Repenting Of Our Sin And Turning To Jesus Christ

We are living in troubling times.  The news reports seem grim and bleak with a new scandal here and there and everywhere so it seems these days.  There is much anxiety and fear.  There is plenty of anger and a lack of love for God and a lack of love for our fellow human beings.  The world seems to be spiraling out of control at a rather fast rate.  We have been shocked by some people's sins that have become public knowledge.  Some people flaunt their sin publicly to gain acceptance.

We have all sinned and fallen short of God's standards.  We can't hide our sin.  It will eventually come to the surface and even if we can hide our sin from other people, guess what?, God will still know what it is.  The Lord wants us to confess our sins to Him and repent of any known sin in our lives.  The Lord loves us and He wants the best for us.  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).

We are all deserving of being eternally separated from God and placed in a literal hell because of our sin.  God hates sin.  Nothing sinful can ever enter into God's presence because He is Holy.  Sometimes we fail to see the destructive nature of our sin.  It just doesn't hurt us, but it hurts God and it hurts our family, our co-workers, our Church, our witness if we are a believer, and it even affects people we have never met.  We would be wise to take our fallen sinful nature and our sinfulness very seriously because God does.

The Lord knows that our sin separates us from having a relationship with Him.  God made a way for each one of us to be reconciled back to Him.  God demonstrated His great love for us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on a rescue mission to save us sinners of which I am the chief.  For the first twenty-eight years of my life I wasn't a believer and during that time I mocked the Bible and I even tried to convince people that God wasn't real.  I even remember mocking believers in Jesus.  What a wretched man I am, but thanks be to God I have been redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  There is no sin that is so great that can't be cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus.  God offers us forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus came to this earth and lived a perfect and sinless life.  The Lord Jesus laid down His perfect life upon the Cross where He shed His blood for my sins and your sins and the sins of the whole world.   He was placed in a borrowed tomb and on the third day God raised Jesus up from the dead.  He is Alive!  Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father and one day Jesus will return to Judge the world.  We must repent of our sins and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be saved.  We are saved by grace by placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

There is hope for each one of us in Jesus Christ.  There is hope for those who have be caught in horrible scandals where their sin has become public knowledge.  We must come to God with repentant hearts and in humility.  There is not one of us that is good enough on our own to earn God's forgiveness.  We have all fallen short.  We have all failed.  We must confess to the Lord in prayer our failings and ask God to forgive us and ask Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior.

There needs to be a call of repentance in this country and in all the nations of this world.  There needs to be a call for repentance in our churches.  Church leaders and lay leaders must repent of apathy and Spiritual dryness.  We need a fresh faith in the Church.  We need fresh rain of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We need a Revival fire stirring deep within the recesses of our being.  We need to cry out to God to send revival.  We need to see the power of God at work in our lives and in the lives of those around us.   We need a refocus on the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives.  We must continue to walk in the Spirit and give no room for the flesh.

Revive me O God! Revive me through Your Holy Spirit!
Start a Fire in me!
Fan into flame that gift that You placed within me for Your Glory!
Here am I O Lord.  Send me!


Lord, Heavenly Father,
Forgive us of our sins which are many.
We place our faith and trust in You Lord Jesus.
We trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
We confess our sin to You.
Thank You Lord Jesus for loving us so very much.
Thank You Jesus for taking the punishment that we so greatly deserve.
Revive Your Church O Lord.
Awaken our souls.
Send us a fresh faith.
Send us a fresh out pouring of the Holy Spirit.
Forgive us for quenching the Holy Spirit.
Lead us and guide our steps.
May Your will be done.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Remembering The Lonely

This time of year is full of various things that can keep us busy.  There is shopping for presents to do.  There are parties to plan.  There is traveling to visit with family and friends that we haven't seen for a while.  There is so much hustle and bustle all around us.  There are reminders all around us that Christmas is coming soon with all the Christmas lights and displays and of course the music.

There are also activities at Church to plan and coordinate.  People get all stressed out during this time of year and worn out with all the things that are going on.  Sometimes we get so busy with things we forget that there are some people all around us who are hurting and lonely especially during this time of the year.

There are people who have lost loved ones and they feel an extra sadness because they are without their loved one while everyone else is happy and joyful.  There are also people who are shut-in their homes or tucked away in a nursing home with few visitors and they too feel lonely and even unimportant.  There are also many single people who don't have a family or even many friends that struggle during this time of the year.

We may not always know that anyone cares for us, but we can know that God cares for us and those who are in need can know that He cares for them as well.  God loves those who are struggling this time of the year and not just this time of the year. God cares for you and I all the time and He loves us with an unconditional love.

Let us not forget those who are hurting and are lonely this time of the year.  May we remind them or even tell them for the first time of God's great love for them that He demonstrated toward us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save us for our sins.  The Lord promises never to leave us and to never forsake us.  We can count on the Lord even when it seems that everyone has abandoned us.  We can trust the Lord to be with us even in the loneliness moments of our lives.

Lord,
Thank You that because we know You we are truly never alone.
We praise Your Name.
Help us to reach out to those who are hurting this time of the year with the love that You show us through Jesus.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
We pray for traveling mercies for those traveling.
We pray for those who have doctor's appointments.
We uplift those who are shut-in somewhere and feel forgotten.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Preparing Our Hearts For Christmas

This is the time of the year when we believers in the Lord Jesus Christ prepare our hearts for Christmas when we celebrate His first coming.  This is a good time for us to reflect upon God's love for each one of us.  We should remember the joy that we have from knowing the Lord Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  We need to also receive His peace into our lives by trusting in His unchanging grace and mercy.  We also should be thankful and show great gratitude to the Lord for giving us such a great hope.

We live in a world that is shrouded in darkness and wickedness and sin.  There is evil lurking in the shadows of the hearts of all people.  Our world is a fallen world and a dying one as well.  We have all sinned and have fallen short of God's high standards.  We have all gone astray.  We have all rebelled against a loving and Holy God.  We all need to be reconciled back to God.  None of us are good enough to earn forgiveness of our sins by our own good works.  We need a Savior.  God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth.  Jesus came as a baby in a manger.  He grew up and lived a perfect and sinless life on the earth.  Jesus went obediently to the Cross where He died on the Cross for our sins.  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day and ascended to Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  One day Jesus will return and bring the Kingdom of God to the earth in full completion.  The Lord didn't leave us to fend for ourselves until He returns to the earth, but He gives the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.

God is so very good and He is worthy of all of our praise.  May we reflect on the goodness of our God.  May we reflect on all that Jesus has accomplished for us our of His great love for us so we could be reconciled back to God.  This is a special time of the year.  This is a good time to rededicate our lives to the Lord Jesus and trust Him more.

Isaiah 9:6-7 

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 
                                                                                                       

7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

The Lord Jesus is our true hope.  The world needs hope.  Everywhere we look we see hopelessness and despair.  God made a way when there seemed to be absolutely no way.  We know that all things are possible with God.  God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, into this world to make a way for everyone to be reconciled back to God, but we must come to Him on His terms.  We must recognize that our sin separates us from God and nothing sinful can ever enter God's presence because He is Holy.  We must rely on the shed blood of Jesus Christ, a lamb without blemish.  Jesus paid the price for our sin by His own blood.  We must repent of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our own personal Lord and Savior.   We must come to Jesus by faith and trust in His grace.

Lord,

Thank You for Your great love for us.

Help us to prepare our hearts this advent season.

We praise Your Holy Name.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Resting In Jesus When We Are Tired And Weary

                                          (Photograph by Michael Rairdon)

Sometimes life can seem rather stressful and there are times when we feel tired and worn down.  We may feel weary and burdened.  We live in stressful times.  There are a lot of things that can cause us to be anxious and even depressed.  This time of the year is always a busy time for many people.  There are family gatherings and Church activities.  There are work related responsibilities that we have.  Sometimes we feel like we are being pulled in all kinds of different directions at the same time.  No wonder we feel tired and weary.  We need someone to lean on.  We need someone that understands what we are going through.

The Lord Jesus knows what we are going through better than anyone we know can and He invites us to come to Him and find the rest that we so badly need.   When we feel stressed and tired we need to turn our thoughts to the Lord Jesus.  We need to remember that Jesus is the One that bore our sins upon the Cross.  Jesus took the punishment that you and I rightly deserve.  He rose from the dead on the third day to show us that He is indeed God.  Everyone that has repented of their sins and has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has been given the Holy Spirit to indwell them.

We must remember in those moments when life gets overwhelming and tiring that we have a loving Savior in Jesus Christ who is urging us to continue to come to Him and find our rest.  I am reminded of Matthew 11:28-30 which says,

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
                                                                                                       

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

                                                                              

30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We can find rest for our weary souls in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We can find refreshing of our spirits through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  We can also find nourishment from the Bible and we can learn more of our Lord and God.  We need to be connected to the Lord Jesus by placing our faith and trust in Him.  

Life isn't easy.  Life can be very hard and stressful at times.  We need to take a quiet moment and remember that Jesus loves us.  We also need to remember that He is always with us throughout our busy day.  We can find our rest in Jesus even in those hard moments that we all experience in life.  We can also take great comfort that one day we believers in Jesus Christ will dwell with the Lord forever in Heaven one sweet day where we will experience everlasting rest.

Lord,  Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your love for each one of us.
Thank You Lord Jesus that we can find rest in You.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

                         

Giving Thanks To God

We live in a world that doesn't seem very thankful.  There is a whole lot of cynical and angry people around these days.  Sometimes that can be you and I as well if we are truly being honest.  It is so very easy to get negative and cynical when we hear of all the bad things going on in our world.  When we look at our favorite news program on the television we see scandal after scandal and attack after attack and it just seems to be getting worse.

We need to turn off the television for a moment and refocus ourselves upon the Lord.  We should make a list of things that we are thankful for.  Tomorrow in the U.S.A. we celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  It has over time has lost some of it's meaning I am afraid.  It is supposed to be a day where we reflect on God's goodness and remember to be thankful for all of His provision.

We believers in Jesus Christ need to remind ourselves to give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for us and we should be thankful for our family and friends as well.  God is so very good to us and He works out all things for the good of those who love Him.  God is our provider of all that we need.  He deserves our thanks and all of our praise.

I am thankful for the Lord loving me so much and showing me great mercy and grace.  I am thankful that God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die on the Cross for a wretched sinful man such as I.  I am thankful for my family and my friends.  I am thankful for my church family at the First Baptist Church in Houlton, Maine.  I am thankful for the believers in Jesus Christ throughout the region where I live.  I am thankful for you, the reader of this blog, for your encouragement and prayers.  I am thankful for good health for myself and my family.  I am thankful that I have a job.  I am thankful that I have a roof over my head.  I am thankful that one day I will be in Heaven to be with Jesus for all eternity because I have trusted in His finished work on the Cross where He shed His blood for my sin debt.  I am thankful for my Pastor (Dennis Ashley).  I am thankful for opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.  I am sure I could go on and on for all that  I am thankful for and I am sure you could as well.  I am thankful for God and the fact that He is still at work in my life and your life as well.  I am thankful that God is still at work in our world today.  I am thankful that the Holy Spirit helps us each and everyday.  I am thankful for God's Holy Word, the Bible.  God is so very good.

Psalm 100

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 
                                                                                                       

2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

When we start listing the things we are thankful for we start to see things from a better perspective and we may even start to feel better.  When we start being thankful to God we come to appreciate how truly Awesome He is.  We will want to shout praises to His Holy Name.  When we come to the Lord with a thankful heart we will want to worship Him in a fresh way.  When we start our day thanking God for the day and that we made it out of bed in the morning we will be more able to see Him at work around us.  God is still up to something.  We may not see it clearly, but He is.  

We need to remain thankful for all that God has done and is doing.  Let's give thanks to the Lord our Creator and our Savior.  Thank You O Lord for all that You have done in my life and Thank You for all that you will do in the lives of those around me.

What are you thankful for?

Lord,

Thank You for Your love and provision.

Thank You for Your Amazing Grace and Mercy.

Thank You that You are in control.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen.

Our Rock Of Refuge

                                                       (Photograph by Michael Rairdon)

Sometimes our daily walk through life can seem rather difficult and at times very lonely.  There will be times of joy of course, but we will also encounter various trials and troubles on our way through the path of life.  We can be thankful that we never have to walk the path alone for the Lord our God is with us each step of the way.  God promises us in His Word that wherever we go He will be right there with us.

Sometimes the worries and anxieties of life can cause us to wonder if God is truly with us when we experience adversity.  We can know that if we are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior then we are never truly alone in whatever trial we find ourselves in.  In this world we will have trouble, be we can take heart in knowing that Jesus has overcome the world.

We will all experience hardships and we will all go through trials in life.  The trials of life are never easy and rarely are they comfortable.  The trials that we face can test our faith in the Lord to the max, but it is during those difficult moments in life where we have the greatest opportunity to draw nearer to God.  Sometimes God seems so very far away from us in hard times and sometimes our faith may feel so very small.  We may feel totally weak and vulnerable.  It is those moments when we realize our total dependence upon the Lord.  We discover that we are indeed weak creatures and there is nothing that we can accomplish in our own power.  It is in those moments when we feel battered and beaten down by our trial that we must lean more upon God.

The Lord Jesus urges s to come to Him when we are feeling weary and burdened down by life's trials.  It is in Jesus Christ where we find rest in the midst of our fiery trials.  Jesus waits for us with opened arms and He calls for us to come to Him and learn from Him.  We need to learn of our Saviors deep love for us and sometimes it takes a trial to make us see how great and awesome our Jesus really is.  There is nothing impossible with our God.  We can trust Him even when the odds seem against us.  Even when the world seems to be wanting for our destruction when can know that God is with us and He is on our side when we come to faith in Jesus Christ.

God is our refuge in times of trouble.  God is our rescuer.  He may not deliver us from our troubles right away.  We may have to go through something, but we can know that He will walk us through whatever trouble comes our way.  We can also know that One Day the Lord will take us home to Heaven to live with Him forever, if we are trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that is.

Psalm 71

1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.
                                                                                                        

2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me.

3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

5 For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.

6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.

7 I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.

9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

10 For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together.

11 They say, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.”

12 Do not be far from me, my God; come quickly, God, to help me.

13 May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14 As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all.

16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.

17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.

19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God?

20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.

21 You will increase my honor and comfort me once more.

22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I whom you have delivered.

24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.                            

When we come through our trial we will have a greater appreciation of who God is and how truly mighty and powerful He is.  We can read the Bible and see how He worked in people's lives back then and we can see how He is working in people's life today by hearing their testimonies about how God brought them through their own trials.

When we experience God's deliverance from our troubles and even His help through them we ought to tell others about His goodness and sing His praises.  God is good and He loves us so very much.  He wants us to trust Him and love Him.  Life won't be easy in this world.  There will be hard times and many difficulties that we must endure.  We must persevere and keep running the race that we are to run with our eyes firmly fixed upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.

I urge you not to lose heart in these difficult times.  We may be tempted to give up or we may even be tempted to lose hope, but we must never lose hope in the Lord.  The Lord is our God and He knows all things from the beginning to the very end.  He can be trusted for we know that He is faithful.  God will never fail us when we are trusting in Him.  Things may not always go the way we think that they should go, but we can know that the Lord knows what is best for us and we can know that we are safe in His hands.  

The Lord will see us through our trials and our troubles.  He will walk us through the hard moments of life.  We must lift up our eyes to Him and know that our help comes from the Lord.  Are you trusting the Lord Jesus through your trial?  I do hope you are.  He won't lead you astray.  Trust Him He knows what He is doing.  

Lord,

We praise You.

We sometimes get lonely and afraid during our trials.

We thank You that You are always with us through the most difficult of times.

We trust You O Lord and we love You.

Forgive us when go astray or seem to have a lack of faith.

Grant us a fresh faith to trust You more.

Empower us by Your Holy Spirit to live as a witness for You in this dark world.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Living Sacrifices

                                          (Photograph by Michael Rairdon)

Our walk with Jesus Christ can be difficult at times.  We face many challenges and trials throughout our lives.  The world tries to mold us and shape us by bombarding us with things that are contrary to the teaching and the ways of the Lord.  We believers in Jesus Christ must stand firm upon God's Holy Word and adhere to His principles that are lined out in His Word.  We must be careful in our walk with Christ and we should not walk as the world does.  The world follows fleshly desires and wants nothing of what God offers.  What the world has to offer only leads to emptiness and destruction.  The world follows the devil's ways of wickedness, but we believers of Jesus Christ must follow Him and His ways.

Sometimes we may feel like we are in a huge game of chess.  I have never been good at chess I must confess.   There are several pieces on each side and not every piece has the same function.  Some only move a certain way and others can move more spaces.  Some pieces can only move diagonally and some move only a space or two at a time.  When I was looking at the chess board the other night I was reminded about all of those different pieces and the different things they did.  Each member of the Church, that is every believer in Jesus Christ, have their own function.  We aren't all called to preach or teach, but we all have a certain task that the Lord would have us to do.  It may not be glamorous, but it is still important.

The Apostle Paul spoke of something similar when he penned a letter to the believers in Roman.  We can find the passage that I am talking about in Romans 12:1-8 which says,

"1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 
                                                                                                       

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.      

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 

                                                                                                       

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 

                                                                              

5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 

                                                                              

6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 

                                                                              

7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 

                                                                              

8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."                        

The Apostle Paul urges the believers in Rome and us as well to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.  We are to live in a way that honors the Lord and brings glory to Him name.  We are not to live in a way that conforms to the way of the world.  We are not to partake in wickedness and immorality as the world does.  We must think differently than the world and that can only happen when our minds are transformed by the Holy Spirit and by the reading of God's Word, the Bible.  We should think upon God's Word and we can do that by memorizing Scripture. 

We believers must remember the great grace that we have been shown by our Lord Jesus and we should not think highly of ourselves as if we had any part in our salvation.  The Lord is the one who did all the work for us to receive forgiveness of our sins by sending Jesus to die on the Cross for our sins.  

When we place our faith and trust in the finished work that Jesus accomplished on the Cross on our behalf we become a member if the Body of Christ, that is the Church.  Every believer in Jesus Christ has a part to play sort of speak in the Body.  We don't all have the same function or the same moves, but we are all important to God and we all have a purpose.

We all have different gifts that the Lord has blessed us with and it is with those gifts that we are to serve others and we are to honor God and bring glory to Him with those gifts that His has so greatly blessed us with.

May we no longer be conformed to this world, but let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds by the Holy Spirit.  Let's use the gifts that the Lord has bestowed upon us for His glory and serve others in love and humility.

God is so good and He loves you.  He wants each of us to use our talents to serve others and also to draw more people to Him so they too may become apart of the Body of Christ.

Lord,

We praise Your Name.

Thank You for Your love and grace.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

Help us to renew our minds.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

 

Change Is In The Air

                                         (Photograph by Michael Rairdon)

The weather is turning colder and the air here in Northern Maine has a crisp frosty feel to it as of late.  Winter is approaching and we can see the signs of it's coming all around us.  Pretty soon the brown landscape will be blanketed with many layers of pristine white snow.  We who live here in Northern Maine can recognize that winter is indeed coming.  We all get ready for the coming winter by making sure we have enough fire wood or fuel oil to run our furnaces during those frigidly cold wintry nights.  We also prepare for winter by breaking out our winter clothes to make sure we are warm when we venture out into the bitterly cold weather that we can experience in this area.

We have all experienced what it is like to have change in our lives.  It may involve the changing from one season to another.  We may experience other changes in life such as a change in a job or a change in our health.  We all know that things never remain the same for very long.  We know that things and circumstances change.  Thankfully, we can know that God doesn't change.  God is the Creator of all things and He doesn't change.  We know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever more.  We can take comfort in that.

When we look at the world around us we see things changing and some of the changes seem rather alarming.  Our world seems to be drifting farther away from the Lord day by day.  The immorality of our culture seems to be getting worse and things seem rather dark and grim.  There is a lot of anger and finger pointing.  There is also a sense by many people that something is coming upon the world, but many aren't really sure what exactly that something is.

We are living in very uncertain times and things are changing, but we believers in Jesus Christ can take comfort in Him that no matter what changes occur in our world because we know that this world is not our home.  Our home is in Heaven with Jesus Christ our Lord.  We come to Jesus by faith in His finished work on the Cross where He shed His blood for our sins.  One Day we who are trusting in Him for salvation with go to be with Him in Heaven for all eternity.

One Day the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth and bring the Kingdom of God to this earth in full completion.  The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is approaching.  We don't know when, but we know that it will take place and it is important for us to be ready.  There are signs that we need to pay attention to that Jesus tells us, but we must be careful not be distracted by those signs.

I am reminded of Matthew 24:1-14 which says,

"1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 
                                                                                                       

2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.

5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.

6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,

11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,

13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.                           

Jesus told His disciples about changes that would take place before His return.  The temple buildings would be torn down.  Many false Messiahs would come and claim to be Christ.  He said there would be wars and rumor of wars.  He told His disciples of earthquakes and famines, but that all of those things would be the beginning of birth pains.  

Then He said that persecution would come for those who follow Him.  We don't like to think about persecution when it comes to following Jesus, but if we are truly living for the Lord then we can expect that we will in someway or form be persecuted.  There are many believers in Jesus Christ all around the world that are facing severe persecution for their belief in Jesus Christ and many are killed every year in our world for following Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

We must guard ourselves again false teachers and false prophets for such people will come into our world and many are already on the scene right now.  We believers in Jesus Christ must make sure we read and study the Bible.  It would also be a good practice to check anything a Pastor, Bible teacher, or a Blog writter says by going to the Word of God and make sure everything lines up.  God's Word is the truth and we must abide by it.  God's Word never fails and it never returns void.

Jesus told His disciples that because of the increase in wickedness that the love of most people will grow cold.  When I look at all that is going on in the world these days it sure does seem that there is an increase in wickedness.  There does seem to be a lack of love as well.  There are many things changing all around us.  It is very tempting for us to get discouraged especially when we see declining numbers in our churches.  It seems like there is a Spiritual drought in our land and in our world.  

This world is lost and dying.  There is evil and wickedness in our world that is devouring people all around us.  Thankfully, we believers in Jesus Christ have a great hope to share with the world.  We have the Gospel message that the world needs to hear.  The world needs to hear that there is hope in Jesus Christ and they need to know that He is coming again to Judge the world in His Righteousness.

We must be ready for His return.  Things are changing in our world today.  We don't know what tomorrow holds, but if we have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ then we can take comfort in knowing that He holds us in the palm of His mighty hand and He will never let go.

Change is in the air that is for sure.  We need to be prepared.  Are you ready for the return of Jesus Christ?  I surely hope that you are.  We have all sinned and we have all fallen short of God's standards.  We are all deserving of eternal separation from God and placed into a literal hell because of our sin.  Our sin is what separates us from God who is Holy and nothing sinful can ever enter His presence.

God made a way for each one of us.  God demonstrated His great awesome love for each one of us by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to live a perfect and sinless life.  The Lord Jesus went to the Cross and laid down His life for our sins.  Jesus shed His blood on the Cross and He took the punishment that you and I so rightly deserve.  God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day and He is now at the right hand of the Father in Heaven and one day He will return to this earth.

We must come to the Lord Jesus and confess to Him that we are a sinner and we can't save ourselves.  We also must receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior by going to Him in prayer.  When we place our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit comes to reside within us to lead us and guide us throughout life.  God is so very good and He loves you so very much.  Please don't miss the opportunity to have your sins forgiven.  Receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior if you haven't done so already.  

If you are following Jesus I would encourage you to continue to read the Bible and tell the Lord how much you love Him and go and tell someone about Jesus.  

Lord,

Thank You that You never change even though everything around us does.

Help us to love You more and more.

Help us to love others as You love us.

Guard our hearts and minds.

Keep our hearts from becoming frosted over and cold.

Revive our hearts by Your Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit start a fire in my heart.

Holy Spirit have Your way in my heart to love others.

Holy Spirit help me to be more like Jesus each and everyday.

Come soon Lord Jesus.  Come Soon.

Touch each heart that is hurting this day.

Open people's hearts to the Gospel.

We praise Your Holy Name.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Living By The Spirit

                                          (Photograph by Michael Rairdon)

When we think about fruit we usually think of oranges, berries, bananas, and many other kinds, but today I would like to talk about the fruit of the Spirit.  When we become believers in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit comes to indwell within us.  It is the Spirit's work to produce fruit in our lives.  We can't produce this fruit in our own power or our own self effort no matter how hard we try.  

We must submit to the Holy Spirit's leading and listen to His promptings.  We must read and study the Bible so we will be able to discern with the help of the Holy Spirit the will of God for our lives.  Sometimes we try to do things in our own power and we try to accomplish things on our own, but we must make sure we are listening to the Lord for His direction for our lives.  

We are called to live by the Spirit and no longer are we to walk in step with the sinful nature.  That can be hard for us at times because our fleshly sinful nature likes to rise up within us and we end up doing what we ought not to do.  We want to do what is right because we want to honor God, but sometimes we stumble and fall because we chose to listen to the sinful nature instead of being lead by the Spirit and allowing Him to produce fruit in our lives.

Galatians 5:16-26 says,

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

 

17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 

                                                                              

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

                                                                              

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 

                                                                              

20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 

                                                                              

21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

                                                                              

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

                                                                              

23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

                                                                              

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

                                                                              

25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

                                                                              

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. 

We can easily tell what the acts of the flesh are as the Apostle Paul lists them here in this passage.  These things are seen in our world today and even within our very selves whether we want to admit it or not.  Those who live according to the fleshly nature will not enter into the kingdom of God because they haven't repented of their sins and they have not been born again by receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

When we come to know Christ as Savior we obtain a new nature by the Holy Spirit coming to dwell within us.  Our sinful nature is still within us, but now we can walk in the Spirit.  This can be difficult at times because there is a war inside of us taking place and in order to walk in the Holy Spirit we must take one step at a time.  There will be days when we stumble, but the Lord is there to pick us back up and help us continue on the race that has been placed before us.  When we confess our sins to the Lord He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

The Holy Spirit is constantly at work in our lives to produce the fruit even when we don't even realize it, but other people will notice.  We can't take any credit for the work that the Lord is doing in and through our lives.  All the credit and glory must go to the Lord for without Him we are nothing.  We are saved by grace through placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross where He shed His blood for my sins, yours, and the whole worlds.  We come to Him by faith and we must walk in the Holy Spirit the same way, by faith.

Let's keep step with the Spirit and submit to His lead.  I am still learning to walk in the Spirit and sometimes I stumble and feel like I crawling, but we must not get discouraged, but we must continue to fix our eyes upon Jesus and keep moving towards Him.

Lord, Heavenly Father,

We praise Your Name.

Thank You for producing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

Help us to walk in the Spirit and give no foothold to the fleshly nature.

Lead us and guide us by the Holy Spirit as we focus on You Lord Jesus

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

                          

Love Instead Of Judging

                                          (Photograph taken by Michael Rairdon)

Recently I was taking some pictures in my backyard when I came across this apple tree.  The tree has lost all of it's leaves, but there are some apples still clinging to some of the branches.  Everything on the tree looks ugly and dead.  I took a picture of one the rotten looking apples that was just hanging there.  It didn't have the beauty or eye appeal that a nice juicy red apple has in the summer time.  There is nothing on the outside that would cause anyone to say, "Wow, I wish I had that apple!"  It just looks totally undesirable to the naked eye.

Sometimes when I take pictures I usually take a pause and I think a little bit.  The Lord seemed to impress something on my very heart the more I looked at this poor ugly looking apple just hanging there on a dead looking tree.

Sometimes, unfortunately, we look at people and see how they look on the outside and we judge them.  We may not even realize that we do it at times and other times we do realize it.  We know it is not right to judge people by their looks.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:1-6 not to judge others hypocritically or self-righteously.

Matthew 7:1-6 says,

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
                                                                                                        

2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

We tend to judge people from the outside, but God looks at people's hearts.   You and I can't see a person's heart.  We can see their actions and demeanor.  We can make assumptions and sometimes that isn't very fair either because sometimes people just have a bad day.  We all have bad days and sometimes when we have those bad days we don't necessarily act very nice.  

It is all too easy to look down on those around us, but Jesus wants us to love others and that sometimes is easier said than done especially when they appear rotten looking on the outside.  We must get over that and ask God to help us see people as He sees them.  God loves people and it is His desire that no one miss out on a chance to have their sins forgiven through Jesus Christ.  Jesus took the punishment for our sins upon Himself when He died on the Cross.  He even died for the sins of those we consider undesirable, but you know what?  We are all like that rotten apple in a way.  We may not be very nice to look at times in one way or another because of our sin nature, but God loves us very deeply and we ought to love others as He so greatly loves us.

That rotten apple also reminded me of something else as well.  Even though it looked so ugly and useless, within that apple there is great potential.  You see within that apple are apple seeds which can grow into a large tree that could produce many apples.  There is great potential deep within each one of us when we come to faith in Jesus Christ.  There is potential for those who don't know Christ yet.  

We believers in Jesus Christ need to stop looking at the outside of a person and their condition and start loving them as Jesus would and does.  We all have sinned and we all need a Savior.  There is only One Name under Heaven in which we must be saved by and that Name is Jesus Christ.  May we go out and love people and tell them about Jesus and what He has done for them.

Lord, 

Forgive us for judging people for what is on the outside.

Help us to love others as You so greatly love us.

Grant us courage to love the ones we consider unlovable.

Empower us through Your Holy Spirit to tell others about the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Look At The Birds

                                          (Photograph taken by Michael Rairdon)

There are many things that can cause us to worry.  We can worry about our health or the health of a dear loved one.  We can worry if we will have enough money to pay our bills.  We may even find ourselves worrying about the state of affairs of our Nation.  There are many things that we could worry about in our world today.  There are so many things going on and so many dangers.   There are many things that should concern us, but we need to be careful that our concern doesn't turn into a full blown worry fest.

It is all too easy for us to worry about things that are totally out of our control.  When we head down the slippery slope of worry we find that we have taken our eyes off of the Lord.  When we worry about something our faith in God seems to grow smaller and that is never good.  We must remember that everything is possible with God.  God is all powerful and there is nothing that God can't accomplish.

We get distracted sometimes when life gets hard.  We wonder to ourselves if our situation will ever get better and then sometimes in the midst of our trouble we start to worry.  We begin to create these thoughts in our minds of all the things that could go wrong.

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is found in Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus is taking about worrying about our daily needs.  We all have worried about something at some point in our lives.  I know I have many times.  This section of Scripture can bring a great comfort to all of us that find ourselves in a situation where we are worried.

Matthew 6:25-34 says,

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
                                                                                                       

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

In these verses we find Jesus telling His disciples and us that we are not to worry about our lives.  There will be times when we are tempted to be worried about our daily needs and our physical health.  There will be times when our circumstances turn from bad to worse and we want to start to worry, but Jesus tells us to look at the birds of the air as a reminder to us of God's care for His creation.  

God provides for the birds who don't sow seed and store things in barns.  The Heavenly Father provides the birds food even when things seem bleak.  About a year and half ago I bought a new DSLR camera and started to take pictures of God's creation.  I loved taking pictures of the beautiful fall leaves, but now as winter approaches here in Northern Maine where I live the leaves are now gone leaving behind a somewhat colorless landscape.  Things look bleak right now with the fall colors all gone.  Today, I decided to go to the local community park that we have in the town where I live to take pictures.  I was hoping to find some birds and I did.  There were a lot of trees with no leaves on them, but in one section of the park there was this tree with all kinds of red berries.  They looked like cranberries to me, but I am not exactly sure what they are.  I do know that the birds really liked them because there where many birds feasting on them.

It was an amazing sight to behold.  The brown and gray landscaped looked dead, bleak, and colorless except for those red berries that shimmered in the fall sunshine.  The birds weren't worried at all about where they were going to find food.  They weren't pacing back and forth in their nest wondering where their next meal would come from.  The Lord provided for the birds and if the Lord takes such great care for the birds how much more will the Lord take care of us.

We can trust our God to provide for our needs as well we just need to trust Him.  There will be times of trouble and there will be times of suffering, but we can trust the Lord to be with us each step of the way no matter what happens.  When we need a reminder of God's goodness and His provision may we look at His creation and how He takes such good care of other creatures.  

The Lord Jesus tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and when we do we can be assured that the Lord will grant us all that we need.  It may not be the things that we think we need, but we can know that God will give us what we genuinely need.  God is good and He is our provider.  We just need to trust Him and not be worried.

When worry starts to attack us may we lean upon the Lord and go to Him in prayer knowing that He loves us and He will take care of us.

Lord, Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your beautiful creation that reminds us of Your care for us.

Help us not to be stuck in worry, but help us to trust in You more.

I uplift those who are worried about things in this life and I pray that You will deliver them from that worry and fear.

Replace the worry and fear in our lives with a greater love and trust in You Lord.

We praise You and thank You for all that You do and will do in our lives.

Praise the Lord!

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.