Thoughts ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZONPRTOFF dateof comment Look Inside Data Conditions:Order: Dateof Comment 09/26/2024 Our faith can be challenged from time to time. Hebrews talks about one remedy for those moments: Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ will build your faith because you will understand that he will keep his promises, but we are not to stop there for ourselves. It is important that we challenge others and also help them build their faith. Paul even mentioned this in one of his letters: 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. It is important that we know the Jesus we serve. We do not want to encourage anyone to do something that does not honor his name. Never forget this: John 15:5 NLT 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. If the Holy Spirit does not touch the hearts of men, we could never reach them for God's Kingdom. If God does not call us to go into a ministry, it could lead to harm or death. God needs to precede everything we do, and his presence has to remain there, or everything will fall apart. We are just his messengers and sevants to his body. 04/18/2024 Our constitution guarantees us to have the freedom of religion. The only problem with the freedom of religion it also allows foreign gods to be accessed into our country. It should have said the freedom to worship "Yahweh". If you read Exodus 20 you'll find out that that the current form of our constitution is not acceptable to our King Exodus 20:3-6 NLT 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. When you read the Old Testament you can see how many times Israel was destroyed worshiping demonic gods. America is in danger of seeing the same kind of judgement. Well, what can we do about this? We know that if we go out and persecute other religions we are no better than they are. Our God is a God of love. Jesus would try to bring the message of God to the people first and convert them to the Kingdom of God. If we would live like Jesus Christ people will see what it's like to serve Christ and will want what we have. But we should do everything in our power including prayer to discourage foreign gods from entering our country because the curse of the Old Testament is on every nation who worships foreign gods. Our money, homes and cars all have a purpose but they too can replace "Yahweh" as our God. Jesus also knew this and that is why he said: Matthew 6:33 NIV 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Jesus wanted to make sure we have our priorities "right". You notice I did not say "left". 02/27/2024 One of the things I like about President Trump is when he coined the phrase "Fake News". Today's news media will not even try to get it right. John also knew this about being "Fake" while we say we are serving Jesus. He asks us to prove it: 1 John 3:18 (New Living Translation) Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions show the world who we really are. God does not like seeing his children struggle no matter where we are. Each week we get Cosco gift cards to help with gas needs. You would be surprised how many people are praying in today's Kaos to our King to get enough gas to complete their mission. It is tough out there. It really builds people's faith and gives glory to our King when giving gift cards to one of God's children in need. The first thing they thinks is "Wow, they have no idea who I am, but they were prepared with this card to bless me today." Think of the stories that will be told about what God is doing in their lives. Have you ever thought about God's reaction is when real "Not Fake" love is shown. God has given us free will to reject him. But when we strive to please him and git rid of the "Fake", it greatly honors him when we follow through with the things he asks of us. Another thing about loving people is the ability to shift hearts when they begin to realize that not everyone out there is trying to get me. 01/24/2024 One of the most dangerous verses in the bible is Mathew 7:1. People interpret the verse that as long as I don't judge what other people do that God will not judge me. This is one of the biggest lies of the enemy. They need to read to verse 3: Matthew 7:1-2 NLT 1 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. In order to know what sin is you have to make a judgment call on what is sin. Then you sit back and twittle your thumbs like most Christians do. Paul says the contray. Get off you butt and help a fellow brother or sister get back on the path: Galatians 6:1 (New Living Translation) Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Before we can truly help out a brother or sister we need to have some self-control of the sin in our own life. We do not want to fall into the same trap. Mathew warns about this: Matthew 7:3-5 NLT 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. This next verse requires some discernment from the Holy Spirit. There are people out there who have given themselves to the enemy and God wants you to walk away from them: Matthew 7:6 6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. If you still think that God will not judge you, you need to read these verses: (Remember that the sins that Jesus Christ has forgiven will not be remembered by God either. God is interested how we lived our lives for him.) Psalm 37:13 But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming. Proverbs 11:4 Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. Isaiah 2:11 Human pride will be brought down, and human arrogance will be humbled. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment. Isaiah 2:17 Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment. Isaiah 2:20 On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats, Isaiah 3:18 On that day of judgment the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful: ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces, Isaiah 22:14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Ezekiel 7:10 “The day of judgment is here; your destruction awaits! The people’s wickedness and pride have blossomed to full flower. Ezekiel 39:8 That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign Lord. Everything will happen just as I have declared it. Hosea 10:15 You will share that fate, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day of judgment dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed. Amos 5:18 Warning of Coming Judgment What sorrow awaits you who say, “If only the day of the Lord were here!” You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light. Amos 6:3 You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer. Micah 7:4 Even the best of them is like a brier; the most honest is as dangerous as a hedge of thorns. But your judgment day is coming swiftly now. Your time of punishment is here, a time of confusion. Zephaniah 1:7 Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near. The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. Zephaniah 1:8 “On that day of judgment,” says the Lord, “I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. Zephaniah 2:2 Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins. Malachi 3:1 The Coming Day of Judgment “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Malachi 3:17 “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Malachi 4:1 The Coming Day of Judgment The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all. Matthew 7:22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ Matthew 10:15 I tell you the truth, the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than such a town on the judgment day. Matthew 11:22 I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. Matthew 11:24 I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you.” Matthew 12:36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. Matthew 12:41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. The motto of this comment is everything has to be judged in order to know right from wrong. It really pleases God when we stand up for out King against the evils of the enemy. God is not going to support the lukewarm anymore. We need to be hot for him. 10/01/2023 One question I hear quite often is to be able to hear from God. I notice that those who hear from God unusually have a strong walk with our King. It is interesting that almost every letter written in the New Testament talks about us striving to live a life like Christ. But have you thought about what that means? When Christ was resurrected, he sent us the same Holy Spirit that controlled his life while he walked on this earth. When we are living like Christ, we should feel the same things that he felt. Your thoughts will become like his thoughts. That same Spirit that Jesus used should reside in us after we become born again. That same Spirit speaks to us guiding our thoughts as we go about our day. John 3:3 NLT Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” That Spirit will open things up for us to be able to begin to hear from God. It is hard to hear from God if we cannot do these things Christ accomplished on earth: LOVE Even though we may not be able to love like he loves us, our love for our fellow man should increase as we grow in him. Any hatred you have for a person or family member will hinder God's communication with you. WICKEDNESS When we encounter wickedness how do we respond? This will also affect us from hearing from God. Jesus, at the beginning and end of his ministry went into the Temple and started throwing the tables of the thieves in the Temple. If wickedness does not get us into action, we are not living like Christ. I am not advocating the destruction of property like Jesus did, But I know that his Father told him to do that. The wicked use hardcore violence against everyone. We are not wanting to imitate them directly. But indirectly, we have things that we can do that please God. Voting can be an action that can be used to attack the wicked. God made it easy in the 2020 election to test us. He put up a godly platform on one side and a satanic platform on the other. He gave us the option to choose wisely. Many so-called Christians voted for the satanic platform which proves that they are not living like Jesus Christ. Jesus would never do such a thing. Remember there will never by a person who is perfect. Always support those who serve Satan the least. Matthew 12:26 NLT And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive. (You cannot mix God's platform with Satan's platform without dividing his Kingdom either.) Matthew 6:24 NLT “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. (You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money (this includes free government handouts and your pocketbook). If you are controlled by money, you need to let go: Matthew 6:33 NLT 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (God does care about you finances but his values come first. You will never receive the blessings he wants to give and to be able to hear from him unless you put his values and desires first.) FORGIVENESS One thing that Jesus did was to forgive those with sin. Many times, he would come to their defense as the woman who they were going to stone. When he asked the crowd for the man without sin to cast the first stone, everyone left. But Jesus did not leave it at that. Even after they all walked away, he looked at her and said, "Go and sin no more." I know that we do not have the power to forgive the sins of those who do sins against other people like Christ can. But we are able to forgive those who do wrongs against us. And we are to accept those who have asked God to forgive their sins into his body. GOD NEVER SAID THAT Our biggest enemy in hearing from God is the human filter. Human thoughts can pollute the things that God is trying to reveal to us. I have heard that many of the people who prophesy have to be careful about what they watch on TV because it can influence the meaning of what God is trying to say. It is important that we only fill our mind with godly things. As Christ like followers, we should never be in a job situation that does not honor what God believes. You cannot tell me that working at a strip club would please God. This would also pollute our thoughts. GOD WINS One thing I began to realize is that when Roe versus Wade was thrown out by the Supreme Court, I thought it was cool. If Jesus would've been human today, he would have celebrated. Because that is one of the greatest victories that Christianity ever experienced in this country is by preventing the abortion of the young. As a body of labor's following Christ, we should have followed suit. All of these things determine how Christ like we are and can explain why sometimes we cannot hear from God. Always remember this: Matthew 7:7 NLT Effective Prayer “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Ask God and believe that he will answer. When I am hearing from God, I am never sure if it is from him. If it contradicts his word, it is NEVER from God. This requires you to know his word to make this decision. Even Gideon tested what he heard by giving God the two challenges to confirm what he was asked to do: Judges 6:36-40 Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. If you still are not sure, get close to someone else who knows God. Use each other to confirm what you heard from God. After a while, you will get more comfortable hearing from God. Just remember to keep your mind clean and let the Holy Spirit guide you in your walk with our King. 08/09/2023 One of the best ways to understand who God is by reading his word. Many of us, including me, have weak spots when it comes to thoroughly reading the word. Distractions and events many times keep us from reading that word in the Bible that we need to grow in God's Kingom. The word "grow" is an action. James has something to say about this: James 1:22 (New Living Translation) But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. If we are not fully versed in God's word, we will be weak in our walk. Samuel was well versed living in the environment of the priests. Even with all the exposure he had with the things of God, he still dropped the ball as recorded in this verse: 1 Samuel 16:7 (New Living Translation) But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Samuel made his judgment by what man taught him. I even wondered if he even prayed before making his decision. After we learn from God's word, we still need to pray and ask to receive wisdom that the Holy Spirit wants to give us. Never forget that when you are serving God properly that he wants to do this: Jeremiah 33:2-3 (New Living Translation) “This is what the Lord says—the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord: Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come. Only a friend will share secrets with you. It is no different with God. When we develop that personal relationship with Jesus Christ, he wants to share with us what he knows. 05/25/2023 One of the greatest challenges in life is getting along with other people. James has a good start on how to improve our people skills: James 1:19 (New Living Translation) Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. This verse is a must if you are trying to get along with people. It is interesting that when you listen to what people or God has to say, you are demonstrating interest. God loves it when you interested in what he says. People are no different. The next step with people is our response. What they are saying may be totally stupid or even demonic. Sometimes people do this to get a reaction. By controlling our our anger we throw water on their fire by remaining cool. By being slow to speak gives us time to say a quick prayer and process the situation. Stupid replies many times will cause negative results. Always stick to the truth and never forget about the concept of love. Jesus applied this last statement and was crucified. Just as he did, never compromise the truth. This is how God's children should do it to get along with his other children. This brings unity to the church: Romans 12:10 (New Living Translation) Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. After all the above occurs, we are learning to work within God's people. Now we are ready for this step: Romans 15:2 (New Living Translation) We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. Now we have formed a powerful and spotless church. The next step requires a powerful church to accomplish: Mathew 24:14 NLT 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. After this step is completed, Jesus will return for his church. So let's become bold and become that church that he will be proud of. 12/29/2022 One of the reasons why God has us study the Old Testament is so we can learn his patterns in the way he works. I think one of the Kings favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11. But to entirely understand it you have to go into it a little bit more in depth. Israel was in captivity in Babylon for 70 years and it was getting towards the end of that period. God was now going to bring his people home. This is the story of Jeremiah 29:11 Jeremiah 29:10-14 10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” God does this because he loves us so much. You may be saying to yourself that I am not a captive. Being captive is much more than being held by another man. Many of us are held captive by things like lust, greed, pornography, laziness, drinking, drugs and ect. This list is too large to list everything. Everytime my buddy witnesses to a gang, he meets men who are being held captive by broken hearts. I am sure you can think of something you are being help captive by. Now you know why it was necessary for Jesus to come to earth. He said to the people reading from Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, That personal relationship with Jesus Christ will set us free from any captivity we may be facing. Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit when he returned to the Father to give us wisdom to continue to stay free from any bondage. Now God can set plans for our life. But how do we know what God's plans are? This is the quickest way to find out what God's plans are: Proverbs 3:5-6 New Living Translation 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. If you do this you will see God at work in your life. Just remember that any plan you come up with minus Jesus Christ will not get God's blessing. His Son did an amazing thing for us and he should be receiving Glory from our plans. A plan inspired by God will never fail if he remains on the throne. We all know what happened when we kicked God out of our educational system for our children. There is little hope and not much of a future for our kids. Kudos to those parents who kept God in the family. They will have a bright future because of the God they serve. God is not done with our schools yet. The Holy Spirit is about to shake things up and our youth are going to start living for Jesus. Could you imagine seeing the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the classroom. God will take out anyone in academia who may interfere in this next great move of God. 07/08/2022 One thing about it when our God speaks he means every word he says. He confirms this in this verse: Matthew 24:35 (New Living Translation) Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. This is also true with what is in his written word. God makes promises with his people and keeps them. When it was impossible for Abraham to have a son God made a promise with him that he would have one and he did. He then also promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand on a seashore. That also happened. And it did not matter what Abraham did. It was all because of the faith that Abraham had in God. David describes God and his promises: Psalm 18:30 (New Living Translation) God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. God Backs everything he says with his glorious name. Psalm 138:2 (New Living Translation) I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. Some of God's promises are based upon what we do. God said if you honor your mother and father you will live a long life. In Malachi 3:10 he said that if you tithe to me I will blow the doors off your barn with all the bounty. This is the only place in the Bible where God asks to be tested. The only way that I have ever seen God back down from a promise is when we humble ourselves: 1 Kings 21:29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.” In the story of Jonah after he told the people about their coming destruction, they repented and God spared them. But it is interesting that eventually the city would be destroyed later. In both scenarios the promise was kept but fulfilled later. If Jesus Christ is not Center Stage in our life, we cannot fully benefit from all of God's promises. So many of us want to isolate ourselves from God and do things our own way. Then we wonder why God's promises are not filled in our life. We have a free will and God will never force himself on us. When that happens His blessings over our life also disappear. The best way to get blessings out of life is to continually give our life over to Jesus Christ everyday. He really does want to bless us. 07/05/2022 One of the greatests myths is that man is good. God confirms that this is NOT true: Jeremiah 17:9-10 (New Living Translation) “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” God does search out impure hearts and will take us out if necessary to protect his children. Paul also confirmed Jeremiah: Romans 3:23-24 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit can actually make our hearts pure. I believe he can transform the heart to the point where sin loses its total control over our life. Paul confirms to Timothy that this can happen: 1 Timothy 1:5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. All good things require work but the reward is worth it. Jesus Christ thought I was worth dying for. So why would it be any different for you? Let’s all strive for the pure heart. We can change people lives for him by the way we live. Plus we will get to experience love, a clear conscience and genuine faith from having a pure heart. I am so grateful that I was chosen to be worthy by Jesus Christ and I never want to forget that. The pilgrims in 1620's understood this. They made a covenant with God to run their government under biblical principles. This is different when God made a covenant with Abraham. In other words the pilgrims chose God where God chose Abraham. The covenant of the pilgrims and todays prayer warriors are bringing America back as a nation under God as it should be. David explains this concept: Psalm 33:12 (New Living Translation) What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. You just wait until you see what God is up to. We are living during the time when he is about to release his Glory. God's prophets will confirm what I am saying is about to happen. So get ready to see the greatest move of God ever! 07/04/2022 One of the greatests myths is that man is good. God confirms that this is NOT true: Jeremiah 17:9-10 (New Living Translation) “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” Paul also confirmed Jeremiah: Romans 3:23-24 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit can actually make our hearts pure. I believe he can transform the heart to the point where sin loses its total control over our life. Paul confirms to Timothy that this can happen: 1 Timothy 1:5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. All good things require work but the reward is worth it. Jesus Christ thought I was worth dying for. So why would it be any different for you? Let’s all strive for the pure heart. We can change people lives for him by the way we live. Plus we will get to experience love, a clear conscience and genuine faith from having a pure heart. I am so grateful that I was chosen to be worthy by Jesus Christ and I never want to forget that. The pilgrims in 1620's understood this. They made a covenant with God to run their government under biblical principles. This is different when God made a covenant with Abraham. In other words the pilgrims chose God where God chose Abraham. The covenant of the pilgrims and todays prayer warriors are bringing America back as a nation under God as it should be. David explains this concept: Psalm 33:12 (New Living Translation) What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. You just wait until you see what God is up to. We are living during the time when he is about to release his Glory. God's prophets will confirm what I am saying is about to happen. So get ready to see the greatest move of God ever! 06/10/2022 One of my favorite stories happened during Jesus Christ hanging on the cross. One of the men beside him mocked Jesus for not getting himself out of this predicament. The other man must have seen Jesus in operation before and understood that Jesus was wrongly crucified. He was very disturbed that the other man was treating Jesus in this manner: Luke 23:39-43 39 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. 41 Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” 42 And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!” 43 Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.” Both men probably committed atrocities that would make you want to leave the room. Jesus Christ does not give points for sin atrocity. He loves us so much and all he is looking for is for us to ask for forgiveness and a heart change. Not everyone gets to come to the Lord at the last minute like this guy did. You may die in the twinkle of an eye. Make sure you are saved today. Just personally ask him to forgive your sins and turn your heart over to him. The thief inherited a place in the Kingdom of God without being baptized. But it would honor God for you to go through the commitment of being baptized. The moral of the story is: Colossians 3:13 (New Living Translation) Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Jesus despises sin but because of his love and the shedding of his blood he forgives us anyway. He then forgets our sins. Do you know why we must forgive others? There are three things that happen: Only if you show love can you forgive someone else. This tests your ability to love others. The second is to humble us. If we do not understand what a gift that is to have our sins forgiven, we will have a pride issue and we will never forgive. The third thing is the peace that will abound in our lives after we forgive. The last thing alone makes forgiving someone worth it. 06/08/2022 One of my favorite stories is when the ten spies went into the promised land to case it out. Only Caleb and Joshua were ready to go in and take possession of the land. The others came back in extreme fear because they separated themselves from God. Those who love God believe: Habakkuk 3:19 (New Living Translation) The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. Both Caleb and Joshua had to suffer the consequences of men separated from God by wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Caleb was a cool dude. He followed this verse to the tee. Even at 80 years of age he was ready to do what he was going to do 40 years ago. God really gave him strength. Caleb braged he could do anything a 40 year old man could do. He even proved it when he started taking possession of the land. King David, another confidant man, also had it pegged: Psalm 18:1 I love you, Lord; you are my strength Psalm 22:19 O Lord, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid! Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 71:7 My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. So if you want to conquer the world do this: Philippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 06/07/2022 One thing that people will never learn is that all the fake gods out there that they serve are now dead. Those leaders that started those religions ended up going to the grave. Even in our religion Jesus Christ also died and went to the grave. This is where the difference starts. He did not want to stay there and he rose from the dead. He knew that his work was not done and everything he has done was because of us. He is interested in our salvation and not sending us to hell. But we have to turn our hearts over to him and serve him. If not, the Lake of Fire will be our home for eternity. As the psalm acknowledges: Psalm 90:2,4 (New Living Translation) Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. We serve an everlasting God. Wouldn't it be better to be living with him. Jesus makes it simple. Ask him for forgiveness of your sins and turn your heart over to him. He will then put your name in the Lambs Book of Life. Jesus paid a extreme price for us. Let us serve him with a joyful heart to show him some respect. 05/25/2022 One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is patience.This usually involves waiting and we all should use this time to listen to our King, Me included. James has something to say about this: James 1:19 (Good News Translation) Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. We need to think about everything and do research before we speak. So many times I want to make comments against people around me. But when I understand the circumstances behind it I am glad I kept my mouth shut. Even though they may be at fault, I keep remembering how Jesus Christ positively stood by me when I failed. I try not to forget that when I speak about other people. We also need to think about our responses anytime we speak. Our tone and interjecting four letter words can greatly reduce our cool factor. James wants us to be cool. That is why he wants us to think about what we say and how Jesus would react with what we say. Our words can be an embarrassment to those who we come into contact with us and it is nearly impossible to take it back. Always be speaking good words even if you talk to yourself. 04/16/2022 One thing that I have been noticing over the past couple of years is how much people are beginning not to respect authority. Things like defunding the police and people going out and burning everything down in sight is anarchy and the total lack of authority. God has said many things in the Scriptures about authority. Why did God put people in authority in the first place? Proverbs has the answer. Proverbs 29:2 When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan. Proverbs 29:16 When the wicked are in authority, sin flourishes, but the godly will live to see their downfall. Do you notice that when godly people are in authority how everyone is blessed. But when evil people are in authority, people suffer. Now you know why it is important to vote and to be opposed to evil in your government. I do not care what they say, Christians need to be involved in politics to make sure that we have godly representatives. Separation of church and state is not even in the Constitution. When the Constitution was written it was designed to keep government out of the church and that is it. There is nothing in it about the church influencing our government. I would like somebody to prove this one to me that it's not true. It cannot be done. The first thing God wants you to do is respect authority. Remember God's authority is over man's authority. If man's authority conflicts with God's authority, it is to be ignored or fought against. Our churches should have never been shut down. God requires that we come together as a body and lay hands on one another. Psalms 91 is all you need to against ANY disease. That preacher up in Canada went to his prison because he was standing up for God's authority over mans. He was in the right and God will honor him for that. Romans 13:1-7 Respect for Authority Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. I like the last part of this verse where it talks about the fear of authority. If we are breaking the laws people in authority are there to make sure that the laws are enforced. I have noticed that if I don't speed or break the law I never have problems with police officers coming after me. The secret is to obey the law. Romans 13:6-7 (New Living Translation) Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. Because God put people in authority over us, they do need to be paid. We need to have respect and honor for them also. Just remember God is in authority over us. If we are having problems with man's authority we will definitely have issues with God's authority. You cannot have one without the other. Even Jesus dealt with God's authority. John 12:49 I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. Jesus is second in command. He has authority in heaven and earth. Matthew 28:18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Nothing is better then someone who is in authority who has a servant's heart. Jesus has all these qualities and that makes him totally awesome. Godly people will protect you and improve your life. You know what really pleases God is when we pray over those who are in authority. We should be praying that God gives them godly wisdom and protection from evil if they are representing God. Evil men need to be removed from authority but don't do it in a way that it dishonors God.
