Pastor, Speaker, Author, Counselor
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We are not told that we will be loved by others, we are told to love others. Jesus said they hated Him they will hate you, yet He loved them anyway,He loved them enough to share the way the truth and His life with everyone. He loved us enough to take our punishment for sin and die upon a cross, for while we were enemies Christ died for us. This love Jesus lived was commanded to be given and shown by us, this love Jesus spoke of is not natural, it is supernatural and only by listening to and following the Holy Spirit are we able to do so. You maybe asking; what does this love look like? “He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 CSB “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?” Matthew 5:43-47 CSB “Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me. “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:23-26 CSB This amazing love, brings us peace, joy, grace, and hope,this love sets us free from the bondage of hatred, anxiety, un-forgiveness, and anger against others, this love shows the world the nature of Christ in us, who on the cross as He gasped for air, said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” We all struggle to show this love to others, and ourselves, but we must for in this love is life, and the life we live is for Christ and not our own, how can others see Christ in us if we behave the same way the world does? God's word says this: “If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.” 1 Corinthians 13:2-8 CSB The Bible doesn't tell us that Love was, or will be rather Love is, is means ever present, and that is how we are to live in the love of Christ every day! The enemy wants us to live in bondage Christ wants us to live in freedom, that freedom is only found in Him. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to love as Christ does, for His love is patient, kind, it is not envious, boastful, arrogant or rude, His love is not self-seeking or irritable, it keeps no record of wrong, He finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in truth, this love we receive and must share with others, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things and this Love never ends. Now is the time to live and love as Christ has called us to, come be free in Christ today!
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One of the hardest things we all go through is watching someone fade away from this life into eternity, it is hard to watch a loved one prepare for death, it is hard to see them suffer and not be able to do anything to help or change the situation. It is just as hard when we lose someone unexpectedly, to a tragedy or health reasons, or age, we are never prepared for death even though we know it comes, it is a curse upon this world and all who inhabit it.
God’s word tells us that the sting of sin is death, we the living feel the sting when we lose a loved one, it hurts even as Christians when we know they are in heaven in the presence of the Lord. But our hope is not in this life, it is in Christ. It is okay for us to grieve, to ask for peace, strength and wisdom from the Holy Spirit who knows we are hurting, we should turn to Him for our comfort, and help, for He groans our prayers to God our Father when we don’t know what to pray. God knows our pain, He is the only who can and will understand all we go through, let Him speak to us as only He can. Jesus broke the curse of sin and death, and because He lives, we live for He is the resurrection and the life, and He is in us, we are in Him and He is in the Father and God’s word tells us we have the victory over these things only because of Jesus. It is hard around the holidays when we celebrate, when there are empty spots around us where loved ones used to sit, we feel that sting again, this year ask God who made the world and everything in it, who gives everyone life and breath, to fill that painful sting with His grace, hope, and love. Let us give thanks and rejoice in the fact that we had such loved ones in our lives and now they are with Christ, where we all long to be, they no longer suffer, they no longer age, they no longer are burdened by this world, they are free indeed. Our faith, our hope our promise of love and life eternal are not in this world which is perishing, they are only in Christ Jesus who is alive! Let us give thanks and praise God's holy name for He is good. God’s word says this: “So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:3-4 CSB “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her. Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:23-26 CSB “But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be abolished is death. For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all. But God gives it a body as he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body. Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor. So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 38-49, 51-58 CSB Remember the hymn, ”All that thrills my soul is Jesus, He is more than life to me”
How sweet are those words, when Christ is more than life to us, we can praise Him always, for His graceful nail pierced hands will carry us through whatever we face, wherever we go, for He is with us always, even to the ends of the earth. Do we praise and thank God at all times, for being with us when we are in the wilderness and in the land of plenty? Thank you, Jesus, for carrying me this far, and than you for this I know, you will carry me all the way home! God's word says this: “God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. My lips will glorify you because your faithful love is better than life. So I will bless you as long as I live; at your name, I will lift up my hands. You satisfy me as with rich food; my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.” Psalms 63:1-5 CSB I hear all the time, why does this happen to me? Why is this going on all around us? Where is God when these things happen?
While these questions on the surface seem like they are legitimate, if we would stop and evaluate ourselves by looking intently in the mirror of God's word, we just might see the problem: us. Things happen because we live in a fallen world that is cursed by sin and death, other times God is working on getting our attention. Either way, God can use these things for our good and His glory, if we are His. When we can't recognize the problem, we should start by looking in the mirror. We pray without seeking God and as if He sits wringing His hands waiting on us to talk with Him, 90 % of the time people pray only in the course of tragedy, instead, we should be in a constant state of prayer. We skim the scriptures without God's power and revelation seeing what we want to see because we do not ask the Holy Spirit to speak, we only lean on our own wisdom. We lie to each other and God, we steal, are angry and selfish, we lust and we put everyone and everything before God and then wonder why God doesn't hear us. The problem is not God, it is us. When is the last time you repented? Most believe they do not need to. God requires repentance and obedience, these are not optional. We don't get to live the way we choose, we are to live as Christ commands, love the Lord our God with all our hearts, mind and souls, and love our neighbors as ourselves, if you think you can disobey Him and go to heaven your wrong, you do not belong to Him. Repentance and obedience go together go look in the mirror, for the person you see is the problem that needs to be fixed, ask God for wisdom and where you are living wrong and then repent and ask for His help only God can do this. God’s word says this: “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it? “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers! ’” Matthew 7:13-16, 21-23 CSB ““I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.”John 10:25-27 CSB ““If you love me, you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17 CSB My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works — this person will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.James 1:19-27 The areas God is not first in our lives are the areas we don't trust Him.
Christ gave His all so we can become children of God, once we are in God's hands there is no safer place we can be, why would we not trust God with all He has given us? Our marriages, our children, our grandchildren, our parents, our siblings, our homes, everything in our homes, our vehicles, our friends, our health, our jobs, our finances, our neighborhoods, our states, our nation, our world, all are His to give to us and He has freely’ God gives to us and we hold back what we think is ours, everything is His, put it back in His hands where nothing can take it, where it can't be lost. If we put it all back in Gods hands we have nothing to worry about, we have nothing to fear, for He is God and nothing will separate us from Him. We do a disservice to ourselves, our families, our nation, and God when we say we trust Him but hold on tightly to everything and everyone except Him. Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of our lives we need to turn over to God, for He is Lord over all. God’s word says this. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB “Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord.” Psalms 9:10 CSB “Many pains come to the wicked, but the one who trusts in the Lord will have faithful love surrounding him.” Psalms 32:10 CSB “How happy is anyone who has put his trust in the Lord and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies!”Psalms 40:4 CSB “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah” Psalms 62:8 CSB “Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust him and not be afraid, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.”Isaiah 12:2 CSB “but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.”Isaiah 40:31 CSB “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”Matthew 6:33 CSB If we spent as much time sharing God’s grace and love as we do trying to put His gift of salvation through Christ alone into a box that fits our thinking, maybe more people would come to Christ.
Here is what we need to know! Jesus only can save mankind. We can only share Jesus. A conversation between Charles Simeon and John Wesley He tried to be conciliatory in doctrinal disputes. Here is an example of how he conversed with the elderly John Wesley: Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian; and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist, and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin the combat, with your permission I will ask you a few questions. Pray, Sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature, so depraved that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put it into your heart? Yes, I do indeed. And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you can do; and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ? Yes, solely through Christ. But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works? No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last. Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power? No. What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother's arms? Yes, altogether. And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom? Yes, I have no hope but in Him. Then, Sir, with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism; this is my election my justification by faith, my final perseverance: it is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it; and therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things where in we agree. (Moule, 79ff.) God's word says this: “On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. But I ask, “Did they not hear?” Yes, they did: Their voice has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” Romans 10:8-18 CSB Most Christians never experience victory in their lives because they have never realized they are in a war, they live this life in the physical and not the spiritual, we are both physical and spiritual.
Until we stop trying to be gods, we will never be able to walk with God, surrendering our all is not optional it is required. Walking and living by faith is not a life of comfort, it is a life of conflict, no one is called to sit in a building and worship God, we are called to go, to make disciples, to battle evil by being salt and light. We will never have the peace of God in this life until we acknowledge He is Lord of all, starting with us. Take heart, God has already won the war, but He calls us to stand and He will fight the battles! God's word says this: ”He must increase, I must decrease.” John 3:30 CSB “We are not giving anyone an occasion for offense, so that the ministry will not be blamed. Instead, as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything: by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardships, by difficulties, by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger, by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God; through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, through glory and dishonor, through slander and good report; regarded as deceivers, yet true; as unknown, yet recognized; as dying, yet see — we live; as being disciplined, yet not killed; as grieving, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 CSB “For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 CSB We all go through storms in life, they are all part of our worlds fallen nature dating back to when Adam and Eve sinned against God and He removed them from the garden of Eden.
We cannot let these storms direct or control our lives, in times of conflict and chaos there is but one who can calm the storms that we are in His name is Christ Jesus, I wonder do you know Him? If you have put your faith in Christ, then trust Him to see you through, it is not easy, it is not joyful, storms, conflict, and chaos hurt, and are painful but Christ will help us endure. I love this passage in Matthew, we see that once we are in the boat with Jesus, there is no turning back, we will follow Him, He never says our lives will be storm free, He just says follow me, have faith in me, I will never leave you or abandon you. Whatever storm you're in today if you are a disciple of Christ, He is there with you, He alone will help you overcome the waves as they beat on you, trust Him, stand steadfast and immovable in your faith and know that He is there and in control. God's word says this: “As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves — but Jesus kept sleeping. So the disciples came and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to die!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!”” Matthew 8:23-27 CSB Where is your joy, in things you have or want, in others, in yourself?
Do you know all these things are temporary, they will go away and they will all let you down? We sacrifice the eternal for the temporary when we should exchange the temporary for the eternal. Joy is something that most people never experience, they might feel happy for a moment, proud, but joy not so much. Joy comes from inside our souls, it comes with a right relationship with Christ Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We try to fill that emptiness inside us with new, bright shining things or with a spouse or children, or with a promotion and more money, but in our pursuit for joy we encumber ourselves and get bogged down with things, and these things keep us from seeing what we are missing. Until we put Christ first in our lives we will not have joy, we might have temporary happiness but at what cost? Joy isn't found in our circumstances, joy isn't found in our accomplishments, joy isn't found in anything or anywhere except in Christ. Those who seek joy will never find it, to find joy we must first seek Christ, joy is given to us when we are in Him, the areas of our lives we have given Christ are the areas we have the most joy in, the areas we don't experience joy in are the areas we need to turn over to Him. Do you have joy in your life no matter what is going on around you? I don't find it joyous to struggle in my health, but I find joy in sharing Christ with others, I find joy in knowing that God is for me, I find joy in knowing my home is in heaven with Him for eternity and this is all temporary, my joy is in Christ, for He sought me and saved me, He changed me and continues to change me daily, He has great plans that He works in my life every day and He holds me and helps through everything. This I know what Christ has done for me and continues to do in my life, He will do in yours, if you don't have joy you're missing the greatest part of this life, today right now ask Christ Jesus to show you what joy is, surrender your life to Him, if you're His already and you're missing joy ask Christ to fill your life with His. If Christ found joy in the cross so you and I could be with Him for eternity, surely we can find joy in Him always no matter what is going on around us, for we know that this is all temporary and Heaven, where He lives, is eternal. Surrender it all to Him and have joy everlasting. That is how God created us to have an eternal relationship with Him, that is what Jesus prayed for us, it is time you stopped being robbed of all God has for you and start living in Him. God's word says this: “Now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy completed in them. I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth. “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation.” John 17:13-24 CSB “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 CSB “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25 CSB “Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8-9 CSB My prayer for America is that God will expose those who wish to destroy us, that He would save them and change them or remove them. That His hands of mercy and grace be upon this nation and His face shine on her people and He restores us to His glory.
For He alone is God, and He alone can change a persons heart, for He has changed and continues to change mine. God’s word says this. “Listen to my words, Lord; consider my sighing. Pay attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for I pray to you. In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly. For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot dwell with you. The boastful cannot stand in your sight; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who tell lies; the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people. But I enter your house by the abundance of your faithful love; I bow down toward your holy temple in reverential awe of you. Lord, lead me in your righteousness because of my adversaries; make your way straight before me. For there is nothing reliable in what they say; destruction is within them; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongues. Punish them, God; let them fall by their own schemes. Drive them out because of their many crimes, for they rebel against you. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May you shelter them, and may those who love your name boast about you. For you, Lord, bless the righteous one; you surround him with favor like a shield.” Psalms 5:1-12 CSB When we pray do we come to God as we should, humble yet bold? Asking, and not demanding? Seeking Him in love and obedience, or trying to get what we want?
Do we come confessing our sins and failures? Do we come admonishing God’s goodness, glory, love, grace, and His mercy He has for us? Do we rejoice in the facts He provides our daily needs, that He is with us always, that He has blessed us beyond measure and continues to do so even though we are undeserving? Do we come to God expecting Him to hear our prayers and answer them, or do we just speak hoping someone hears us? Do we come to God and surrender every part of our lives, ask Him to provide for us and protect us, to lead us from temptation, to keep us from harm and evil, do we ask Him to lead us and our families in His ways, Spiritually, physically and mentally? Do we come hopeless and helpless unless God answers us? If not we should. We should pray by casting all our Cares to God, we should come humbly and Confess- our sins Admonish- God as our Father Rejoice-in His goodness and mercy Expectant-God to answer you Surrender -all to Him God our Father is waiting, He has plans for each us, He asked us to bring our all, everything to Him, why would we hold back anything from God our Father? Why would we not want Him in every part of our lives? He is good, He is righteous, He is holy, He provides daily all we need, He provides a way of escape when we are tempted, He has provided for us a home in eternity with Him,He alone is worthy to be praised and honored, start by taking all our cares to Him and trust Him with all things, in all things, every day! God cares about you and me as His children it is time we care about the things of God and how we approach Him, He is Holy and we should come to Him as He is and cast our cares at His feet, He is our Heavenly Father, our Creator, our LORD, and Savior. God’s word says this: “Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”Matthew 21:21-22 CSB “Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” Romans 12:11-12 CSB “For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit — which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:13-18 CSB “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”Philippians 4:6-7 CSB “Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2 CSB “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit.”1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 CSB “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.”James 1:5-8 CSB Those who live their lives politically correct tell us we must respect everyone's religious beliefs, they are wrong, deadly wrong, acknowledge yes, respect no. These political correct priests fill the pulpits in many denominations, they fill the halls of our government, they fill the educator's role, the daily news, and talk show hosts, and they fill the hearts of ordinary people all across this land. Over the years I have learned and am still learning to acknowledge everyone's beliefs, but respect no, never! I will love them no matter what they choose, and be there for them always but I can not respect anyone's decision to die separated from God, for that is foolishness. Jesus said I am the Way, The Truth and the Life, No One comes to the Father except by Me. John 14:6... Mankind hates this about Christ because we are proud and sinful we have no way to heaven without Him. If you choose to reject Jesus, that is your choice, and I will acknowledge your choice and lack of belief, but I can never respect your choice, ever. That would be ludicrous on my part, to accept for you have condemned yourself to an eternity in hell, away from God! Charles Spurgeon said this” If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” Time here on earth is temporary, the devil is at work because he knows his time is short, pride, confusion, misdirection, and busyness keep people from surrendering to Christ. We must be about our Father's business, speaking the truth out of love, and leaving the results up to God, we can save no one, but we can share with them the truth of God's word, the love He gives freely and the only way to heaven. God's word says this: John 3:16“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God. “Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe; and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day. Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. In the same way these people — relying on their dreams — defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones. Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct — like irrational animals — by these things they are destroyed. Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion. These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn — fruitless, twice dead and uprooted. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever. It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.” These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage. But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit. But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Have mercy on those who waver; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.” Jude 1:5-25 CSB |
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