Thoughts ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZONPRTOFF dateof comment Look Inside Data Conditions:Order: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|22|23|24|25|26|27|28| Dateof Comment 11/15/2025 How many of us when we are hopefully serving the Lord the way he wants us to, feel like the Lord is not paying attention when we serve. If you are like me, it is nice to have some affirmation of a job well done. God is paying attention but our attitude of serving needs to be like this: Luke 17:7-10 NLT 7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? 8 No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’” OUCH!! Lord, I would like a piece of that humble pie! John the Baptist, who Jesus declared as one of the greatest men ever, understood this principle very well: John 1:27 NLT Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal. 11/14/2025 As a Christian, have you ever been told that you need to be street smart like your worldly counterparts. Even Jesus brought this up. A man swindled his boss and was about to be fired. Being old, he thought about a way to get the bills down on the bosses clients that owed him money so they would do great favors for him: Luke 16:8-9 NLT 8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. The Message also describes what Jesus said: Luke 16:8-9 The Message 8-9 “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.” Jesus was street smart. He won the argument about paying taxes to Caesar and used John the Baptist by asking the Pharisees if he was doing his job by human standards or was sent by God. His answer to these questions dumbfounded his critics. Luke 20:20-25 NLT Taxes for Caesar 20 Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. 21 “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. 22 Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 He saw through their trickery and said, 24 “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 25 “Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” AND Luke 20:1-8 The Authority of Jesus Challenged 20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. 2 They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?” 3 “Let me ask you a question first,” he replied. 4 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” 5 They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. 6 But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.” 7 So they finally replied that they didn’t know. 8 And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.” After Jesus talked about us becoming street smart, he immediately followed up with this comment: Luke 16:10-12 NLT 10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? He definitely wants us to use all the resources we have access to including the worldly ones. It all can be used by us to talk about and win hearts over to Jesus. Just don't scheme to do evil like the accountant who was busted. Lastly, always be responsible with everything you are entrusted with. Jesus - "King over finances!" 11/13/2025 When we begin to live our life apart from God and begin to indulge in worldly things, this can happen like what happened to Saul: 1 Samuel 16:14 NLT 14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. Since fear is not in God's vocabulary, I feel God commandeered one of Satan's angels to mess with Saul. It really messed with his mind. When the Holy Spirit leaves, there is an empty space left for demons to live in. How many people have let this happen in their own lives? I am not a musician but I do know that certain frequencies and tones can influence emotions. 1 Samuel 16:23 NLT 23 And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away. Music, if played with lyrics that honor the name of King Jesus and have the proper frequencies and tones, the devil and his minions will always flee. For example; I am not saying this song is bad because I have listened to it before. Blue oyster cult sings the song "Fear the reaper". Its frequency and tone do not honor our King in any way and the demons will not flee when it is played. They may actually enjoy it. Now on the other side is "Amazing Grace". Jesus loves this one and the demons will flee every time it is played. I would like to know what melody came off of David's harp. It had to be amazing! Watch, because people may call some music "Christian", but its not. We need to examine the lyrics, which should line up with God's word, and discern what the Holy Spirit thinks of the melody. God is not instrument specific but to him music is a good part of worship. One pastor shared with me that too many times worship music is played to honor the musician's talent. It OK to be talented but you should be only concerned that what I am playing is honoring the "Name of Jesus". Really, all of us should ask this question, "What I have planned to do now, will it honor our King or will it embarrass the Holy Spirit?" The Holy Spirit likes a clean house including our bodies. Even cleaning the toilet makes him feel better. All the little things we do matter to the Holy Spirit. This clean thing may seem funny but I tell you this that demons mostly hide out in dark dirty places. Jesus removed demons from a man who lived in the cemetery. Others, the demons threw their host on the ground to get them dirty. Satan's motto "If God likes it, I am going to do or be the opposite." Jesus -"Master over all demons" His death took back the enemies authority over the earth and now it is His! 11/12/2025 God calls us to do things for him. He usually has a plan how to proceed with that calling. God had a big job for King Saul to do: 1 Samuel 15:3 NLT 3 Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.” Why is it when we know what we are suppose to do, we try to justify our amended actions by putting God in the equation? 1 Samuel 15:14-15 NLT 14 “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded. 15 “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.” Putting God into an amended action that was our thought did not work at all for Saul. In the end this happened: 1 Samuel 15:34-35 NLT 34 Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. And the Lord was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel. I was about to continue to the next chapter because I said to myself, "I would never do that." Then God showed my an event in his calling. God's dream was to bless the people in the ghetto on east Colfax and I was to help him do that. He just loved the hearts of the people who lived there. They would worship him anytime. That is how much they loved him. Even though I wanted to stick with God, I wanted to do something for the needy in Fort Collins. It seemed to go nowhere fast. I told God this will help the needy in Fort Collins and you know about all those verses talking about helping people. This was when I realized I was a lot like Saul doing my thing. I am grateful that God humored me a little bit, but it fell flat on it's face. I had to learn about the heart God sees and the dreams that God has. He wants me to give my time here. He also knows that I am not capable of giving 100% in two places. If I pursued my idea any longer, God may have also said, "I am sorry that I gave this ministry to him." When God tells us how to accomplish a task, let's do it his way. Avoid the shortcuts and creating excuses to change things up. What is so cool about doing things 100% God's way, there is no way to mess things up. Today, I have no desire to do the Fort Collins ministry because I know God want me here. As long as their hearts stay focused on Jesus, I could be there a long time. Who knows if the people in Fort Collins hearts turn to God like the ghetto he may have a change of plans. God never starts a new plan until the old one is secure. Jesus Christ - Commander in Chief 11/11/2025 Have you ever thought about Jesus coming to the world to set it on fire. I had to read this in many translations about Jesus setting the world on fire. They all say the same thing: Luke 12:49-51 NLT Jesus Causes Division 49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! When I light fires, it is to burn the weeds to kill the seeds and remove the trash. Nothing but ash is left which is ugly. But wait until spring when green life begins to appear. Soon you have a pasture of lush grass. Is Jesus talking about the purification of mankind? Another thing about fire it is not discriminatory. It will burn down any fence that is in its path. This means that the people sitting on the fence are going to have to jump on one side or then other. One side is with Christ, the other is the world. This allows for only one master. Or does the fire represent the outpouring of the Holy Spirit: Acts 2:1-4 NLT The Holy Spirit Comes 2 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Because Jesus knew of the prophet Joel: Joel 2:28-29 NLT The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit 28 “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. 29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike Jesus after talking about the fire said, "I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished." I have experienced things that totally have taken my peace away. It doesn't even register compared with what he was about to go through. This "baptism of suffering" is probably what made him mention the fire. Again, this is my opinion. I have no scriptures I remember to back me up. I would love to hear your comments. No one other than Jesus has changed the destiny of mankind more than he has. What he did was necessary as far back as Adam and as far into future where men are present. Now who else would do what he did and not sin. JESUS IS LORD!!!!!!! 11/10/2025 Making vows and oaths are extremely dangerous especially when you are in an emotional state. For example: Judges 11:30-31 NLT 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, 31 I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” Jephthah end up killing his daughter because she came out first. What a waste of a beautiful life! 1 Samuel 14:24 Saul’s Foolish Oath Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, “Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening—before I have full revenge on my enemies.” So no one ate anything all day, How dumb to make your men hungry when they are fighting a battle. It takes nourishment to keep one in top form. Even worse is when you do not tell everyone. If the people did not stop him, Saul was going to kill his son Jonathan. Jesus also has something to say about oaths and vows: Matthew 5:33-37 NLT Teaching about Vows 33 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ 34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. 35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. Jesus said, "Give a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. You definitely have a problem if your word means nothing to you. I have sold corn at a lower price than I could have today. It cost me money. Even the person I sold it too knew it also and saw that my word meant something by delivering at the lower price I agreed to. He will want to always do business with me if I continue to keep my word. Remember this: It is just as much of a sin to break your word as it is a vow or oath. Make your word count when dealing with God and man. Lastly, think about your word, vow, or oath to make sure they are not stupid like the ones I mentioned here. Thank you Jesus for putting up with us when we do dumb stuff! 11/09/2025 When Israel became nervous when the realized that it was wrong to ask for a king, Samuel consoled them with these words: 1 Samuel 12:23 As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. Was Samuel asked to pray for the people by God himself? Is it the responsibility of the priest to continually pray for the people? Or did Samuel pray because it was the right thing to do? One thing for sure, Samuel said that it would be a sin If he stopped praying over the people. We do know that if God asks us to pray for someone it would be disobedience if we did not pray. James said you need to grow: James 5:16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Paul final advice to the church include: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Jesus will tell you that I could be praying more in my own life. Samuel is right when we shorten our prayer life that it is sin. How many more people could be saved today just by power of our prayers. The enemy loves a short prayer life because it gives him the power to do the things he wants. He is a master of using distractions to stop our communication with the Father. This is an example of what the enemy fears: Matthew 17:14-19 NLT Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy 14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” {demon thought he won this match.} 17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. {demon loses against Jesus} 19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” Mark 9:29 NLT 29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” {demons tremble at the prayers of the righteous. Jesus won because he prayed!} One final thought why did Jesus say, "You faithless and corrupt people!"? This is my opinion; I believe Jesus reads the hearts of men and his disciples. His disciples are slow grasping the spiritual side of God and try doing things too much man's way. They need to believe God's way is the best. Now, the crowd is a different story. They only want Jesus to get what they want. They were really not that interested to understand the man who is doing the miracles. Those two things together were a major disappointment to Jesus. Not only should we continue to pray to weaken the enemy and please Yahweh, let's position our hearts towards honoring Jesus himself. It is not to honor ourselves by seeing what we can get out of the deal. Jesus is Lord!!!!!!! 11/08/2025 When you realize that you have messed up like the people of Israel did when they asked for a king: 1 Samuel 12:22 NLT 22 The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people. As long as we don't reject him, it looks like he is with us for the long haul. Even those who have rejected our Lord, he is never far away. He is waiting patiently for us all to come home. Just remember Jesus hold the keys to salvation. Ask him into your heart today, if you have not done so already. John 14:6 NLT Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 11/07/2025 I bet a lot of you are like me and make lots of cracks about the politicians and the dumb things they do. The sad part is that I leave it right here and do not take full advantage of my options. Even though they are what they are, Paul has some advice for us about all people: 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them {This is the hard part; to give thanks for someone who is clueless.}. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This verse applies to everyone in our ministry. This includes college students, law enforcement, fire and the people in the ghetto. You also have people in your life that need to be prayed over. We all seem to do dumb things from time to time. Pray that God gives us wisdom to figure this out. Then we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. Jesus "King of kings" and "ruler over all authority"! 11/06/2025 I am sure that I am not alone in this kind of situation. You work all year and things seem to be half way working then when you begin to harvest your work, it turns out to be disappointing. Of course, the enemy makes sure that you know about others who did the same kind of work you did but everything turned out much better for them. His next step is to make you envious of those people to the point your jealousy makes you hate them. The guy who beat me I know him and he is cool and he deserved his reward. Not to say that I was a tiny bit jealous, still. Next the enemy convinces you that you are a failure. As the results came in I was feeling this emotion. Why does he do it? He wants you to become so discouraged that you will not fulfill the mission God called you to do. Being discouraged can put an end to God's calling on your life. It got me down enough that I felt like not writing anymore comments. The enemy almost had me here. The next thing I did was share my feelings with my buddy and we talked about it. His words of encouragement and not seeing the entire picture, which has Jesus in it, got me back on track and that you all need to know it is never over. Jesus said there would be times like this: John 16:33 NLT I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. I am still experiencing just plain weird things from the enemy. But Jesus is willing to help out: Matthew 11:29-30 NLT 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Even with all that is going on today, I feel more at peace now. Philippians 4:7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Never forget "Jesus is Lord"!!!!! 11/05/2025 Have you ever tried doing something that just never seems to work. You keep trying but eventually you just give up in frustration. God has had those moments too. It even broke God's heart: 1 Samuel 8:5-9 NLT 5 “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” 6 Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. 7 “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. 8 Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. 9 Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.” In verse 7 you can tell God is frustrated and is tired of reasoning with his people. God did not abandon his people and had Samuel tell them what a human king will do to them. The scare tactics did not work. 1 Samuel 8:18-20 NLT 18 When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.” 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. 20 “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.” If you get a king who loves the Lord like Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, this is good. Those who do not love the Lord will not be good at judging anything. They could be your next king. We should not want men to judge us in place of God. Psalm 7:11 NLT 11 God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day. When God is leading you into battle, you will never lose. Men cannot make this claim because they will always lose in the end. Wow, they turned God down in favor of a finite man. God's final word was that, "I will not help you when your so called king turns on you." Think about this: Just because your neighbor is doing it does not make it right or the best solution. This trap can be devastating when it goes against the ideals of God. 11/04/2025 Now you know you are physically close to God when this happens: Exodus 34:29-35 NLT 29 When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. 30 So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him. It took a long time before this glow to wear off of Mose's face. Jesus's disciples had a chance to witness this presence of God first hand by being there with Jesus: Luke 9:29-31 NLT 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Other than being a spectacular site, what was meant by "were speaking about his exodus from this world"? Because we serve a Holy God, Jesus was sent to fix this problem of sin that keeps us away from God's presence. His shed blood allows us to enter into the throne room of God. I feel Jesus was to answer to all generations past and present. Everyone has been waiting for Jesus to fulfill prophecy. I know they were encouraging Jesus and talking about all the prophecy that was about to be fulfilled. Could you imagine that in the short period of time left, that all who God has called will be able to enter the presence of God in heaven. I am sure they told Jesus about the great thing that was about to happen when he was done with his calling. Man, now that is inspiration! Again this is my opinion. It sure does make you think about their conversation they must have had! 11/02/2025 When Jesus becomes the center of your life this verse is so true: 1 Peter 2:9 (New Living Translation) But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. If Jesus is only an after thought in your life, this verse is not true. Maybe it is time to get on track by repenting and putting Jesus back into the center of your life. Do not let the enemy make you believe that a child of the King is worthless. He is a master at it. Jesus will always be Lord!!!!!!! 11/01/2025 For those who think God does not have a sense of humor, this one proves he does: 1 Samuel 5:1-4 NLT The Ark in Philistia 5 After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. 2 They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. 3 But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. {This defines man's sense of stupidity trusting in a god who cannot get off the ground or defend itself. } 4 But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. I now know where the phrase "passing the buck" comes from: 1 Samuel 5:6-12 NLT 6 Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors. 7 When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our {fake} god.” 8 So they called together the rulers of the Philistine towns and asked, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?” The rulers discussed it and replied, “Move it to the town of Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 9 But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord’s heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic. 10 So they sent the Ark of God to the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, “They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us, too!” 11 The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, “Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it will kill us all.” For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town. 12 Those who didn’t die were afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven. They passed the ark from city to city and no one wanted it because of the God it represented. Why do we let our hearts get so hard to keep us going to our foolish gods when we know the real God? Why didn't they dump Dagon and try to accept the God of Israel? The Philistines knew the power of Yahweh. 1 Samuel 6:2 NLT 2 Then the Philistines called in their priests and diviners and asked them, “What should we do about the Ark of the Lord? Tell us how to return it to its own country.” 4 “What sort of guilt offering should we send?” they asked. And they were told, “Since the plague has struck both you and your five rulers, make five gold tumors and five gold rats, just like those that have ravaged your land. 5 Make these things to show honor to the God of Israel. Perhaps then he will stop afflicting you, your gods, and your land. 6 Don’t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go. Only man can know who the real God is and his mighty power. In his foolishness he continues serving worldly possessions and idols over Yahweh. Only when we turn to Jesus Christ and put him on the throne of our life will we experience salvation. Jesus paid a dear price for us to be able to enter the Kingdom of God. Worship him and Yahweh only and stay away from all the fake gods out there. 10/31/2025 Rejection of what our Lord wants us to do can have the same consequences of blaspheming God. 1 Samuel 3:11-14 NLT 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. 12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. 13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. 14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.” Eli and his sons died a horrible death because Eli had no desire to correct his sons when he was told by the Lord. His sons had no respect for the Lord and continued their evil ways. You can see these things still happen in today's world. Sure doing God's way may require a little work and may result in some persecution, but it is the only way to reap his blessings, joy, and peace. Don't just believe me, just talk to others who follow Jesus properly. They will tell you the same thing. The will also agree "Jesus is Lord" 10/30/2025 The enemy loves this verse because the way it is written. Most versions are not any different. People will shake their finger at you on this one when you identify a persons actions as sin. Luke 6:37-38 NLT Do Not Judge Others 37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Many people believe that if I see someone doing something wrong, I can do it too as long as I don't judge that person for doing the sin. The last part says, "you will not be judged". Yeah, now I can sin without being judged. Sounds as stupid as those people who say you have no right to judge. Mathew goes more into detail on judging: Matthew 7:1-2 NLT Do Not Judge Others 7 “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. The Message bible really defines what the author Luke was meaning: Luke 6:37-38 The Message 37-38 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity It is scriptural that we will all be judged by God in the end no matter what happens. Also, if you see someone doing something that looks fun, you will have to judge whether the activity is acceptable in the sight of the Lord before you do it. Don't be afraid to tell people that my King doesn't want me to do that. Everything in life has to be judged as either right or wrong. The day you stop judging could lead to the loss of your salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Romans 12:1 NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 10/30/2025 When Israel walked around around Jericho for seven days, one of those days was on the Sabbath. The law required that one rests on that day. But as Jesus said, Matthew 12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” We are very thankful for doctors, law enforcement, fire and other emergency type jobs that have to perform services on the Sabbath for our protection. Just don't forget about Christ in that busyness! 10/29/2025 Have you ever compared the gospel of Jesus walking on the water? John almost said nothing about it like it was not that big of a deal: John 6:18-21 NLT 18 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” 21 Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination! Mathew was the only gospel that mentioned Peter: Matthew 14:27-32 NLT 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Try to envision that night. It was dark and they never mention there is a moon. It was windy so everything on the water was like a bouncing cork. We also know that water is a very slippery substance. So Jesus faces 5 obstacles that faith overcame. 1. You could not see much. I avoid this low levels of light with a passion. 2. Jesus did not want to be a cork so he leveled things out and moderated the wind in his path so he could start his journey. 3. If faith can move a mountain, the water supporting his weight is easy. 4. Since water is slippery he had faith he would not slip as he walked. 5. He was confident while standing on the water that it would continue to hold his weight when he pulled Peter out of the water. Your footing has to be secure to get Peter out of the water. He was well balanced even in the wind. Jesus had to have faith in many things to make this walk happen. Mark had some interesting details that the other gospels do not mention. Mark 6:47-52 NLT 47 Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 50 They were all terrified when they saw him. {Why did Jesus go past them. If Jesus wasn't going to pull a prank on the disciples, I think he was having fun. Jesus never made it a habit of walking on water. I really think it felt good on his body because it was a new experience. Just my opinion} But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here!” 51 Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, 52 for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in. This quote of Jesus "significance of the miracle of the loaves" sure makes you think. Again this is my opinion: Feeding the 5,000 with what was available was impossible without the power of our Father. This shows that nothing is too big for him. Their reaction showed how they do not understand the concept of an all powerful God. I made the decision based on the fact when they feed the 4,000 later, they were worried about paying for all the food forgetting how Jesus fed the 5,000 earlier. Then there was the "yeast of the Pharisees" question that made them think about not packing bread as if Jesus would be worried about that. It would be cool to hear the opinions what everyone else thinks this verse means! 10/28/2025 They say diamonds are forever but if you don't have any, you really don't care. Also remember this, God's word is forever too but if you don't read it and place it in your heart, you will not care about its value either. 1 Peter 1:24-25 NLT As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you. Jesus is still Lord! 10/26/2025 We probably heard this verse describing God's word but if you dig deep you can see cool stuff: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Most versions say his word is God inspired. I like this one because God's word is alive. Look at what else was God-breathed: Genesis 2:7 NIV Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Teaching, rebuking, and correcting get us down following God's plan he has for us. It is the righteousness he really wants. The end result his word prepares us for is to obey and do good works for the King. We only do good works because we love Jesus and want to please him. Our works will never get us into heaven but only that personal relationship with Jesus Christ will. Jesus is Lord and it is his desire to leave no one behind but it requires that personal relationship. Get to know Jesus today if you do not know him.
