are trusting in His finished work on the Cross will go to Heaven for all eternity.  Those who have rejected Him by denying that He is the Son of the Living God and have rejected His Salvation will go to a literal hell for all eternity out of the presence of the Lord.

Let's no longer cling to worthless idols that can't save us, but let us turn to the True Living God and His Son, Jesus Christ, if we haven't done so already. 

   Lord,

I uplift Your Name for You are the True Living God and there is no other.
Thank You that You sent Jesus into this world to save us sinners.
I pray that more people will come to know You in the coming days.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Remembering That The Lord Is Always With Us

There are times in life when we feel like we are all alone in this world.  Sometimes we find ourselves far away from family or friends for one reason or another.  Sometimes we can feel very lonely and wonder if anyone truly cares about how we feel and sometimes we wonder if anyone loves us.

The good news is that yes, there is someone who loves us greatly and that is the Lord our God.  The Lord loves us with a deep and everlasting love.  The Lord's love is unconditional.  The Lord cares for us and He takes care of us each and everyday.

God demonstrated His love for each one of us by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to die for our sins.  God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day to show the world that He is indeed God.  Who ever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

When we place our faith in Jesus Christ and make Him our Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us.  We believers in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit residing within us.  That means even though we believers in Christ may feel alone and lonely we are never truly alone.

The Lord promises to be with us always even until the very end of the age.  The Lord will walk with us through the dark and lonely valley of the shadow of death.  The Lord will be with us during those mountain top experiences when we feel really close with God and He will be with us when we feel like we have hit rock bottom and that everything seems like it is against us.  It is during those challenging and lonely times that we can have the most growth Spiritually.  For it is during those times of trial when we truly learn what it mean to lean upon the Lord because He is the only One that is there to lean on for help.

The Lord is our helper indeed and we must always remember that.  We need to call out to Him more in prayer and trust Him to answer our cries for help.  Life can get lonely, but the Lord will see us through those moments all the way until our faith becomes sight and we see Him face to face in Heaven.

Lord, Heavenly Father,

We praise Your Name.

Thank You for never leaving us and never forsaking us.

Thank You for the Holy Spirit who indwells each of us that have placed our faith in Jesus Christ.

Help us to walk in the Spirit and help us to say no to the flesh.

Lead us and guide us.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Walking Humbly With Jesus

Sometimes it seems all to easy to look down upon other people.  We may think we are better off then those around us because we have a better job, wear fancy cloths, or have plenty of money and worldly stuff.  The devil loves it when he can stir up pride in our hearts and lives.  Pride is a trap and makes us think we are better than we actually are.

The Bible tells us that there is no one that is righteous and that there is no one that is good.  Romans 3:10-18 says,

"10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; 
                                                                                                        

11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.

12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

13 "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive."  "The venom of asps is under their lips."

14   "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness."

15    "Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 in their paths are ruin and misery,

17 and the way of peace they have not known."

18  "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  That is we have no righteousness of our own to speak of.  We have all missed the mark.  We have all failed at reaching God's high standards on our own.  There is not one of us that is good enough on our own to earn forgiveness of our sins and there is not one of us that is good enough to enter into Heaven based upon our own goodness.

The Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins past, present, and future.  We must repent of our sins.  That is we must come into to agreement with God about the sin in our lives and be willing to change direction by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and trust in His Righteousness.  We are saved by Grace through placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and we have nothing to boast about whatsoever.

Sometimes pride is stirred up in a believers life and it draws us away from the truth of who God is.  Pride can wreck our witness for the Lord and bring dishonor to Him and other believers.  It is all too easy to get prideful especially when we fail to give the praise that we receive to the Lord Himself.  For example, when we receive a complement for something that the Lord has enabled us to do, such as a sermon or an act of service that the Lord directs us to, and we fail to pass that one to the Lord it could possibly plant a seed of pride if we are not careful.  

I am reminded of Luke 18:9-14 which says,

"9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.'

13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'                                                                               

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

In this parable that Jesus told the Pharisee was full of pride and self-righteousness.  The Pharisee thought he was very religious because of all the good the he had done and by doing so felt like he was justified by God.  The other man, the tax collector, couldn't even bring himself to look up to Heaven, and said, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."

Jesus said that this man went home justified before God while the Pharisee did not.  God can work through us for His purposes when we come humbly to Him.  We must be careful in our walk with Christ  and not allow pride to blind us.  We must deny ourselves daily while taking up our cross and follow Jesus wherever He would have us to go.

May we humble ourselves before the Lord and walk with our eyes upon Him.

Lord, Heavenly Father,

We praise Your Name.

We confess that sometimes pride stirs up in our hearts.

We ask You to help us to repent of that pride and help us to be humble servants giving You all the Glory, Honor, and Praise.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

                                                                            

                                                                                             

               

Throwing Off Our Distractions And Turning Toward Jesus

There are many things in life that can distract us from noticing God's movement in our lives.  The Lord is always with us everywhere we go, but sometimes we fail to notice Him and His work in our lives.  When I started to write this post I heard something through my opened window and I looked.  There was a horse trotting down the road and I looked at the rider on the horse's back.  The person was wearing a riding helmet, holding the reins with their left hand, and I noticed the glow of their cell phone in their right hand.  That is correct, they were looking at their cell phone as they were riding their horse.  Just when you thought you've seen everything something like that happens.

That got me to thinking about being distracted.  Sometimes our cell phone distract us from daily living and sometimes the results can be rather bad if we are not careful.  Many people have been killed or injured while using their cell phone while driving an automobile (Not a good idea.  Don't do it! I am sure that can be applied to riding horses as well.)

Sometimes we get terribly busy in life that we forget to whom we belong.  The Lord wants all of our attention and He wants all of our devotion.  We unfortunately allow other things to distract us from our focus on the Lord.  He wants us to focus on Him.  He wants us to acknowledge Him in all things.

The Lord blesses us everyday.  He allowed us to wake up this morning.  He provides us with our daily meals and water to drink.  He blesses us with so much that sometimes we fail to even acknowledge His Awesome care and love for us.  The Lord loves us with a deep abiding love.  Even before time began He knew our names and He even has a plan and purpose for our lives.

The Lord wants us to love Him with our whole being.  The Lord knows our every thought and every longing of our hearts.  The Lord knows everything about us and He still loves us.  That is a very humbling and comforting thought. 

The young people were told this week at Vacation Bible School to look for "God sightings".  "God sightings" are blessing that God placing in our path to show us that He is with us and that He loves us.  Sometimes I fail to look for "God sightings" in my life.  So, this week I have been trying to look a little harder and today I had several and they were very humbling I must say.  God is an Awesome loving God.  He is our Maker.  I really needed some encouragement today.  I asked the Lord to send me some words of encouragement and the Lord provided abundantly. 

I felt very humbled and small in the Lord's presence as I saw His answering my prayers.  It was another, "Wow, God!" moment.  We need to allow ourselves to be less distracted by things and be more attracted to loving our Lord and our God for He is worthy of all of our time and attention.

Thank You Lord for Your attention and abiding everlasting love.  Let's throw off those things that hinder our walk with Christ and let's throw off those things that distract us from focusing on Him.  May we turn our attention to the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is worthy of all of our attention.

Lord, Heavenly Father,
We praise Your Holy Name.
Forgive us for being distracted by things around us.
Help our attention to be upon You in a greater way.
You are God and our Maker.
Thank You for loving us so much.
We love You O Lord.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Running To Jesus When Life Gets Hard

Sometimes life gets hard and challenges arise in our lives.  Sometimes our own fleshly attitudes get in the way and our sinful nature rises to the surface.  Let's face it, there are times when we believers in Jesus Christ just don't act very Spiritual.  We all have bad days at times.  There are times when we fail miserably in our walk with Jesus.

I am thankful my standing with God is not based on my goodness and keeping a list of rules because I know I would definitely fail all the time.  I know I am not good enough to earn God's forgiveness.  I am not good enough to earn my way into Heaven.  I do know that I am saved by grace through faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I am deeply loved by the Living God despite all of my faults and failures.  I am thankful that I am saved through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

I must confess I had one of those bad days today.  I felt a little tired and maybe a little cranky.  I even had a customer get mad at me today.  I ended up just ended up walking away (which I felt was in the best interest of both of us) from the situation.  I am not sure if I handled the situation the proper way.  This customer was kind of rude and demanded that I move so she could get some lettuce.  So I did.  I wheeled my cart out back.  She didn't like that very much.  She wanted fresher lettuce (even though it was fresh because the Produce Manager had just put some there on the shelf that morning).

Then the customer ended up telling one of the store managers about the whole ordeal with her arms flailing about.  I could tell she was angry.  The manager ended up getting her a lettuce from out back (which was the same batch that was actually on the shelf.) and hopefully she was satisfied.

I told my Produce Manger what happened.  I even told him that I felt bad and even a little ashamed.  He didn't even want to deal with this customer either.  I am sorry that I made this customer angry and I forgive her for her reaction and anger. 

Sometimes we don't handle situations the way we should.  Sometimes we mess up and sometimes we have bad days, but there is still a God that loves us despite our faults.  I have many faults, I know.  I am sometimes too shy and quiet.  Sometimes I am too sensitive (I have been told that). 

I could list several more faults, but that would be a long list and rather depressing.  The devil wants us to look at our faults and failures which are many, but we must not look at our faults.  We must instead forgive others and forgive ourselves and look unto Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Jesus loves us with our faults and all.  God demonstrated His great love for us by sending us Jesus Christ who died on a cruel rugged Cross for a sinner such as I.  I have a lot to learn, I know.
I am thankful that the Lord is still at work in this heart of mine.  I am thankful that one day that work will be complete when Christ returns.

We must remember to keep our focus on Jesus Christ.  We serve Him ultimately and there will be days when Satan will attack us to try to throw us of track.  Sometimes it may be our own hearts that throw us off track as well.  The Lord will keep us on track through His Holy Spirit if we allow Him to lead us. 

I am thankful that God loves me.  I am thankful that I am saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  We need to love the Lord with all of our minds, bodies, and souls.  We also must love others as we love ourselves.  We also need to love and pray for those who hate us and are angry with us. 

Sometimes the Lord will allow us to experience difficulties so we will learn to lean upon Him and His strength and no our own.  We are weak.  I am weak, I know that, but I am thankful that my God is strong and a helper in my time of need.  The Lord is my strength.  He is my Rock and my Shield.

When life gets hard we need to run to Jesus.  He is willing to forgive us.  He is willing to help us in our times of need and weakness.  He is ready to encourage.  We need to feed upon His Holy Word, the Bible and be led by the Holy Spirit.

Lord, Heavenly Father,
Thank You for loving us even though we are prone to failure.
I thank You for Your forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
Thank You Jesus for not giving up on me.
Thank You for Your mercy and Your Amazing Grace.
Help us to encourage each other as we run the race of faith.
I pray for Christ centered friendships to develop in my life.
I pray for Your direction and Your will for my life to be made clear to me.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Wow!, God!

I had a great experience this week volunteering at a Vacation Bible School that was put on by three different area Churches.  I signed up for security which was a good way for me to observe what Vacation Bible School was like and meet new people. 

It was great seeing many believers in Jesus Christ come together and work together in an effort to further the Kingdom of God by ministering to the youth of our community.  There were probably between 150 to 200 youth at this event.  There were many volunteers who served in various ways.

I got to hear some of the things that the young people were learning at the Vacation Bible School and I even came away with a deeper understanding of Biblical truth that I really needed to hear.  We all need a good reminder once in while of how God loves us, that He is always with us,  He has a reason for us, and that He made us. 

It felt great to be apart of something that the Lord was doing right here in my own town.  I could just sense the Lord's presence all week as I served there at the Vacation Bible School.  One of the great highlights for me was when my Pastor presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ and gave the invitation.  I heard that 70 young people received the invitation to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

God is so good.  HE is Amazing.  One of the things that the young people were told to do was to say, "Wow!, God!" when they heard a Biblical truth.  It was really great to hear a room of young people saying that. 

The Lord is still at work in people's hearts and He is still at work in our communities.  The Lord is still at work in our world today.  I am thankful that He us still at work in my life.  I have felt Spiritually refreshed this week because of this great experience that I had at Vacation Bible School.

I am kind of sad it is over, but I am sure that God has something else in store for me right around the corner. 

I just want to say, "Wow!, God!"

Lord,
Thank You for this great week at Vacation Bible School.
I uplift all the young people that attended and their parents.
I pray for the volunteer helpers and those who worked so very hard at organizing the event.
I pray for those who receive Christ's gift of Salvation.
Lead me where You would have me go.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen.

Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

When we look at the world around us and all that God created we should be in Awe of how great our Lord truly is.  We see the mountains, the hills, the oceans, the animals and all creatures of various sizes.  We should also look at ourselves.  God made us.  God made you and me.

The Lord doesn't make junk.  We are wonderfully made by God.  We were made in His image.  god loves us with a deep unconditional love.  When we think of the complex nature of the design of our bodies we should be in awe of God.

Psalm 139:14-18 says,

"I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you."

We should thank the Lord for making us and loving us so greatly.   When we think about all that God created especially, you, me, and all people we should say, "Wow, God did that!"  Our God is the Creator of all things seen and unseen.  He is an Awesome God and He is worthy of our worship and devotion.

God loves you.  He wants to have a relationship with Him and that is available through Jesus Christ.

Lord, Heavenly Father,

We praise Your Name.

When we think of all the You have done for us we just want to say, "Wow, God!"

You truly are Amazing and Holy and worthy of our praise.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

Put The Cellphone Down And Talk To Others

The other day my cellphone decided it had enough and stopped working.  It would turn on , but just omitted a glowing screen with the logo of the company that made it.  I tried everything to try to resuscitate it, but nothing worked.  I even asked a co-worker of mine who knows a lot about computers and electronics, but he had no idea what was going on with it either.  It makes me wonder what we ever did without cellphones? (yes kids there was such a time I am afraid to say.)

I think we probably used to talk to each other more.  I mean face to face chatting with real words and subjects that made a person think.  Some people even told stories and told funny stories that made people laugh (we called them jokes.)  They weren't hurtful.  They weren't mean.  They were clean and funny.  That was back when people laughed more and talked to each other more.  That was when the world seemed kinder and gentler (if it ever truly was.)  There seems to be more rudeness these days.  There seems to be more anger as well.  There almost seems to be a disconnection between people.

I ended up getting a new cellphone by the way.  All of my information was stored on a hard drive in cyberspace and I ended up downloading everything that I had on my old phone onto my new phone.  I do like modern technology in that regard. 

When our cellphones break we feel disconnected from our friends and loved ones.  I am thankful that our direct line to God is never interrupted.  It never goes down because of a power failure.  We have direct access to the Lord through prayer.  We believers in Jesus Christ also have the Holy Spirit indwelling us so we are never truly alone.  I take comfort in that.

I was thinking that maybe we should put down that cellphone once in a while and just talk to each other.  We should also take time to laugh.  It is really nice to laugh.  The other day I was looking through my news feed on Facebook and I came across a picture of a tractor in a field.  The tractor was moving hay bales that were wrapped up in a white looking tarp.  The caption read, "Marshmallow harvest started today."  The farmer that posted it was just being funny because the hay bales did look like marshmallows.  Well, I will tell you that struck my funny bone and I laughed so hard tears came out of my eyes.  My mother asked me what was so funny, but I couldn't stop laughing for a while.  I finally stopped and told her.  I told some others, but they didn't find it as funny as I did.  It was worth a try at making someone laugh though.

(Here is a link to the picture that made me laugh.  Hopefully I am not the only one that finds it funny.  If I am don't tell me.)

https://www.facebook.com/CrownOfMaine/photos/a.450896551971.234218.45547021971/10155399729361972/?type=3&theater

While we are talking with others it would also be great to talk to them about the Lord Jesus Christ and all He has done for them and all of us.  The Lord loves us so much and He was others to know Him as well. 

Lord, Heavenly Father,
We praise Your Name.
You are Holy.
Help us to talk to each other more without distractions.
Help us to laugh as well and be joyful.
Lead us and draw us nearer to You.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Finding A Quiet Time With God

Sometimes life can seem so very busy.  We run from one thing to the next.  Many people are tired and stressed.  Sometimes we get so busy that we forget to take time to spend with God and His Word.  It is important to our relationship with the Lord that we make time to spend with Him in His presence.  Yes, He is always present with us, but sometimes we need to go somewhere and just get quiet with Him with our Bibles open.

Our lives can get crazy and our schedules can get hectic, but the Lord urges us to come to Him and find the rest that we need and desire.  Times are tough.  Things seem to be growing darker in our world these days.  The world needs God and we need more of God.  Actually, a better way of saying it would be, God needs more of us.

When was the last time you got alone with God and just listened?

Sometimes we like to get alone with God and tell Him everything on our minds and hearts without ever taking time to listen to Him.  The Lord has something to say to us through His Word and the Holy Spirit.  We need to take time to listen and thank Him for who He is and all that He has done.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Thank You for all that You have done for us.
Help us to take a time out and spend some quiet time with You.
We come to You Lord to find rest for our weary souls.
Draw us near to You O Lord.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

It Is Well With Me

The world seems to be getting darker day by day.  We have heard of more shootings taken place in the United States especially one where a Government official was shot as well as some others that were with him.  There seems to be a lot of trouble in our world these days.  It is hard to watch or even listen to news reports because many times the news that we hear is bad.

We must remember that even though bad things are happening all around us we can take comfort that we know the Lord Jesus Christ is with us each and everyday.  Our world may be falling apart, but we don't have to.  This world is not our home if we are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we are His follower.  Our home is in Heaven with Him.  We are just pilgrims passing through.

We are journeying along to that celestial city where we shall be with the Lord for all eternity.  We know that we have all sinned and have fallen short of God's high standards.  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.  God demonstrated His love for us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this world to die for us sinners.

We must repent of our sin and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.  We are saved by grace though faith in Jesus Christ.  Who ever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.  There is only one name under Heaven in which people must be saved by and that is the name of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the only one that have dies for the sins of the entire world and God raised Him to life on the third day to show us that He is indeed God.

When we come to know the Lord Jesus the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us and when things get troubling and the world seems to get worse we can say that, "It is well with my soul."

I was reminded of this on Sunday morning when my mother and I stopped at a little Church to hear a wonderfully talented young woman sing songs about the Lord.  She didn't just sing, buy she ministered to all of those who were gathered there that morning.  The songs touched my heart and ministered to me.  I had arrived late because I preached at another Church earlier that morning and I was heading back home when my mother and I decided to stop into hear this young lady sing. 

There is one song that really spoke to me at that was, "It is well."  The chorus is the old familiar hymn, "It is well with my soul."  Those words she sang warmed my heart and reminded me that even though things are bad in our world we can say, "it is well with my soul", if we know Jesus.  I take comfort in knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I take greater comfort that I am known by Him.  I am known by Him not because of anything that I have done, but because He saved a wretched sinful man like me by His grace by dying for my sins. 

(Here is a video to the song I mentioned https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNqo4Un2uZI)

Lord,
Thank You that though it all my eyes are on you and I can say, "It is well with me!"
We praise Your Holy Name!
Thank You Jesus for saving us by Your shed blood on the Cross.
Lead us into a deeper relationship with You O Lord.
Come Soon O Lord.
We praise You.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.
 

Praising The Lord In Difficult Circumstances

There are times in life when we will go through difficult times.  Sometimes when we are in midst of those challenges we may feel like no one knows what we are going through or what we are feeling emotionally.  The truth of the matter is that they really don't know what we are going through or feeling.  The Lord however, knows exactly what we are feeling and He knows what we are going through. 

It is in those moments of difficulty and pain when we probably don't feel much like praising the Lord for who He is and all that He has done.  It is during these hard seasons of life when we need to praise the Lord and remind ourselves who God truly is. 

Psalm 146 says,

"1 ¹Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! 
                                                                                                        

2 I will praise the LORD ²as long as I live; ³I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 ⁴Put not your trust in princes, ⁵in a son of man, in whom there is ⁶no salvation.

4 When ⁷his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

5 ⁸Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose ⁹hope is in the LORD his God,

6 ¹⁰who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, ¹¹who keeps faith forever;

7 ¹²who executes justice for the oppressed, ¹³who gives food to the hungry.¹⁴The LORD sets the prisoners free;

8 ¹⁵the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. ¹⁶The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; ¹⁷the LORD loves the righteous.

9 ¹⁸The LORD watches over the sojourners; ¹⁹he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but ²⁰the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 ²¹The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. ²²Praise the LORD!"

Times are tough.  There will be troubles that we will face.  Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, but He also told us to take heart because He has overcome the world.  

When the trials and troubles of life come we must remember who are God is and we need to praise Him for His goodness and His tender mercies.  

Lord,  Heavenly Father,

We praise You O Lord our God.

You are Mighty and all Powerful.

You alone are God, there is no other.

We praise Your Holy Name.

Times are tough all around us, but we are thankful for You being with us always.

You are the Creator of all things.

You are worthy of our worship and praise.

Bless us O Lord this day ahead and may Your praise be continually upon our lips.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.                            

Trust And Surrender

We live in a world that seems to be spiraling out of control with violence, anger, and lack of love.  Sometimes we find it hard to trust politicians and government leaders.  Sometimes we may even find it difficult to trust God especially when trials come against us, but the truth is that we can indeed trust God.  The Lord is trustworthy and He is capable in handling even the biggest problem that we face.

We must surrender ourselves and our will to His perfect will and direction.  There are many things in this world that could cause us to lose hope and not want to trust.  Sometimes we find it hard to trust people because they have either hurt us in some way in the past or wronged us breaking our trust in them.  The Lord is not like that at all.  We might not know exactly what the Lord is doing in our lives, but He can see the bigger picture of things and we can't.  The Lord is like an artist painting a portrait.  He knows what the finished result will look like and what it will take to make that happen.


He asks us to trust Him and surrender ourselves to Him completely.  I find these two things to be very difficult for me at times.  I want to trust the Lord and surrender to His will, but sometimes I end up getting in the way I am afraid.  I need to continually reset my mind upon the Lord and trust in His guidance through the Holy Spirit.

We must continue to trust the Lord Jesus with our lives and remember that He is still working out things in our lives for our good.  Our hope is not in things or people of this world our hope is in the Lord.

I was trying to find a Scripture text that explains what I am trying to say and I feel that 1 Peter 1:13-25 says it best,

"13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 
                                                                                                       

14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;

16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”^a

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,

19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.^b

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”^cAnd this is the word that was preached to you. "            

We must remember how Awesome and Holy our God is and what Jesus has done for us.  He wants us to surrender ourselves to Him and trust Him so that He can use us to further His Kingdom.  This will be challenging to us, but the Lord will help us through the Holy Spirit.

Lord,  Heavenly Father,

We praise Your Holy Name.

Forgive us for not trusting You more.

Help us to trust Your ways and help us to surrender completely to Your will.

Lead us and guide us.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.               

Turning Our Anxious Thoughts Over To The Lord

Sometimes I notice that when my thinking is off on something negative or not focused on the Lord I start feeling off.  Sometimes I don't really pay much attention to what I am thinking, I must admit, and that can be a bad thing for us.  It doesn't take long for us to go off in the wrong direction and even head down a road towards sin.  That road always starts with a stray thought that either comes from the evil desires within our own hearts or thoughts that the devil whispers into our ears without us even noticing.

I have found that when I am anxious about something generally it started with a stray thought that grew and grew into fear.  I do get anxious and worried sometimes.  I wish I didn't.  I have had times when my fear and anxiety were so bad that I couldn't even drive.  Even in those times as I think back, my thinking was off. 

Anxiety can be a hard thing to deal with.  It can control us or it feels like it does.  I have had moments when I felt like I couldn't breathe and I have times when I felt sheer panic.  My heart would race and fear overwhelmed me.  I felt I going completely mad, but I wasn't.  My thinking was off.  It didn't happened all at once.  The anxiety built upon itself over time. 

In order to get back on track our thinking needs to change back to the Lord and His Word, the Bible.  It takes time to get our thinking back on track.  The Holy Spirit, who indwells within everyone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, will help us get our thinking back on track.

There will always be things in our lives that cause us some sort of anxiety, but the Lord will help us during those moments.  I felt I needed to talk more about anxiety tonight because last night's blog post that I wrote on anxiety received 56 views.  That tells me that there are a lot of us that feel anxious at times especially with everything that is going on in our world these days.

If you are struggling with anxiety of some sort just know that you are not alone and more importantly the Lord will help you through this if you just trust Him and hand over the controls to Him.  It won't be easy at times, but our God is a Bid God and He is bigger than any fear or thought that comes to our minds.

When it comes to changing our minds back to the Lord and away from anxious ones a verse comes to my mind and it is found in Philippians 4:8 which says,

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true,

whatever is noble,

whatever is right,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is admirable,

-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-

think about such things."

When I think about all of these things mentioned above I can't help to think about God's Word because His Word seems to meet all the criteria.  When we think on God's Word and who He is our troubles seem to shrink.  When we think about how the Creator of the entire Universe and how He loves us so very much that He when to all the trouble to send His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this planet to die on a Cross for a wretched sinner such as we all are.  Then I think about how Jesus bled and died for my sins and took the punishment that I so rightly deserve.  Then I think of how Jesus conquered the grave and defeated death because He rose from the dead on the third day and He lives today.

I often think about how Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven interceding for us in prayer and that one day Jesus will come back to the earth and establish His Kingdom upon the earth in full completion.  When I stop and think of all the things the Lord has done over the years and all the times that He remained faithful, even though at times I am not so much.   I also think of how the Holy Spirit of God dwells within us when come to faith in Jesus.  What a great gift the Lord has given to us.

When I think about all these things I just want to praise Him for how great He is.  I just want to shout for joy and rejoice.  When I think about all that He has done I just stand amazed and in awe of my Lord and my God.

I want my thinking to be on Him all the time because when it is anxiety is the furthest thing from my thoughts.  We need to turn our anxious thoughts over to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to renew our minds as we learn to trust Him more.

Lord, Heavenly Father,
We praise Your Holy Name.
Sometimes we get anxious O Lord.
We don't want o be anxious about anything, but sometimes those thoughts come.
Help us to hand over our anxious thoughts over to you.
Help us to think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, and lovely.
Help us to have our minds renewed that our focus will be upon You.
You are great and mighty.
I stand in Awe of You my Lord.
Help us to stand on Your Word and the Truth of who You are.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Praying Through Our Anxiety

There are many things that can cause us anxiety.  When we look at all of the troubles that are occurring in our world we get a little anxious about things and the future.  There are things that we should be concerned about that is for sure, but if we are anxious about things to the point that our focus is turned away from God then we have a problem.

Life is hard and difficult.  There will be times of extreme anxiety, but we must remember to call out to the Lord in those times.  The Lord is ultimately in control.  When our anxiety starts to get to us we must remember to dig into God's Word for some help.

Philippians 4:6-7 says,

"Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.

And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus."

When we start feeling anxious about something we need to go immediately to the Lord in prayer because He is the One who is truly able to help us with our needs whatever they maybe.  When our focus is on our problems our anxiety worsens,  but when we shift our focus onto the Lord and remember how Big and Mighty He is then our fears shrink.

The problem may not be taking away, but our dependence and trust in the Lord will grow.  We can trust the Lord to lead us through the fearful events of our lives knowing that one day we will be with Him in Heaven if we are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

If we can trust Him with our eternity we can trust Him with our daily lives and the anxieties that creep up at times.  When we call out to the Lord during those moments of anxiety He will give us a peace that will guard our hearts and minds.  It will be a peace that surpasses all understanding.  It will not be peace that the worlds gives, bit it will be the peace that the Lord Jesus Christ gives to us.

The Lord Jesus loves us and we can trust Him to take care of us no matter what we are going through.  He will lead us through the darkest times of life.  He will calm our fears and the storms that we find ourselves in.  All He asks is that we trust Him and come to Him with our concerns and troubles in prayer.

Lord, Heavenly Father,

We praise Your Holy Name.

Forgive us our sins of commission and our sins of commission.

May Your Kingdom come soon to this earth.

Help us not to be anxious.

Help us to trust You instead.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Choosing To Love God Because He Loved Us First

Sometimes we fail to realize how much the Lord truly loves us.  We wonder about His love for us when we suffer pain and severe trials.  We wonder about His love when we see tragedies occur in our world.  We wonder how could a loving God allow these things to happen to us or to others in our world today?

We know that God is a loving God.  The Bible tells us God is love.  We also know that God is sovereign.  We also know that God gives us freewill.  We have the ability to chose to love God or reject God.  The Lord wants us to love Him, but He will not force us to love Him back.

He allows rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous.  The Lord does love the people of this world.  God demonstrated His great love for each of us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross for our sins.  He doesn't want anyone to perish, but He wants all to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  He also knows that many people will reject the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Lord will try to woo us to Himself through the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will convict us of our sin and try to draw us to faith in Jesus Christ.  We must come boldly to the throne of grace and repent of our sin and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

A parent can raise a child in the way that is right and that honors God, but it is up to the child when he or she is older to continue on that path or divert from it and do things their way.  We can either obey God and His ways or do what seems right in our own eyes and face the consequences of our decisions.

Sometimes we don't know why God allows certain things to happen in our world or even in our own lives, but we can know that God loves us and He wants us to choose to love Him back.  


Lord,
Thank You for loving us and allowing us to love You.
We praise Your Holy Name.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Persistant Prayers

Sometimes we treat prayer as something we do when we are in trouble.  Sometimes we try to "fix" things in our own power and strength. Then when that fails we turn to prayer.  We should have a better view of prayer.  When Jesus was walking on the earth He felt it very necessary to get alone with the Heavenly Father and call out to Him in prayer.  If Jesus felt that it was so important for Him to be in prayer during His earthly ministry how much more important it must be that we His followers should be in prayer as well.

The Lord wants to hear our prayers and concerns because He loves us.  He cares about what is happening in our lives each and everyday.  We must remember to pray and call out to the Lord with all kinds of prayers for everyone we know.  We need to be in prayer for those who are sick.  We need to pray for those in leadership roles.  We need to pray for those who haven't heard or responded to the Gospel message of  Jesus Christ.

During the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave, He said in Matthew 7:7-12,

"7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
                                                                                                        

8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."                  

We must continue to be persistent in our prayers to the Lord and not give up.  The Lord will always give an answer to our prayers, but the answer may not always be the one we want.  He may answer yes, no, or wait, but the Lord will answer our prayers in accordance to His will and purpose.

Sometimes our prayers are small and not very precise.  We like to us broad prayers that cover a wide area of concern.  For example we may say, "I pray for missionaries."  It is a good prayer, but it would be better if we would also name a particular missionary especially someone that is familiar to us or is from our state or country.   

I would just like to encourage you to pray and keep praying.  The Apostle Paul tells us to have an attitude of prayer and pray without ceasing.   We should come boldly to the throne of grace with all kinds of prayers and request.

Lord,

Forgive us for not coming to You in prayer as much as we ought to.

Help us to prayer in a more meaningful way that would bring You glory.

I uplift the missionary, Bill Clemmer, to You O Lord.

Supply his needs and protect him for all danger as he serves You in Africa.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

        

Pentecost

Today we remember the day of Pentecost when the disciples of Jesus were all gathered together in an upper room.  Jesus had told them to wait until they were dwelt with power from on high.  So, that is what they did, they waited.   While they were all gathered together they prayed and they were all in one accord (what would that be like?)

There they were praying and all of a sudden something happened.  There was a sound of a mighty rushing wind that came from heaven and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then believers saw what appeared to them to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest upon each one that was there.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.  This marks the birth of the Church. 

Acts 2:1-13,

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.

7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?

8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^b

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome

11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”                            

What a great moment that was when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers of Jesus Christ all gathered there in the upper room praying and crying out to the Lord.  Sometimes the Church seems to pay little attention to the work of the Holy Spirit.  We tend to talk about God the Father and Jesus the Son of God, but when it comes to the Holy Spirit we seem to shy away from Him and that is very unfortunate.

Sometimes we end up quenching the Spirit's fire in our lives and in the life of the Church by clinging to our traditions and doing things that we have always done them instead of being led by God the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is God.  He is the third person of the Holy Trinity.  When we come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us. 

We must walk in the Spirit on a daily basis which means surrendering ourselves to Him each and every moment of everyday.  It is not that we need more of the Holy Spirit in our lives as much as the Holy Spirit needs more of us.  Sometimes we fail to submit to His directions and His promptings.  We think we can handle things and all that is going on around us, but guess what?  We can't.  We are very weak and we are prone to wander away from the Lord.  It is the Holy Spirit who will try to keep us on track if we are taking the time to listen for His promptings and direction.

Let's submit to the lead of the Holy Spirit in our lives in a greater way and trust His direction.  May we be willing to listen to His promptings and may we surrender ourselves completely to Him to honor and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord,

Thank You for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all of those who are trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Forgive us O Lord for quenching the Holy Spirit at times.

Help us to submit and walk in the Spirit.

Lead us and guide us.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Time Is Short

Sometimes things happen to us in our lives that just don't seem to make sense.  When we look at the world around us and we see the suffering, neglect, pain, abuse, anger, injustice, hostility, intolerance for things that are right and true in God's eyes, and we wonder what is going on.  Our world is doing what the nation of Israel did at the end of the book of Judges.  They did what was right in their own eyes.  When people follow their hearts instead of following the Lord's direction and will for their lives then bad things will happen.

We know that the devil is going around and stirring up trouble all over the place because he knows his time is short for the Lord Jesus is coming back perhaps very soon.  When Jesus returns it won't be as a baby placed in a manger, it won't be as a man riding a donkey, and He won't be seen by just a few people.  When Jesus returns He will return as the King of kings and the Lord of lords and everyone will see Him and know exactly who He is. 

It will be a terrifying day for those who have rejected Christ offer of salvation, but for those who are trusting in Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death on the Cross for their sins it will be the greatest most Glorious Day ever. 

Things seem rather dark and grim in our world these days.  Things are changing at a very alarming rate.  The immorality movement seems to be expanding in ways most of could have never have imagined 10 or 20 years ago. 

This world in which we find ourselves in is a  dying world.  This is a world of sorrow.  There is brokenness all around us everywhere we look.  This is a world where it seems like truth doesn't matter anymore, but truth does indeed still matter whether people want to accept it or not.

There is still hope for the people of our world today.  There is only one place in order to find that hope and that hope is in Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one can come to the Father except through Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the only one who died for the sins of the entire world.   Only Jesus can save.  We must place our faith in His finished work on the Cross.

The time of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is very near and it is important for us to be ready.  Have you been reconciled back to God by believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and trusting in His shed blood on the Cross?  Jesus took the punishment that you and I so rightly deserve.

Things will continue to get worse in this world.  We can take heart in knowing the One who has overcome the world if we know Him as our Lord and Savior.   Time is short.  Tell someone about Jesus before it is too late.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
We know time is running out for our world.
We pray for those who need to hear the Gospel.
Help us to tell someone about salvation through Jesus Christ.
Grant us courage and strength to stand for the truth of who You are.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.