Excuses, Excuses,Excuses

Jesus said to them, “Follow Me. I will make you fish for men.  Matthew 4:19

"I wont become a Christian because of the things that Christians do".  Have you ever heard that excuse before? What about this excuse ?  "I refuse to become a Christian because all Christians are hypocrites."  EXCUSES!, EXCUSES!, EXCUSES. I will be willing to pay you money if you can tell me that you have heard these excuses before. "The reason that  I wont go to the grocery store to buy groceries is because  all of the employees at the grocery store steals." or "I  refuse to accept my paycheck from my employer because my boss is a liar."  Well, do I owe you some money? Of course I don't.  No, you will never, ever hear of anyone using those excuses. Why? Because those are things that meets their physical needs, but when their very need of salvation is at stake, they would rather allow the lives of others to dictate where they will spend eternity.

I am not making light of what we Christians have done to bring shame to the name of Christ. SHAME ON US!. We need to start living out the things that we profess that we believe, but by no means does this negate others decisions to follow Christ. In I Corinthians 11:1 Paul said "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." Did Paul say, imitate me as I imitate Barnabas? By no means did he say that,  and Barnabas was a great example of "a godly man". Paul imitated the one who died for his sins; the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 In order for someone to sit back and observe the behavior of another, and from their observation,  determine whether the behavior is wrong or right, it is obvious that, that person knows what is morally right. If they know the behavior is wrong, why do they use it as the standard?

 Let's examine this for a second, because I am not sure that they realize it, but in their own examination and conclusion about not following Christ,  because of their fixation on  someone;  who happens to be human just like they are; they have made man as the example of why "Christanity is not the real deal." Before Jesus ascended into heaven, did He say that man was to be the standard, in which another should live?  He most certainly did not!!! You foolish man, do you not know that Jesus entrusted Himself to no man, because He knew man's heart. It is not others who causes you not to follow Christ, it is because you have made a decision within your heart not to do so. You have shut God out of your life. Woe is you!!! The late pastor Adrian Rogers once said "if God is for you who can be against you, but if God is against you, then who can be for you". Amen

 The book of Romans speaks of such people who consistently abandons God. It tells of how God eventually abandons them (Romans 1:24,26,28). It tell us three times in Romans Chapter 1 that God gave them up to do whatever they were inclined to do. This is something to take note of because God will never abandon anyone who calls upon His name, but in Romans,  He leaves these people to do whatever appears to be right in their own eyes. That is scary. They have become their own righteousness and therefore they do not feel a need for God. Where do you think these people will spend eternity? Have you said in your heart there is no God? Who is your righteouness? Is it man? Where will you spend eternity? I pray that it is with Christ.


Everyone has as much of Jesus that they want.`Adrian Rogers

Bow Down And Worship For This Is Your God

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:30 (NASB)

 

 

 

It is Jesus, the One who left the glories of heaven to ransom us; It is Jesus, the One who became sin so that we would not have to die in our sins. It is Jesus, the One who was cursed upon a tree, so that we would not be cursed for eternity. It is Jesus who raised Himself up from the dead and will one day raise us up, to live with Him throughout eternity. Bow down and worship, for this is your God.

 

 

 

Everything that is within me blesses your Name, again and again. Crying Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive our greatest adoration. Jesus Son of God is His Name.~ Nicole Mullens

A Fool For Christ

A Fool For Christ

We are fools for Christ. But you are so wise in Christ! We are weak. But you are so strong! You are honored. But we are looked down on!  Up to this very hour we are hungry and thirsty. We are dressed in rags. We are being treated badly. We have no homes. We work hard with our own hands. When others call down a curse on us, we bless them. When we are attacked, we put up with it.
 I Corinthians 4:10-12 (NIRV)

This month I took the challenge of "blog like crazy" for 30 day and I cant think of anything better to do than to boast in the Lord. Today we are to blog about our intentions for this month.  My intentions for the Month of November is to focus on the greatness of God. Sometimes I become distracted by people and I become discouraged. I forget in the darkness of the  night what the Lord has taught me in the day about His dependability. This is when I become like Peter and begin to sink, no not on water but on land. I sink into invisible quick sand, which is of my own creation. Because I start listening to the lies of the enemy.  He is a powerful foe and the enemy of our souls and  but he is no match for the Lover of our souls. God went to great lengths to redeem me and no one can snatch me from His hand.

A good friend of mine once talked about how she allowed people in her life to treat her unkindly, then she said an amazing thing happened in her life: "they made the mistake and let me find out that Jesus loved me."  Yes that is what transforms lives, it is only the  love of Jesus that can perform a true heart transplant. It changed Isaiah in the year that King Uzziah died, It changed Joseph when he was in a foreign land and it change Paul on the road to Damascus. It changed me also and that is why I get so restless and frustrated in this world. I have to remind myself that I am restless and frustrated here because I long for heaven. He will come soon but in the mean time, I must live as an ambassador for Christ. I must live in such a way that people long for the God I serve. I want the passion that I have for the Lord to cause others to want to follow me to my real home.

So for 30 day I will blog like I am crazy for Jesus.  I can and I will do this for Jesus. You see, I am ashamed to say that there was a time in my life that I was crazy for so many things and for so many people, but I am so proud to say that I am a fool for Christ.  Hallelujah What A Savior.

Twice Pardoned

Acts 20: 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

We were having family time last night and as we took turns telling the Lord of what we were thankful to Him for, my granddaughter Darcel said " I'm thankful to God for not allowing me to die like all of those other babies who died because their parents weren't married, even though they still went to heaven, they had to die in order to go there, but he chose to  let me live." I then asked her, since God had spared her life what did she think he wanted her to do with it?  and she did not hesitate to say that " He wants me to live my life for Him".

That was an awe inspiring moment for me. You see, my daughter was not married when she became pregnant with my granddaughter and I must admit at the time I wished that the situation would have just faded away, because of the shame that I felt,  but anyone who knows me would tell you that I love my granddaughter with every fiber within me and also that I think my granddaughter is one of the greatest blessings that the Lord have ever bestowed upon me.

We live in a day and age when all that we can think of is a quick solution to every problem that comes into our lives and unfortunately abortion is a sad solution that even Christians are turning to. This is what my granddaughter was referring to when she talked about God not allowing her to die like those other babies. She has been taught since she was a small child that her parents were not married but she was given to us from God. I'm proud to hear her say since God spared her life she would sacrifice her life for Him.

I'm thankful that Jesus can relate to my granddaughter and to other children like her because he was ridicule because Joseph was not his real father. I'm thankful that Mary took on the Higher Call of God and gave birth to the Messiah who extends eternal life to all who will believe in Him. My granddaughter is very much aware that Jesus spared her life not once but twice. She knows that God could have allowed her to go to heaven before she had a chance to be born and she is also aware that Jesus spared her life by dying in her place and therefore she has been twice pardoned. We are so grateful to Him for her and we will do all that we can to help her to live her life for Him.

Whether you have been pardoned once or twice, you too, Live your life for Him.

GOD'S LAST NAME IS NOT GOD DAMN

  GOD’S LAST  NAME IS NOT GOD DAMN


"Thou shalt not take The Name of The Lord thy God in vain; for The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain." (Exodus 20:7)

"My Name continually every day is blasphemed" (Isaiah 52:5 )

"they blaspheme that worthy Name by the which ye are called" (James 2:7)

The story is told about a missionary in the Orient who witnessed a twenty year old native of that land, go up and bow before an idol, then he took a knife and cut his tongue out of his mouth and put it before the idol and right after that, he died at the idols feet, surrounded by his own blood. 

The Almighty God does want us to cut our tongues out of our mouths, but He does want it to be set apart for Him. There maybe someone who does not care for Billy Graham or for the Pope but I am willing to bet money that, their names are not used in a disrespectful way. Because we respect them and honor them because of WHO they represent. These men are not  to be reverenced but the One whom they represent is to be.  I am sure that if anyone heard someone "damn"  Billy Graham or the Pope,  the nation would be in an uproar, but we are not in an uproar over the disrespectful way the name of the Lord is use.  I am sure each of these men will tell you that they would rather for you to have respect for God, rather than for themselves, because it is God who is Holy and it is God who is sanctifying them each day.

The Jews had so much respect for the name of God that they made it a tradition not to even utter His name, but they substituted it for the name Adonai. They has so much respect and reverence for the name of  God, that they put a hedge of protection to keep them from using His name in vain.  

My personal feeling is, that of all of the profanity that is used, the word God damn is the worst of all, because you do not have the authority to make God damn anyone to hell. He sent Jesus to keep sinners out of hell and it is by their choice that they are damned to hell. The bible say that hell was created for Satan and the demons. Man through his disobedience chooses to go there. 

There are many glorious names that the bible tells us that God can be called, and God damn is not one of them.  We do not have to be like the Jewish people of old who would not utter the name of God for fear of using it in vain. God loves when we call out His name. This shows our need for Him and our realization that He does not want to damn anyone.

Try this one on for size the next time you are tempted to use God's name in a profane way, remember that He is Sovereign and He, not you have the authority of damning anyone. 

God's Last Name is Not God Damn, but for your rejection of Him, He can Damn you to Hell.

Good Friday or Black Friday

I've heard so many tragic stories about people who were assaulted on Black Friday. A father and his sixteen year old pregnant daughter assaulted an employee at Walmart because he could not give them  the product that they wanted. A father asked the customer behind him to hold his baby and when she did he beat the customer ahead of him because he was tired of hearing him talk. This really does sound like a "dark day" and a lot of people got injured because of it. Was it worth it?

 Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, this is when retailers offer great sales to start the Christmas Holiday. It is ironic that some people would harm others when they go out and shop for Christmas, which is the day that is set aside to celebrated the birth of the promised Messiah.  I'm sure if we could ask Jesus what He thinks about the way we prepare for His birthday, He would say, "no thank you".

We anticipate Black Friday all year. I ask again, is it worth it? I don't think that it is worth it, but there was a day that was worth it all. The only person that was assaulted was Jesus and He was assaulted for us. This day is called Good Friday. On Good Friday if you look around churches, you would not find a fourth of the people sitting in pews that was out on Black Friday. It is a shame and a disgrace to God that He would give up His only Son for us and we still reject Him. We claim that on Black Friday we are preparing to celebrate Jesus' birth, but what we are worshipping is an idol, because we have made Jesus in our image and we are guilty of idolatry (Exodus:32).

Do you not know that the retailers will get back double fold what you paid for those marked down items on Black Friday, but what did God get back when He sacrificed His only begotten Son? He received wretches that was worthy of death. This does not seem fair. Will you FOREVER  seek things that will only bring you temporary happiness, when God is offering you "the water that will become in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John:4:14). My heart longs for you to receive this gift. This is my only reason for starting this blog and now let examine the two Fridays.

It appeared to be a Black Friday on what we now call Good Friday,because with Jesus dead it was impossible for the long awaited promise of God to be fulfilled, then came Resurrection Day (John 20: 1-8).  You see on every Black Friday that we have had, it led to some kind of tragedy, but Good Friday lead up to Victory, because the Lord defeated sin and death, and that Black Friday over two thousand years ago gave us hope.

There is a Black Friday that comes once a year and people fight to get into the stores for the sales and there is a Good Friday that comes once a year and it leads up to Resurrection Day, no one has to fight to enter into God's Kingdom, because it is freely offered. Jesus said "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15). Will you please listen?

Deal Of A Lifetime

 Deal of A Lifetime

I got the deal of the day at the supermarket today. Produce and meat was marked down and I got a steal. I saved at least twenty dollars on my grocery bill. Wouldn't it be great if you could save money like this every week? It's like getting something for nothing. I don't know of a grocery store that I could recommend, where you could get  your groceries for free but I know of a great place where you can get a deal of a lifetime. I went there and the supermarket does not compare to it.

God has given us the real deal in His Son, Jesus.  Now this is the deal of the day and it is absolutely free!!!  Did you hear me? Are you paying close attention? This deal is free!!! Here's what you need to know in order to cash in on it.  Romans 3:23 tell us that  "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". This "all" means you, me and everyone who has ever lived, has sinned against God. Romans 6:23 tells us "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. I don't know about you, but when I go to work, at the end of my eighty hours what I expect from my employer is my paycheck, which is the wages that I have earned. Likewise the wages that we have earned with God because of our sins is death.

God is such a wonderful and gracious God, even though we have wronged Him, what does He do in return?.  He gives us something for free, that does not mean, it did not cost Him anything, because it did cost Him greatly.  It cost Him the life of His Son, Jesus whom,  He raised from dead on our behalf. But, we benefit from it.  Romans 10: 9, 10 says "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Verse 10 tells us For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved".

That is the real deal of the day. No it is the deal of a lifetime!!! You can be saved right now, right where you are, if you really believe this, you can pray this simple prayer below. The deal that I got earlier today does not compare to this one that you will receive in Jesus. I still had to pay for my groceries even though the deal that I got at the grocery store was a good deal.  But, God's deal is much better because there is no money to be paid. It's Free!!! Something free does not become yours unless you accept it. If you are sincere and you  really believe that God has done this for you in the person of Jesus Christ, you can pray the prayer below and you too can be a part of the family of God. Will you pray this prayer and get the deal of a lifetime or will you forever search for deals of the day that will only last for that day?

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I am sorry for my sins. I ask for you forgiveness. I believe in your Son, Jesus. I believe that He was born of a virgin, suffered and died for my sins but, arose from the grave and is alive and with you in Heaven at your right hand right now. I accept you Jesus as my Lord and Savior and I ask that you save my soul. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Thursday June 27, 2013 Glimpses of Grace

Thursday June 27, 2013 Glimpses of Grace


He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.  1 Thessalonians 5:24  (NKJV)



There are times when things aren't going in our lives as we expect them to and we grapple with the faithfulness of God.  Sure there are times when we can feel His peace and sometimes even  rest in it. His peace can be a solace for us if we would take God at face value. But we allow that great enemy known at the "fear of the unknown" to overcome us. Those are the times when we act like   the child who needs to get his parents attention and he says over and over again "Hey look at me, look at me."

Beloved of God, we don't have to remind God to pay us attention. He is very attentive to us. He was the one who put us in the Lamb's Book of Life. He knows that we are still on this earth because He has not taken us to heaven yet. God is actively involved in our lives and He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. We must take courage and rest in the providence of God. God is watching over us and He has His hand on us.

 Do you recall the arrest of Peter in Acts 12. Remember Peter resting peacefully peacefully in his jail cell, while being guarded by many soldiers. An angel woke him up, told him to get dress and then set him free.  The reason why Peter could sleep peacefully can be found in John chapter 21. After Jesus' resurrection, he was once again reunited with His disciples. In a conversation that Jesus had with Peter,  He told Peter that  when he would become old someone else would dress him and carry him around.

Did you catch that insight? Well on the night of Peter's arrest, I think he remembered the Lord's words to him. Peter knew that the Lord was faithful to keep promises and that He was faithful to carry out what He started in someone. Peter was a living witness of the faithfulness of God. That's why Peter had peace and could sleep in the presence of his enemies. Peter knew the kind of death that he would die. He knew it would not be in a jail cell.

What did the angel say to Peter? He said "get dress."  He didn't tell Peter to let someone else dress Him, but Peter was to dress himself.  On the authority of God's word, He can be trusted.  The Lord will answer our prayers. He is faithful even though when we are faithless. Each day we  get a glimpse of the Lord grace. It is something that we don't deserve but it was all made possible because of Christ love for me.  



 God's faithfulness is shown in strengthening and protecting those He has called, guarding them from the evil one, sanctifying them wholly and preserving them entire -- spirit, soul and body -- without blame at the coming of Jesus. This confidence of God's children in regard to their future is not in their faithfulness, but in His.~R.A. Torrey

Glimpses of Grace

God is creating a beautiful tapestry within our lives, even though at times the thread of the tapestry appears to be unraveling. The tapestry cannot be seen with the naked eye, so to give us hope, God has given us glimpses of His grace.