Thoughts ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZONPRTOFF dateof comment Look Inside Data Conditions:Order: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14| Dateof Comment 05/08/2022 What does it mean to belong to Jesus Christ? Paul has a good definition: 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! This means we should be changing from the sinful life to one that looks more righteous. But this new life should mean that we have fewer sins to forgive because we are living a new life. Only when Jesus forgives our sins can we be righteous. Proverbs says: Proverbs 13:9 9 The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. The last part of this verse talks about the wicked. Jesus Christ came to snuff out our dirty flame with a bright one. This bright light will capture the ungodly's attention. You may get mocked by some but others are going to want what you have. Colossians 4:5-6 (New Living Translation) Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. By reading God's word we learn how to live wisely. His Holy Spirit perfects it. The unbelievers will see something different about you especially if they knew you before you were saved. They will begin to realize that you can be trusted and will see that God and Jesus are real because of this change. The longer you live under Christ the more difficult it will be for the enemy to find dirt on you. This is great if your passion is to bring this nation back to Christ by running for a political office. Your reputation will be almost spotless. Because the Holy Spirit is guiding your speach, your words you speak will have an impact on the nonbeliever. Because of the Spirit's wisdom they will only be able to lie about you. They will lose in a fair debate on godly topics. Nothing can match the Holy Spirits wisdom. 05/07/2022 Because the grace of Jesus Christ we are now part of his family. Now what. What is God's will now that we are serving Jesus Christ. Thessalonians list the three things that God is looking for 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (New Living Translation) Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. What is joy? This word is different then happiness which is temporary. Getting a new car is happiness. 5 years from now the car will not bring the same results. Joy is more permanent because the enemy tries to remove it from us. It is fun to watch dedicated people who serve God. They may even have more joy then they started. I feel that joy is given by Jesus Christ. He alows us the experience joy. Keep serving the Lord to keep your joy levels high. Thankfulness is a form of worship. If we can thank God for the Blessings he has given us even during the bad days opens up a gate for the next thing. God loves it when we pray after giving thanks for the seen and unseen blessings. Just living in the United States makes us better off the 90% of the world. Why do we pray? James 4:3 Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong, you want only what will give you pleasure. We pray to have God help with our needs and to increase our faith. We are relying on him. Even though he knows our thoughts he wants us to speak out our prayers. Even the Holy Spirit audibly speaks to God so why should we not do the same. Grab a friend and make your prayers more powerful. Mathew 18:19 19 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." These three things are the will of God in our lives 05/06/2022 John 9:31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. It is easy to get involved with life that we forget why God put us on this earth. They are: 1. Worship him 2. Make Disciples of all nations He gave a free will to worship him. He will not force it on us. We have to be nuts if we cannot see all the things he has done for us. Giving thanks to him is a form of Worship. Anything that Glorifies our God is worship. Jesus gave us the next step. Something that greatly honors him: Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." All of us can do what Christ commanded. It still can be challenging. That is why he sent his Holy Spirit to help us. We still need to know God's Word to figure out the enemies moves. It is also so much easier to talk to others about God if you know who you are talking about. In Titus, Paul was sent to those God has chosen: Titus 1:1 I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. 2 This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised them before the world began. 3 And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him. God may give you a ministry where you only go after certain people. I notice these people seem to have a closer walk with Jesus. Try to get some ministry that requires that closer walk with Jesus. It increases your faith and trust in him. You will be more sensitive to the truth also. In the end, the same Gospel is being preached and hearts are being changed for Jesus Christ to place their names in the Lambs Book of Life. Prayer makes everything more effective. Paul served God well in the areas God placed him. Paul never forgot about the power of prayer when he accomplished his ministry. I sometime wonder when I missed an opportunity to talk about Jesus to someone what may have become of that person. Whatever; do not put yourself in a guilt trip but look for opportunities to share Christ today. 05/06/2022 The scriptures talk a lot about praying but how do we get power out of our prayers. James has the answer: James 5:16 (New Living Translation) 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. It is tough to confess one's sins to another but I guarantee it will make you humble. This is something God likes. Isaiah 66:2 I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. Now that we have humbled ourselves to Christ. Only Jesus Christ can make us righteous to the Father. After he forgives our sins and we begin to serve him he makes us righteous. Now we can begin to pray in power. James also tells us more about praying: James 4:3 Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong, you want only what will give you pleasure. Always check your motives when you pray for wants. Our King does do wants but many times they require a waiting period. Anything that Glorifies God and encourages or blesses his children are prayers he loves to answer. 05/05/2022 Since 2019 a lot of things have happened that are greatly affecting everyone in a mostly negative way. Do you find yourself getting worried. Just thinking about gas prices, the border, election fraud and child trafficking can drive you nuts. This is what Jesus has to say about it: Matthew 6:25-34 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? This is what Paul has to say about it. Philippians 4:6-7 (New Living Translation) 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. The key words here are praying and thanksgiving. The two things God enjoys us doing. This results in peace. The one thing neither one mentioned is that worry can translate into fear which is from the enemy vs God's method peace 05/05/2022 Have you noticed the breakdown in the morals in the United States. When they removed prayer in the schools in 1964 things started to decline to the point that abortion was legalized. This was the beginning of the breakdown talked about in Hosea: Hosea 4:6-7 New Living Translation 6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. God warned Hosea what would happen to us when we began to forget who God is and what he stands for. He also warned what would happen to pastors who have know idea who he is. God will reject you and shut your churches down. He is only interested in pastors who speak the truth. That also goes for us fathers. We need to speak truth to our children. No wonder we are starting to miss out on God's blessings. Teaching is important to God. Just look at some of these verses: Jeremiah 8:8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? Jeremiah 8:9 These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all? Matthew 5:20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! Matthew 23:13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. Matthew 23:15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are! This is something to think about when we bring someone to the Lord. We need to know who God is to be able to disciple them. 05/04/2022 There is no other verse in the Bible that can greatly change the destiny of a nation than this one: 2 Chronicles 7:14 (New Living Translation) Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. "my people who are called by my name" means the ungodly are not considered his people. It is those who are chosen by him. He is looking for us to do something to change the destiny of a nation. Notice the order these things are in. I believe it is the order of importance: 1. "humble themselves" means it is time become a servant and put aside our selfish desires. 2. Pray - Acknowledge to the Father that things are not right in the nation and ask him for help to change things. 3. Seek my face - Learn more about God and what he wants. 4. Sin - Acknowledge that there is sin in your life. Ask Jesus for forgiveness and honor him by living like he would. This is exactly what happened in 2020. God has heard the prayers of his people and is going to change this nation. It is already happening. The Supreme Court has overturned "Roe Vs Wade" on abortion. This is only the beginning. Do not fret if you were not one of those who prayed. Jesus still needs us to stand for him. This verse says it all: James 4:6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” It is now time for us to change a nation. 05/03/2022 God did send his son. He not only came for the forgiveness of sins but to assist us by his Holy Spirit. John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Now that he is in our midst, why don't we trust that is enough. He is with us to the end. So fear is from the enemy. Romans 12:12 (New Living Translation) Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying Pray for things that glorify God's Kingdom. Stay away from selfish desires when praying. 1 John 5:14-15 (New Living Translation) And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. This is a promise if what you are praying for glorifies God's Kingdom. A new pickup or house could glorify his Kingdom. A pickup could serve gangs and a home could be used to reach children. It can be fun and still glorify his Kingdom. Your heart will show if you have impure motives. 05/02/2022 What makes Paul different then most Christians? Like him, we pray for people and things. But what separates him from most of us is what prayer cannot do. How many of us pray and do nothing to show what we believe in. This is like praying against abortion and not supporting and encouraging people who do. We are afraid to rock the boat so we do nothing. What is even worse is when we pray against things God hates and vote for people who do the very things God hates. God loves his children and abortion is one of those things he hates the most. There are many candidates who hate abortion but are despised because of mean tweets. So the abortionist is elected to office to fight against God. Does this make sense? We need to know what God wants and to begin to fight for him. The next thing is to love people like Paul who was a great man of God. In his letters he encouraged people and the churches while glorifying Jesus Christ in the process, encouraging believers and revealing things that the believers needed to change. Everything he did was done in love for his audience. Philemon was a good example: Philemon 1:4-7 4 I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, 5 because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's people. 6 And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ. 7 Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God's people. Philemon was encouraged by Paul for the things he accomplished. The part "I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ" was that he needed share with others what Jesus Christ has done for him. A little constructive criticism here. But he finished up the verses with encouragement. Always end your talk with encouragement. Do you notice that he encouraged what he did for God's people first then ended with what he did by bringing him joy and comfort. As Christians we need to be bold like Paul; encouraging people and steering people on the proper path while doing it in love. But you better know what the Word of God says before you challenge the actions of people. 05/01/2022 Why is it that every religion people say they have faith in their gods. How do you know if your faith is real? A CSU professor once told me I know a lot about all religions because I RECEIVED my master's degrees in it. He said Jesus Christ was the only one I observed that was capable of transforming lives. I never have seen it happen in the other religions. That means Jesus is really alive. This verse says it all: Romans 1:20 (New Living Translation) For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Creation shows that there is a God. His word makes promises to us but it also talks about being tested. God wants to know if you are willing to stand with him by testing you. I have had moments myself where I was feeling God was about to let me down but he came through in plenty of time. The devil is always trying to deceive us about our Father letting us down. He even tried it on Jesus in the wilderness. We need to figure this out. Again his word is the answer to solve this problem and prayer. The Holy Spirit will also build your faith. It may be time to be born again in the Spirit. Hebrews 11:6 (New Living Translation) 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. "Let us seek him" is a faith builder in itself. 04/30/2022 Have you ever wondered why there's so much division in the church and amongst Christians. If you ever watch small kids interact with each other you will encounter childish behavior. As adults we usually mature out of this because we learn what is proper. In the same manner our spiritual lives remain like children because we do not spend enough time or any time at all in God's word to find out what God wants. Sometimes even the Word is not enough. We many times need to pray to God so his Spirit will reveal the full meaning of his Word. I myself have found excuses to do something else and have missed out on what he wants to show me. Ephesians 4:14 (New Living Translation) Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Two examples of fake truth are living together before you get married and allowing other gods to infiltrate our nation. Both of these the Bible speaks against. I dare anyone to prove this is not fake truth. Ephesians 4:15 (New Living Translation) Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Paul tell us how to speak the truth. His word tells us how to become more and more like Jesus Christ. Notice that Paul uses the words "more and more" which means we should be growing in Christ all the time. We should never become stagnant. 04/29/2022 In Job 19 up to this point Job has lost his wealth and human relationship: 14 My relatives have gone away; my closest friends have forgotten me. Nobody even wants to see him: 15 My guests and my female servants count me a foreigner; they look on me as on a stranger. And his family detests him: 17 My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family. But he still has faith In God and sees the coming of Jesus Christ. Job 19:25 (New International Version) I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And he is still looking towards God Kingdom through it all: 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! When it all falls apart are we going to abandon God or are we going to keep our eyes on him. Job was rich in the beginning then lost it all. But by sticking it out with God it was all restored. It is important that when things are looking down that we continue walking with our King. 04/28/2022 We all talk about making sacrifices to be able to accomplish things. But have we ever thought about the sacrifice Jesus made to accomplish things for us. Philippians 2:5-8 (New Living Translation) 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. Now this is what true sacrifice is about. We will never go to the depth of sacrifice he made for us. Isn't it time for us to honor that sacrifice. All he wants from us is a servants heart and to boldly preach the gospel about him. This is still no comparison to what he did. 04/27/2022 Luke 19:10 (New Living Translation) For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Solomon the wisest man to ever walked the earth had his moments where wisdom escaped him. He even received his wisdom from God. 2 Chronicles 1:10 Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?” There is a saying that stupid people do not realize they are stupid but the wise know there is always more to learn. That even comes to God's word. Some things are hidden to be Revealed at a later time. Ecclesiastes 7:23 23 I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, "I am determined to be wise." But it didn't work. 24 Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find. 25 I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness. David knew his Lord could help with bringing wisdom closer. Psalm 19:7 7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. This verse says keep your eyes on the Lord. Solomon was right about wickedness making you stupid. It used to be you could look at a new born baby and could tell the sex. Now they can't tell any more. They need to consult a biologist. Look at what is madness; placing a mask on our kids who are impervious to the virus which easily passes through the mask. This is true madness and stupidity we are facing today. This the result of taking our eyes off the things of the true God. 04/26/2022 The one cool thing about Jesus is he can dialogue with our Father anytime. This is something the priests could not do. We can come to Jesus anytime and lay our issues at his feet. Anytime we can ask for the forgiveness of our sins and he will present us as a clean offering to God. Hebrews 7:25 (New Living Translation) Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. You do not have to break in a new high priest when they died. Since he conquered death we will always have him interceding for us. We need to honor him by reaching out and bringing people into the Kingdom of God by how we live and by our words. 04/25/2022 It is open doors for the rest of us when the Jews rejected Jesus. I am grateful that WE ARE HIS ALSO: Colossians 1:27-28 (New Living Translation) For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. "And this is the secret: Christ lives in you." is what it takes. That personal relationship of Jesus Living in us is what makes us effective witnesses. If you want to set the world on fire for Christ let him set you on fire first. 04/24/2022 Blue Mustang: Man there is a lot in Ecclesiastes 7:8-10. Here are my thoughts: Ecclesiastes 7:8-10 8 Finishing is better than starting. The reward of finishing can lift one Spirits in a job well done. Starting to many projects can be depressing. Philippians 3:14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful Patience is better than pride. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is patience but pride is not one of them. The Spirit knows best. 9 Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool. Only human anger can do this. This usually happens with rage and it can destroy your cool factor. Jesus proved righteous anger can honor God. He did it in the temple twice with the tables. James 1:19 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 10 Don't long for "the good old days." This is not wise. This one can hold us back from the things that God wants to do in our lives. If we are serving him properly we should be excited today because we serve the winning God. Think about it: Why would God be cool back then and now today he is a drag. That is not the God I serve. You are not serving God; well that may be your problem. Start serving him today and now will become the "good old days". Try to stop this one. Jesus is worthy and the true God is amazing. Everthing else serves the devil. The true God get the Glory and the Victory. Romans 14:11 (New Living Translation) For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’” Just laid down for the night thank you so much for your prayers 72 Gang Members gave their hearts to Jesus Christ this weekend our King gets all the Glory and the Victory 04/22/2022 As an American I have no problem seeing God in creation. When I went to college, I had a cource in thermodynamics. The 2nd law is that everything goes from a higher order to a lower order. This means great amounts of energy have to be used to counter the 2nd law. This is why God is important to creation. He is the only one who has the energy to pull it off. Boy did he do a good job. Romans 1:20 (New Living Translation) For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. We are still needed. Some say their god created the earth. Its our job to tell them about the true God and Jesus. We should live and love like Christ to convince those who have rebelled against God what they are missing. 04/21/2022 John 3:16 is the most encouraging verse in the Bible because of Gods promise and the things Jesus accomplished as a man: 16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. Now this is what Jesus had to say in all of this: John 10:28-30 (New Living Translation) I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” Jesus confirms that He and the Father are in total agreement. But look how hard Jesus is fighting for us. The devil is going to have a battle to take us. This is true love having a high priest that even fights for us while presenting us as clean to the Father because he shed blood for us. If only we had friends like that. Of course, I need to be a friend like that to someone. My blood cannot forgive other people's sins but I can forgive those who sin against me and I can pray that God can bring change to their hearts and blessing into their lives. After all Jesus came to demonstrate how to live the godly life. It is all written about in God's word. 04/19/2022 Have you ever thought about what it's like to live in this time where Jesus Christ came to earth and conquered death for us. Those who lived prior to Jesus were missing out on the things we take for granted. Until Jesus rose from the dead, they only had the bondage of the law. A lot of animal sacrifices were needed to cover their sins. What Jesus did was amazing. He really simplified things along with giving ALL OF US access to the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (New Living Translation) But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. Notice in this verse that we all belong to Adam to die and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. But everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. That means spending eternity in heaven. But how do you know where you are going: Romans 10:9-10 (New International Version) If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. If this is true you are saved. But now it is time to serve Jesus Christ and exalt him to others. We want to Glorify the name of Jesus Christ. It may be a battle to take the gospel to others because you are agervating the devil when you are obedient to our King. You will be honored if you continue to stand for him. Matthew 10:32-34 New Living Translation 32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. 34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. Jesus Christ holds the ONLY key into the Kingdom of God. Everything else means spending eternity in the Lake of Fire. John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Jesus will never give up on us and never sets us up to fail: John 3:16 New Living Translation 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
