Leaning Upon Jesus

We all face troubles in life.  Sometimes the troubles are big and some are relatively small.  There are times when we bring trouble upon ourselves by the actions that we take and the decisions that we make that aren't always good.

There will be times when we wonder if we are making the right decision or we may wonder if we are truly doing God's will.  The Lord will lead us and guide us if we just listen to Him and read His Word.  Sometimes life isn't easy and sometimes the things that the Lord wants us to accomplish aren't easy either.

The Lord promises us that He will equip us with what we need to accomplish His will.  He will give us the strength to do what He wants us to do.  We know that all things are possible with God.  There is nothing out of His oversight.  He sees and knows all.  Our God is all powerful and He is mighty.

The Lord is faithful and we can trust Him no matter what trouble comes our way.  The Lord will be with us even during a time of transition.  The Lord will be with you even if you are driving a U-Haul truck down the highway and you are not sure what the next step is that God wants you to take.  We can trust the Lord because He already knows what our next step is even when we don't.  We just need to trust Him.

We can always depend upon our God no matter what happens in our lives.  Sometimes there will be rough times that we must go through and every once in a while we will enjoy those mountain top experiences.  We are on a journey and we don't always know what is around the next corner, but we know that, if we have placed our faith in Jesus, we never have to walk the journey alone.  Then one day we will be with Jesus for all eternity in Heaven one Glorious Day.

I hope that you know that even when troubling and uncomfortable times come that Jesus loves you and He won't let you go.  Lean on His everlasting arms.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
I pray for traveling mercies for all those traveling tonight.
I pray for ministry opportunities for those seeking them.
I pray that Your love would overflow in the hearts of all of those who have placed their faith in You Lord Jesus.
In Jesus Name we pray.
Amen.

Telling The World About Jesus Christ

There seems to be a whole lot of division in our world these days.  One side wants things done one way and the other side wants things done in another way and neither side can come to agreement on anything.  We can see this taking place in our world today and even in our own country.  Unfortunately, we can even find divisions within a local church body sometimes.

There will always be those few people who think it is their job to stir up trouble and strife.  Sometimes the devil is behind these attacks against the church in hope of dividing a congregation and preventing the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We know that our time to spread the truth about Jesus is running short because one day He will return to this earth and bring the Kingdom of God to the earth in full completion.  There are many people who are scoffing about the return of Christ because we have been waiting for so long for His return.  Some forget that the Lord is patient and He doesn't desire that anyone should perish, but He desires that everyone repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  That doesn't mean everyone will be saved because there will be many people who will reject God's offer of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Jude vs. 17-25 says,

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 
                                                                           

18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”

19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

22 Be merciful to those who doubt;

23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.   

  

  24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 

                                                                           

25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.   

In this last days just before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires and not be led by the Holy Spirit.  Those who don't know the Lord don't have the Holy Spirit indwelling them.  Only people who have repented of their sins and have been born again by placing their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross have the Holy Spirit indwelling within them.

We believers in Christ Jesus must not give into the scoffing of others.  We must not allow the devil to gain a foothold in our Christian fellowship.  We believers in Jesus Christ must stand firm on the truth of His Holy Word, the Bible.  We must continue to pray in the Holy Spirit with many prayers for all believers.

We must be about the Lord's business  and proclaim the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our local towns, cities, states, and take the message throughout our world.  Our world is dying and people are dying everyday without having received Christ as their Savior.  

We believers in Jesus Christ have a mission ahead of us and we must take that mission seriously because people's eternal destinations depend upon it.  People need to hear about Jesus and people still need to be saved.  How can people be saved if no one tells them the Gospel?  

It is time for all Holy Spirit filled believers to stand together and proclaim the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world.  Let's start forming relationships with other Bible believing Holy Spirit filled Christians and go out into this world of ours tell people about our hope in Jesus Christ.  

God loves people and He wants them to be saved.  We must take the Gospel to them.  We shouldn't take it to them in a forceful way, but in a way that is gentle and in the love of Christ.  

We all have sinned and we have all fallen short of God's high standards.  On our own we are all deserving of being found guilty and placed into a literal hell forever.  God made a way for us to obtain forgiveness of our sins and be reconciled back to God.

God demonstrated His great love for each one of us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth on a rescue mission.  Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life.  He went obediently to the Cross and shed His blood for our sins and He died on the Cross taking the punishment that you and I so rightly deserve.

God raised Jesus to life on the third day to show us that He is indeed God and He had conquered death.  Everyone who repents of their sins and receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be saved.  We are saved by grace through our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

When we come to faith in Christ Jesus the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us.  God is so very good and He loves us to very dearly and greatly.  Don't you think the people around us should have the chance to hear the good news of Jesus Christ for themselves?  Let's form relationships with them and tell them about Jesus.

Lord,

Help us not to allow divisions to form in our fellowships.

Help us to discern truth from error by feeding upon Your Word, the Bible.

Empower us through the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel to those around us and to the world.

We praise Your Name.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

                                

Trusting Jesus When Our Hearts Are Troubled

It is never an easy thing for us to say our, "goodbyes", to people we know.  Sometimes our hearts grieve and morn at the passing of a loved one.  There are times when we must say, "see you later", to a friend that is moving to a far away land.

Today at the First Baptist Church in Houlton, Maine we said our, "see you later(s)", to our Pastor Dennis Ashley and his lovely wife Kelly.  They are moving back to New York state after serving here for three years.  I just want to thank Pastor Ashley for encouraging me to write this blog and mentoring me during his time here in Houlton.  I am sure the Lord will bless him and Kelly abundantly as He leads them to their next Ministry wherever that will be.

Sometimes things in life change and we aren't always sure what lays ahead of us, but we can know that the Lord Jesus will lead us and guide us each step of the way.  The Lord will continue to provide for Pastor Dennis and Kelly and their family.  The Lord will continue to bless the Ministry at the First Baptist Church in Houlton, Maine.

I firmly believe that the Lord will continue to work things out in your life as well and mine too.  God is good and we can trust Him throughout our journey.  I like what Jesus said in John 14:1 which says,

"Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in Me."


We must continue to trust the Lord Jesus even when things seem dark and when things just don't make sense.  Life is not easy and it is subject to change at any moment without any notice.  I am thankful that God never changes.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.  Times may change, but God remains the same Awesome God from day to day.


Lord,
I uplift Dennis and Kelly Ashley.
I pray that You will lead them to the next Ministry opportunity and that they will continue to proclaim the Gospel Message wherever You would have them to go.
I pray for the First Baptist Church congregation and I pray that we would continue to grow in love with You O Lord and with each other.
I pray for each one that has been reading my blog entries and I hope the postings have drawn people to You O Lord.
Lead us and empower us to live for You through the Holy Spirit and Your Holy Word.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

The Lord Will Meet All Of Our True Needs

And my God will meet all your

needs according to His glorious

riches in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:19)

We sometimes like to think that we are in control of our lives, but in reality we know that we have absolutely have no control at all.  The only one that is in control is God.  Sometimes we try to meet our own needs and we try to work hard and make money, but that will only take us so far.  Many people fall into a trap with money and they never seem to have enough no matter how much they obtain.

We all stress out over money and paying the endless stream of bills that seem to come to us.  Sometimes we get so focused on material things that we forget about the important things of life.  The Lord should be the main focus of our lives.  We are told in Scripture by Jesus Himself that we ought to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, body, and soul.  We are also commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves.

We overlook those commands quite often I am afraid.  How many people give one thought about God through the course of a day?  We try to I am sure, but sometimes we get distracted with the things of this world.

We need the Lord in a great way in this Nation and in our own individual lives.  The Lord will provide for us.  Do we believe Him?  He is our provider after all.  He loves us and He cares for us.

We must learn to trust Him more.  That goes for me as well.  I need to learn that the Lord will provide for all of my true needs.  The Lord is trustworthy and He is faithful.  He will provide us with everything we need in order to accomplish His will for our lives.

Wherever you find yourself and whatever the circumstance just now that the Lord is near you and His working things out for you in His timing and for your ultimate good.  

Lord,

We thank you for being a good loving God.

Thank You for meeting all of our needs.

We surrender ourselves to You O Lord.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Trusting God When Things Change

We don't like it when things change.  We also know that in this life things change.  Change is never easy and it sometimes takes time to adjust.  We who live in a place like Northern Maine know all about change because we experience all four seasons here.  We have spring, a few months of summer, a brief autumn, and then what seems like several months of bitterly cold snowy winter.  

In our world we can expect change whether we like it or not.  Sometimes change can be a good thing.  It is always good to see the snow melting and it will be better when we feel the heat of the summer sun and see the green grass of our front lawn.  Some change can be really hard on us especially when we have to say goodbye to someone.  Sometimes we have to say goodbye to a loved one who has died and that is never an easy thing to do even for a believer in Jesus Christ.

We realize that things never stay the same for very long.  Things are constantly changing.  We are changing as well and hopefully for the better.  Sometimes we may feel we are changing for the worse, but we can have confidence that the Lord is still working in us through the Holy Spirit to make us more like Christ.  We know God is faithful and He will complete the work that He has started in us on the Day we see the Lord Jesus face to face in Glory.

Even when we see things changing in our world and in our lives we take comfort in that God never changes.  While everything around us is changing constantly either for the better or the worse we can know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.  Our God is the only constant that there is.  God not only never changes.  He also promises to always be with us each and every moment of each and everyday.  He promises us that He will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us.

When things are changing in our lives and in the world around us we must take shelter in the arms of the only One that never changes.  God will take care of us no matter what changes come into our lives whether good or bad.  The Lord will take us through the change and He will use this change that we are going through to bring Himself Glory, Honor, and Praise.

The Lord calls us to be faithful to Him and trust Him through the changes that come to us in our lives.  Change is never easy as I have said before, but change does come to each one of us in one way or another.  Sometimes change can make us weary and uncomfortable and even sad.  We must remember that the things of this world are temporary.  The trials and storms of life will one day come to an end.  Those who have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will spend all eternity with Him in Heaven.  I am looking forward to that day when I see my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and bow at His feet and thank Him for saving a wretched man such as me.

We must remember that God loves us and He will help us in our time of need.  We must wait on Him and be still as we trust in Him.

Lord,
Thank You for this day.
Thank You for being with us through the changes that come against us in life.
Help us to cling to You when things change.
Change our hearts O Lord to love You more and other people as well.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Standing Firm Upon God's Truth

Our world seems to be on a steady downward slide to certain doom.  There is a whole bunch of turmoil and anger.  It would seem like the devil is going around and stirring up trouble wherever he can because he knows his time is short.  There are plenty of things that are going wrong in our world these days.

There are many things that can cause us to be afraid and discouraged.  There also seems to be a lot of division among people everywhere.  It would seem the days of having a calm discussion about differences is over for some people.  There seems to be a lot of irrational thoughts and behaviors going on all around us.

Maybe it is time for us to turn to the Lord our God and submit to His direction.  Maybe it is time to get back to the Bible which is God's Holy Word.  The Holy Bible is the only book that contains the absolute truth about who God is and who we are as His creation.  We live in a fallen world that is dying and we can see that just by watching the evening news on the television.

Yelling and screaming at each other won't solve anything no matter how angry and upset we are.  We must not allow fear to be a motivating factor for our lives.  This world needs the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the only hope that the world has.

Society seems to be pushing God out in every area that they possibly can.  There also seems to be a growing push against the followers of Jesus Christ and everything that is right in His eyes.  We believers in the Lord Jesus must stand firm upon Biblical truths and the truth of who God is.

We believers must remember that this world is not our home and we must remember that one day the Lord Jesus is coming back.  May we continue to serve the Lord Jesus and continue to tell others the Gospel message until the day the Lord comes and takes us to our eternal home in Heaven.


Lord,
We praise Your name.
Lead us and guide our steps through Your Holy Spirit.
Help us not to be afraid.
Help our eyes be lifted up to You our God and our Redeemer.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

This World Needs Jesus Christ

There is a lot of anger in our world these days as anyone of us can clearly see.  There seems to be a lack of love.  There is a lack of love and fear for God and there is definitely a lack of love for other people as well.  Our world is a world of sorrows.  There are many hurting people all around us in our communities, our countries, and even in our churches.  

There are many people who are facing difficult times.  There are many who are facing health problems, addictions, job loss, and many other problems.  There are many people who feel anxious and hopeless with the way the world is going.

The devil is working overtime stirring up trouble, lies, and strife.  The devil knows his time is very short so he is running around trying to do as much damage as possible before the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this world.

Many believers in Jesus Christ are discouraged with the way the world is and the direction that it is heading and we should be concerned.  We must remember that this world is a fallen and sinful world.  For the believer in Jesus Christ we know that this world is not our home.  We are pilgrims passing through.  That doesn't mean we should sit around and doing nothing until the Lord shows up to take us home.

The Lord Jesus gave us the command to take the Gospel message to all the world and make disciples of all nations.  This world needs Jesus.  He is the only hope that there is.  My hope is built upon the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He has done for me.  

Sometimes we may feel like praying isn't enough.  We should always pray, but we should also be ready to go to where the Lord would have us to go whether it is to go across the street or across the world to tell someone the good news of Jesus Christ.

Let's find one person to tell about our hope in Jesus Christ.

Lord,

Thank You for the hope we have in You.

You are the hope of the world.

We praise You for who You are.

You are God our redeemer.

May Your will be done in our lives.

Help us to tell someone about Jesus.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Reaping What We Sow

We are living in dangerous times and things seem very dark.  We see tragic moments unfold almost on a daily basis as we watch the evening news programs on the television.  We wonder to ourselves, "what is going on?"  There are many other questions that come to our minds and there are many who try to offer up solutions.

The main problem is found within the heart of every person.  We have all been born into this world with a sin nature.  Our hearts are bent away from our loving God from birth.  We have all sinned and fallen short of God's high standards.  God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on a rescue mission to save us from our sins.  We must repent of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  It was Jesus that lived a perfect and sinless life.  It was Jesus that went obediently to the Cross where He shed His blood for our sins.  God raised Him to life on the third day and He is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.  One Glorious Day Jesus will return and bring the Kingdom of God to the earth in full completion.

In order to have a change of heart we must be born again.  We are all born spiritually dead.  When we repent of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are born again and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us.  We still have that sinful nature in us, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can say no to those fleshly urges.

There is another problem we see in our society and culture these days as well.  The world seems to have distanced itself from the true living God.  Our culture is reaping a harvest from the seeds that have been sown for many years if not decades.  When people turn their backs on God and turn to sinful modes of entertainment and hedonistic lifestyles should we really be surprised that things are falling apart?

I am reminded of Galatians 6:7-10 which says,

"7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 
                                                                           

8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."         

When people sow to their sinful nature bad things are bound to happen.  Our entertainment industry in this world promotes violence, sex, perversion, drug use, and it glorifies evil.  The music that many listen to is filled with very bad messages.   When we look at what people are feeding there minds with as they view such entertainment should we really be surprised when people act out their sinful nature?  It is sad that people chose to commit such horrible crimes and it is sad when people near by remain silent when they should have spoken up.

God cannot be mocked.  The Lord knows our hearts and our thoughts.  He calls us to repentance and he calls us to be born again by placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ must not lose hope.  Our hope is not in this world.  Our hope is in Jesus.  We must also be careful as to what we are filling our minds with.  Are we filling our minds with violent entertainment and lies or are we feeding upon God's Word, the Bible.  What seeds are we sowing?

Let's continue to do good and take a stand for the truth of who God is and hopefully draw more people into a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Lord,

We come to You with sorrow in our hearts because there was another school shooting.

There is so much violence in our world.

We ask O Lord that there would be a call of repentance that would sweep across this land.

I pray that hearts would be turned to You Lord Jesus for You are the only hope for this world.

Lead us and guide our steps through the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

               

The True Path

                                                       (Photograph by Michael Rairdon)

Today was a very nice day and the sun was out which helped a great deal.  I decided to take the snow off of my roof today with my trusty roof rake.  I put on my snowshoes and made a narrow path around the front of my house so I could get better access since the snow is deep out front (and no I didn't fall down this time).

So, I started raking the snow off of my roof and one of my snowshoes fell of.  I bent down to put it back on and heard someone calling out to me.  There were these to young men wearing backpacks walking up my driveway.  I looked and said hello.  They tried to walk toward me by taking the narrow path that I made, but they kept sinking in the deep snow.  They walked up on my deck instead and introduced themselves as Mormon Missionaries.

They asked me if I wanted to hear their message and I said not really.  Then all of a sudden I started talking and proclaiming the true Gospel Message of Jesus Christ to them.  It was as if the Holy Spirit just rose up in me and gave me a great boldness to witness to these two men.  My mother saw the whole thing as she looked out the window and told me later that she had never seen me talk so much.
The two young men gave me their take on things and I told them the truth.  They tried to convince me and persuade me to read the book of Mormon and ask God if it was from Him.  I already know that it is not.  We didn't get angry at each other.  We weren't rude.  We had a good discussion right there in my front yard.  I told them the truth and I pray that some seeds were planted.  I would ask you to pray for those two men.

I do feel sorry for them and they probably feel sorrow for me.  They asked me what my objection was to Mormonism was and I told them about the part that says that a person can be a god of their own planet and become a savior there.  They tried to convince me that was true, but that is pure blaspheme against the true living God.  God is God and we are His creation.  We are sinners and need a Savior and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.  We can't earn our way into Heaven and we can't be perfect by our good works.

We ended our conversation at what appeared to be a stalemate and I told them to have a nice day and told them that I hoped that God would bless them.  I hope God does bless them by opening their hearts and minds to the truth of the real Jesus Christ.

I continued my roof raking and I reached the point of the roof where I had to stand on my deck.  I was standing where those two men were standing earlier and I looked over the railing toward the narrow path that I had made in the snow.  The Holy Spirit spoke to me in that moment as I thought about that narrow path that the two young men couldn't walk on.  It was almost weirdly symbolic that they couldn't come that way, but the ended up coming up on me deck that leads to nowhere.

There is only One true living God and He is the Creator of all things.  There is only One Way to the Father and that is through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.  Lately I have been asking the Lord for confirmation whether or not He has really called me into the ministry and this experience was a great answer to my prayer.  I was really humbled that the Lord used me to proclaim the Gospel to these two men who are on the wrong path.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Help us always to be ready to give an answer to the hope that is within us.
Help us to do that with gentleness and love.
Thank You for using someone like me to be Your witness.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Storing Up Treasures In Heaven

This morning I woke up early and I couldn't get back to sleep so I listened to an audio book that I have been listening to.  The part I listened to this morning was talking about storing up our treasures in heaven.  Then when I went to church this morning and the children's story was on the same passage of Scripture talking about storing up our treasures in heaven and not on the earth.

The passage of Scripture that I am talking about is found in Matthew 6:19-21 which says,

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on the earth,

where moth and rust destroy,

and where thieves break in and steal.  

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where moth and rust do not destroy,

and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also."

Sometimes it is hard for us to let go of our material things that we have obtained here on the earth.  When we think about it though there is not one thing we own that we can take with us to heaven.  We come into this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing in regards to material wealth.  

The material things that we own will eventually break down or rust.  Sometimes people steal our stuff and we never get it back.  Sometimes our stuff is destroyed by a storm or fire.  We must come to realize that the material stuff that we have won't last.  Only the things that we do for the Lord Jesus Christ will last.

We must realize that people are very important to God.  The Lord wants us to reach out to the people all around us with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  We store up treasure in heaven when we do things for the Lord Jesus and when we are obedient to His calling and direction.

Let be about the Lord's business and store up treasure in heaven by telling others about Jesus.

Lord, Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your goodness and mercy and Your amazing grace.

We praise Your Holy Name.

Help us to detach ourselves from material things and store up treasures in heaven.

Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Walking With Jesus Through Our Troubles

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." - Romans 8:28

There are times when things come against us that just aren't good.  We all like the blessings of life and good times, but sometimes bad things happen to us.  Sometimes we have to endure a storm or a trial in life.  We don't like it when trouble comes upon us, but in this life we will have trouble.  Jesus tells us in Scripture that in this world we will encounter trouble and we all know by now that is so very true.

We also know that God is good and He can take our trouble and make something good come out of it for His glory.  Sometimes that is a hard thing to see right away and we may not always understand what good could possibly come from our situation.  

We must remember that God is the One that is in control and we are not.  God knows what exactly we need to grow Spiritually and learn to trust Him more.  There will be certain circumstances that will make us highly uncomfortable for a season and they may even scare us a little bit.  It is in those times that we must remember that our God is an Awesome God and He is working out things for our good for His glory.

We must cling to the Lord Jesus by faith and trust Him more.  We are must go trough trials once in a while.  In this world there will be battles that we must face, but we will never have to face them alone.  God will be right by our side and He will bring people into our lives to help us.

The other day I had an MRI and today I met with my doctor and we discussed the findings.  I have chronic sinusitis which I pretty much already knew, but they found something that wasn't supposed to be there.  There is a growth on my pituitary gland.  My doctor has referred me to a specialist down state and I will need to have my blood tested to see if the growth is interfering with my pituitary gland. 

I have mentioned before that I have struggled with worry and anxiety for many years, but right now I am feeling strangely calm.  I am going to take one step at a time and trust the Lord Jesus where ever this may lead.  God is good and He is good all the time and we can trust Him.

Lord, Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your love and mercy.

I pray that Your light would shine upon all those who find themselves in trouble.

Help us to walk with Your Lord Jesus even when things seem rather dark.

Come soon Lord Jesus.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.

Telling Others About Jesus

The Lord Jesus tells us that the most important commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, body, and soul.  We are to love the Lord with our entire being.  Jesus didn't stop there He went even further.  He said we are also to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We know that God loves us with a great and unconditional love that can never be broken.  We love God because of all that He has done for us.

We know that God demonstrated His great love for us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to die on the Cross for our sins.  We have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God.  God sent Jesus on a rescue mission to save sinners such as you and I.  God pursues us through the Holy Spirit to draw us to Himself.  God doesn't want anyone to perish and spend eternity in a literal hell away from the presence of God.  He wants us all to come to Him by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.

God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day to show us that He is indeed God.  Jesus is at the right hand of God and one day He will return as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  God didn't leave us believers to fend for ourselves until Jesus returns, but He gives the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone that has placed their faith in Jesus Christ and have received Him as their Lord and Savior.  We must repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christ.

We show our love for the Lord by obeying what He says in His Holy Word, the Bible.  None of us are perfect and we still have the fleshly sinful nature in us that rears up at times.  When we do sin we must confess our sin to Him and we know that He is faithful and just and He will forgive us our sin (I John 1:9)

When we come to faith in Christ Jesus we are saved.  We also have a mission and marching orders.  We are to tells others about Jesus and His love for them.  People are important to God.  We may look down on others especially when they are different that us.  God created mankind in His image.  We are God's handiwork even the very least of us and we are special in God's eyes.

Everyone we meet in our daily lives is loved by the Creator of all things seen and unseen.  It is our job as believers in Jesus Christ to tell them and lead them into a relationship with the true living God.  If we don't tell them about Jesus, who will?  When we tell others about Jesus and His love for them we are showing our love for Jesus and to them.

God is an Awesome God and He loves each one of us more than we can imagine and more than we definitely deserve.  I am reminded of a story that Jesus told about a lost sheep.  We can read about that in Luke 15:1-7 which says,

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.
                                                                                                        

2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable:

4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders

6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

The Pharisees were grumbling under their breath that Jesus was welcoming and eating with sinners.  They weren't very loving towards those they looked down upon.  Sometimes we can run into the same trap if we are not careful.  There maybe people that come to our minds that we can't imagine that God would even possibly love them, but He does and loved them so much that He sent Jesus for them as well.

God cares about people even those we consider the least.  The Church needs to awaken from it's sleep and reach out to the lost with the love of Jesus Christ and proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people.  We believers in Jesus Christ need a new boldness, but not one that is of the bully type.  We need a boldness through the empowering of the Holy Spirit to tell others what God has done for them through Jesus Christ.

When the Church fails to be the Church we all lose and that goes especially for the lost who need to hear the Gospel and be saved.  Their is only one name under heaven in which people need to be saved by and that is the name of Jesus Christ.  If we believers in Jesus Christ don't tell them, who will?

We must stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ and we must stand firmly upon the Holy Word of God and be empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit and proclaim the truth to all people in hopes that they too will come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Lord,

Sometimes we look down on other people and we know we shouldn't.

Help us to love those around us and pray that their eyes and hearts will be opened to Your love for them.

Help us to love You more and help us to love others.

Empower us through the Holy Spirit to speak the truth of the Gospel with boldness.

We praise Your Holy Name.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen

                           

Be Still And Trust The Lord

Today I had my second attempt at having an MRI done.  The first attempt was an epic fail because I felt a little bit claustrophobic.  I had considered sticking my head in a culvert to practice for this time, but I figured that wouldn't have been a good idea considering the world in which we live in.  I mean if I had stuck my head in an actual culvert and someone made a video of it I may have started the, "stick your head in a culvert challenge", and it  would have swept the nation and I would be to blame for it.  So, I thought it would be best that I forgo that idea.  Not to mention it probably would have been hard to find a clean culvert that wasn't buried in snow.

Anyway I took a mild sedative that my doctor gave me to clam my nerves so I could get through the MRI test today, but you know what?  I still felt a little dizzy when the technician moved the table  that I was laying on into the MRI tube.  I did have a wash cloth covering my eyes which seemed to help a lot.  I got to listen to some southern gospel music through some headphones as I had the test.  I am happy to say I made it all the way through the test.  The technician pulled me out of the tube as I lay on the table and I felt dizzy again a little bit.  I am starting to wonder maybe the motion of the moving table was what was making me feel weird.   Must be why I avoid amusement park rides.

I am thankful that the Lord was with me each step of the way as He always is.  He promises us in His Word that He will never leave us and that He will never forsake us.  The Lord will be with us through even the deepest and darkest valleys.  We can count on Him to be their for us because He cares for us.  I now have to wait until my doctors appointment on Friday to hear the results of my MRI test.  Whatever the news is I know I can trust the Lord Jesus to see me through.

The Lord will see you through whatever you are going through as well.  Times may be hard.   Money may be tight.  The bills will continue to come.  Through it all we can be assured that the Lord will see us through our difficulty.  All we need to do is be still and trust Him.

Lord,
We praise Your Name.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
Thank You for Your goodness and mercy.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.

Placing Our Faith In Jesus

Sometimes in the midst of the trials and troubles that we face we forget that the God who created the universe and everything in it loves us so very greatly.  God is crazy about us and He desires that we have an intimate relationship with Him.  God invites us into a relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ.

We all have sinned and we have all fallen short of God's glory.  We have all missed he mark.  There is not one of us that is good enough in our own effort to earn God's forgiveness.  Nothing sinful can ever enter into God's presence because He is Holy.

The Lord made a way for us to be reconciled back to Himself by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, on a rescue mission to save us sinners.  God demonstrated His love toward each one of us by sending Jesus to the Cross to die for our sins.  It is through the shred blood of Jesus Christ that we are saved.  Intellect will not save us.  Philosophy will not save us.  Only Jesus can save.

We must come to Jesus by faith and trusting in His sacrifice for our sins.  There is no other name under Heaven in which people must be saved by.  We are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus didn't stay on the Cross.  Jesus didn't stay in the tomb either.  He arose from the dead on the third day and one day He will return as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  We need to be ready to meet Him.

We can be ready by confessing to the Lord in prayer that we are a sinner and we can't save ourselves.  Then we must be willing to repent of our sins and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Lord Jesus,
Thank You for Your finished work on the Cross and the shedding of Your blood for our sins.
Lead us and guide us by Your Holy Spirit.
Help us to spread the Gospel to our family and friends.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.