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| Dateof Comment 05/08/2025 Have you ever asked yourself this question, "What is God's will in my life?" Paul had something to say about this. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. I am willing to confess that I have not always been joyful. I always could pray more and you can catch me complaining more than I should. I am sure that I have made Jesus sigh more than once. But I know this verse is true and I always have something to work towards. A lot of things, including God's entire will for us, are hindered in our life when we don't comply with this verse. I really believe that these 3 items (joy, earnest prayer, thanksgiving) are the favorite things that God wants from us. Even though Jesus Christ is the only one who can get us into the Kingdom of heaven, let us try to honor him by working at doing these three things. Jesus - King of kings 05/06/2025 It can be exciting to climb the ladder of success but many times this can turn into selfish ambition. James definitely shows what we also need to be doing: James 5:16 NLT Confess your sins(this also means to forgive.) 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. I was curious how "earnest" is defined in a dictionary: adjective: earnest resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction. Even though I think my prayer are earnest I have never seen these results when I pray: James 5:17-18 NLT 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. God never puts things in his word that are beyond our reach. We just put limitations on ourselves that prevent us from experiencing this kind of power in our prayers. A lack of faith, fear, and selfish ambition can be prayer killers. Pray in a way that honors God or Jesus. He loves to answer these kind of prayers. Also remember when you pray that "Jesus is Lord". 05/05/2025 I bet all of you have noticed all of the financial things going on. As humans we seem to look for things to worry about even if nothing major has happened like the tariffs. At first the stock market was tanking when the word was mentioned. Now the market is going up while tariffs are still here. I feel the enemy want us to worry to cause fear and anxiety. Both of these cause people to do dumb things. Paul says, "Stop worrying!" Philippians 4:6-7 NLT Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 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. We need to fill our thoughts with something else. Paul has the answer for this to: Philippians 4:8-9 NLT 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Jesus Christ - Commander in Chief!! 05/04/2025 As Christians we are exposed to the word faith a lot. In fact, the level of our faith and how we seek after him is what pleases God: Hebrews 11:6 NLT And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Most people stop here but there is so much more to be said about extreme faith. Those people who have it are like this: Hebrews 11:35-38 NLT But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. I always wonder how I would respond if I was held captive because of Jesus Christ and I could see the saw that was about to cut me in half, would my flesh cave in this situation? I firmly believe we all need the power of the Holy Spirit along with strong faith to overcome this scenario. I am thankful that I have not been tested like many who have given their lives for Jesus Christ. The world will never be able to offer what only Jesus Christ can give. I am also thankful that "Jesus is Lord". 04/29/2025 Have you ever asked the question, "What did I do to deserve this?" If you think about Job in the bible he was put in his position because of a conversation between God and Satan. God was proud of Job when Satan accused him of serving God because he was given everything. God replied, "Not so!" and the challenge began. We have to remember that God does give us everything and when trials happen it may be from nothing we have done. Who knows but God may be showing us off to the enemy. It is important like Job that we persevere. We don't have to like it but people are watching us. If we reflect a Christ like attitude people will ask questions and even want what we have. This could be the difference between heaven and hell. And if we persevere it can be just like Job, God can greatly bless us in the end. The book of Job was put in the bible for a reason to explain why things may happen in our lives. Lets think like Job and not abandon our King when everything seems to be coming against us. Have you ever thought that the enemy has challenged God in your life to prove your Love is not real for Jesus. Let's strive to prove the enemy wrong. Jesus is still Lord in my life and I need the Holy Spirit to keep me strong enough to handle life's challenges in a proper attitude. 04/28/2025 Philippians 2:5-8 NLT You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. If you are experiencing attacks from the enemy you are getting there. The more you conform to Christ, the more angry the enemy gets. The amount you get on his nerves, tells you how much you are serving God. Keep up the effort because "Jesus is Lord". We probably can put our names in place of Peters in this verse. Luke 22:31-32 NLT Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. Our King does not want us to fail. 04/24/2025 How many of us have thought how cool it would to be an angel instead of being human. After all they can be anywhere at any time. As far as I know they do not die either. But before you think it is greener on the other side of the fence, why did Jesus lay his life down for us if we are not cool. Peter describes that even the angels wonder what it would be like to be human: 1 Peter 1:10-12 NLT 10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. 12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. Jesus makes it possible for us to come back to him. The angels do not have this privilege of being his after they reject God. Maybe the angels are wishing they were us. We need to appreciate how God created us. The angels even know that God created us to be cool in his own way. Jesus - "King of kings" over us and the angels. 04/23/2025 This is one of those verses that even so called Christians do not take seriously: Romans 14:11 NIV It is written: "As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God." When those students proclaimed "Jesus is Lord", they were mocked and the zero reverence that was shown to our King. "Jesus is Lord" is about as truthful a statement as you could ever make. Those serving the devil will say it is not so. Have you ever wondered what large event God is going to do to get everyone to wake up and take this verse seriously? I have a feeling this event will shake everyone to the core to get us to honor Christ the way he should be. I pray that we can get this figured out and continue to be witnesses to the ungodly before we are taken down this path. We have to live this verse before we can show others how to do it. God will be the first to tell you that even I need improvement in this area of reverence to our King. We need to recognize our shortfalls in order to make changes. "Jesus is Lord!!!" 04/21/2025 How many of us have been paying attention to the White House secretary "Karoline Leavitt". I do know that she is an amazing talented individual, but I sense there is more than just that. Some of the people who work around her have exposed what makes her so exceptional. They set up a camera and recorded what she said before she entered the conference room. She prayed just this simple prayer: "Lord Jesus, please give us the strength, the knowledge, the ability to articulate our words, have fun, and be confident in Jesus' name. Amen." I believe the Holy Spirit is going to do some amazing things through her. One thing I like about this is the proof you do not need long winded prayers to get God's attention. She spoke out loud what she wanted. God loves to hear our audible voice when we pray just as long as we are not like the Pharisees. Another point to be made is she prayed before she entered the conference room. She knows the enemy will be in that room to confront her. You and I can do exactly what she did to have the power of God on our side when we confront the enemy. So much power is available in prayer when we use it to glorify our King. Jesus Christ - Commander and chief Proverbs 3:6 NKJV 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 04/14/2025 If I had to pick a person that I would love to meet, it would be President Trump. Would the desire to meet what the world calls "cool people" consume oneself that we would begin to ignore what world calls "not cool people" around us? James talks about having favorites. James 2:1-8 NLT A Warning against Prejudice 2 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? 2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? 5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear? 8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus was always stopping to talk to people who were defined as "scum". Whenever he did this, he changed their lives. Many people even today struggle with self-esteem. As real Christians we can change that by showing love talking to all people. Eventually you will get to share the gospel with them. This could be the difference between going to "heaven" or "hell". One thing I do know is that meeting President Trump is for my benefit, not his. I need to make sure my desires do not come between me and what the world calls "ordinary people". Even though "Jesus is Lord", it never prevented him from speaking to "ordinary people". Jesus expects the same from us. 04/06/2025 We call ourselves Christians but so many of us are focused on what we can get out of a church to fit our needs but never ask what God can do with our lives to empower the church that may be lacking in places. Once we become united in Christ he will split us up into the proper areas to build up his church, not to satisfy our needs but his needs. Paul says that until we become united in Christ we will miss out on Gods spiritual blessings. Ephesians 1:3 NLT Spiritual Blessings 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. What is really cool is how God was planning for his Son to step in for us even before he made Adam: Ephesians 1:4-8 NLT 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. In the old testament we had to go through a human priest to get to God. Jesus eliminated the middle man by letting himself be our high priest. When you compare the way the people did it in the old testament, Jesus changed it all by the shedding of his own blood. We have it so easy today because of that sacrifice he made for us just because he loved us. All Jesus wants from us in return is a personal relationship with him and for us to love others to show what Jesus means to us in our own lives. He wants to shower us with his kindness, along with all wisdom and understanding. Jesus will continue to walk with us forever if we let him. Jesus is Lord!!! 04/03/2025 This is one of those verses that God wanted me to dig deeper on: Hebrews 12:2 (New Living Translation) We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. The last part of this verse also talks about us. We should have that same joy this verse talks about when we serve our King while facing trials. Granted, I do not know my position in heaven but I do know that even the back row is going to be amazing. We owe everything to our King. I am glad "Jesus is Lord". He has earned his position by God's throne. 04/02/2025 Paul knew what was going to happen to him while he was serving God. Jesus also knew and told his disciples exactly what he was about to face: Matthew 20: 17-19 NLT As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” Neither Paul or Jesus ran from their calling. It takes a real man to know what he about to face and keep his composer. The Holy Spirit is also a key player here. Many times God keeps our future hidden from us because we probably couldn't handle it. It was even tough for Jesus when he sweated the drops of blood from what he was about to face. He could have ran but he knew God's plan needed to be fulfilled. He finished because he loved us and wanted to honor our Father in Heaven. Our entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven would not be possible if our Lord did not finish the task given to him. Jesus - "King of kings". Let's treat him as such. 04/01/2025 What political party does this verse remind you of? Psalm 14:1 (New Living Translation) Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! If you need a hint, it is the one who hates President Donald Trump. He is a man God raised up to clean up America no matter which party you side with. I am counting the days when we can say, "America, one nation under Jesus Christ." After all, we know that "Jesus is Lord". When this day happens we will see as normal prayer and bibles in our schools again. Who knows what other wonders we may also see. 03/30/2025 My pastor is doing a series on the sermon on the mount. We talked today about the most lied about verse in the bible relating to judgement: 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. All things that men do have to be judged in order to determine whether it is sin or not. People will go to hell if we are silent. The question is how do we judge. Are we living like the world in constant sin? If so, words hold no power other then showing one is a hypocrite. Remember our goal is to please our King by showing a Christ like love and living a Christ like life. We must do both. Paul nails the lid on the coffin on judgement. You will be judged no matter what: 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 NLT 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. This is different then the forgiveness of sins. It is "What have I been doing with my life that God gave me." Since "Jesus is Lord" it is never to late to start making changes now. I too am continually making changes even today because I have "fallen short of God's glorious standard". 03/28/2025 Have you ever wondered why there is so much demonic control of our government today? What do you think about what Timothy said about this? 1 Timothy 2:1-6 NLT Instructions about Worship 2 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. 2 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. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. What would our leaders look like today if we seriously prayed for our leaders like Timothy wrote? I guarantee that we would be in a different world today just because of the power of prayer. Timothy also confirmed that there is only one path to salvation through Jesus Christ - the true King of kings! 03/27/2025 I am sure that we all remember this: Romans 13:1-7 NLT 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. Now lets see what Jesus did to people in authority: Luke 13:31-32 NLT Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem 31 At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!” 32 Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Sounds a little disrespectful to me to someone in authority. Unless Jesus recognizes that the Fathers authority precedes mans authority. Jesus always got the goat of the religious leaders whenever he healed someone on the Sabbath. John was no better when he challenged Herod. He too recognizes God's authority over mans. Matthew 14:3-4 NLT 3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip). 4 John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.” After John challenged Herod's authority, Jesus said: Matthew 11:11-12 NLT 11 “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! 12 And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it. Jesus continues to say bad things about the religious to his disciples. Matthew 16:5-12 NLT Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees 5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? 9 Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? 10 Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? 11 Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’” 12 Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. When your authority figures live for the enemy this part flips, "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." Now, if you do not live to sin they want to throw you in prison for doing what is right. Our constitution inspired by God has the death penalty for treason and crimes against humanity. It is great when these demonic authority figures are destroyed. Did you know that when America was growing that they would add another person to represent those new people. When we reached 430 plus congressmen they found out how chaotic things were becoming so they capped the number. They are now placing more people under one representative. Could you imagine what it would be like if 300 million people tried to run the government on there own. God also knew that and that is why we have people in authority to represent us and why he gets so angry when we do not abide by authority guidelines. He actually has our best interest at heart. Jesus and John also show that God's authority is greater then man's and we should put his authority first just like Jesus and John did. Make sure you are doing what God actually tells you to do and not to be rebellious. One sure sign if you are obeying God is that it reveals that "Jesus is Lord" 03/25/2025 How many people do you encounter each day who are like Paul: 2 Thessalonians 3:1 NLT Paul’s Request for Prayer Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Paul was asking for prayer from a letter. What if the prayer request came from a contact? I had a friend who said, "Always pray for a person right now. You never know if it could mean the difference between life and death." I try to live by that philosophy and actually pray for someone now. When you give up your time to stop to pray with someone, it shows love to that person. There is a lot of danger in just saying that you will pray for someone. Distractions of day-to-day living can sweep that promise to pray for someone under the rug. That means that person just lost what prayer could have given him: 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. Jesus prayed even with the authority God gave him. No wonder "Jesus is Lord" 03/23/2025 How many of us have taken the time to right down all the things we worry about and mark the ones that actually happen. You will find that many of the things we worry about never come true. We forget about the awesome King we have who watches over his flock. Peter knew about it: 1 Peter 5:7 NLT 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. and Jesus the master shepherd said this: 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.” If you are living for the King, what are you all so worried about. After all, "Jesus is Lord" Those of you living your own life apart from Jesus Christ should be concerned. Jesus will honor your choice but the real estate in hell that you will receive is bad. This is definitely something to worry about. 03/21/2025 I am getting a lot of verses from the letters of Peter lately. I feel God is about to purge the lukewarm people from his church: 1 Peter 2 NLT 2 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. Could you imagine what a church would be like if people did what Peter talked about. The spiritual war that is coming needs people who are on fire for Jesus Christ. The enemy will not even want to be near such a place. I believe the day of this kind of church is coming. If you are like me you blow it once in a while when it comes to getting rid of all evil behavior. The important thing is to recognize it and continue to work to get rid of it. The Holy Spirit is willing to help out because he knows that "JESUS IS LORD"
