Believe

I look around me and see others plodding along through life feeling empty, while wearing a mask of happiness. I see those people that are successful, according to the American culture and appear to have peace in their lives, but I know that on the inside they are searching for something. Case in point would be Tiger Woods these past few days. Who would have thought that Tiger Woods had all of that dirty laundry in his life? A better question might be, Why did Tiger Woods have all of that dirty laundry in his life? If we look at him he was a millionaire many times over, with all the homes, cars, and stuff that anyone would have a desire for. He was married to a model for a wife with two beautiful young children. So what did he NOT have? Now I do not know Tiger's heart so I will not judge him, however; I would guess that he is lacking a relationship with Jesus Christ that brings true joy, peace and happiness to life.

I often wonder what life must be like without Jesus. It seems to me that Hopeless would be the answer, and that is frightening to think about. I attended a funeral a while back of a man that was lost. Those around that man knew he was lost because he often proclaimed a verbal denial of Christ and his resurrection. That was the most depressing and hopeless funeral I had ever attended. What hope is there if you know your loved one is in hell? I see a world all around me that desperately needs Christ and the real hope that He alone can provide. Jesus is the answer to all of the worlds problems without exception.

Jesus is an amazing gift that God has given us. I've been pondering lately the sacrifice Jesus made for mankind's sins. In the old testament before we had Christ believers had to have a substitute for the punishment they deserve for sin. We all have sinned and fail to reach the requirement for entering into the presence of God. Just one sin is enough to condemn us to death. It doesn't matter that we have lived our life mostly good, but instead it matter that we have done wrong in the sight of the creator God. Sin is anything that goes against the nature of God. For Example when we lie, we are committing an act that is in direct opposition to the nature of God. God is absolute truth and has no lie in Him. God cannot be in the presence of a being that is in direct opposition to His nature. Therefore we must pay the price and that is eternal punishment away from God. Before Christ a perfect Lamb was used as a sacrifice and substitution for the punishment we deserve. That lamb was killed and burned so that the sins could be forgiven of the person sacrificing it. It must have been a horrible site to see all of that blood and pain to cleanse the sinner.

God made a better way for us. A young lady named Mary, a descendant of David, was visited by the angel Gabriel. She was told that she would have a child even though she was still a virgin. She was going to have the Son of God, through a miracle. I wonder if she was scared since she was engaged to be married to Joseph and could have been abandoned or stoned to death. She was protected by God Joseph did not abandon her. now imagine that you are nine months pregnant with your first child and you have been ordered to go to a town 80 miles away for a census on a donkey. Nazareth is about 80 miles from Bethlehem. I have two kids and I don't think my wife would have enjoyed that ride at all. When they finally made it to Bethlehem all the hotels were booked up since people from all around were in town for the census. They found one innkeeper to let them stay in the barn for the night. Have any of you been in a barn lately? A barn is full of dusty straw, smelly animals, mice, bugs, and any number of unsanitary things since the animals eat sleep and poop there. Not a place that I would have chosen to have a child. But, God was with Mary and Joseph and she gave birth with no recorded problems and swaddled him up and laid him down to sleep in the manger. I cannot even imagine what Mary and Joseph must have been thinking, giving birth that night. How scary for two people traveling away from home and neither of them had even been to medical school. Then as if that wasn't enough after Jesus was born shepherds showed up telling you a grand story of how the whole sky opened up with angels singing to the new born King. What a night that must have been. Do you ever wonder what Mary thought when she looked into the eyes of her baby that was conceived by God? Did she know that her Son was to be the Lamb sacrifice for all humanity for all time past, present, and future?

There was a miracle that night in that stable in the small town of Bethlehem. God has provided a way of redemption for us through the Lamb of God. That is what Christmas is all about. We don't have to be lonely, empty, lost. We can have a peace that our sins are forgiven, and a peace from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God provided the lamb, all we have to do is believe.

A Dream

I hesitate to write this post but I cannot get it out of my head. Last night my wife and I both had a dream. Now, if you knew me you would know that it is exceedingly rare for me to have a dream that I remember. My wife however remembers her dreams often. But last night she had a dream like never before. Now, let me preface this by saying that I am not claiming that she or me had a vision, BUT, it does bring a message and a point to mind that I want to share. Mindy at the beginning of her dream was spoken to by Christ and he told her that judgment was coming soon and to get ready. After that she saw herself, and her family outside trying to tell other people of coming judgment. The sky then filled with smoke and fire rained down from heaven. People all around us were being consumed by the fire but when the fire came to her and her family we held hands and prayed and worshiped God. The fire passed over us and we were spared the wrath of God. We continued to beg people to repent and come to Christ or judgment would come upon them. Some came to Christ and some did not. That is an interesting dream is it not. My dream was much shorter but coupled with this dream that Mindy had I thought it interesting. My dream was simple....I was taken away from life as I know it and entered into a white hall through two double doors. I met friends and family that I have not seen in years. Everyone was in white, but not everyone I knew was there and I was told to wait since it was almost time. I felt like I was being gathered for some event that was about to happen. Now I know I have said that the Lord gave me a burden to tell people to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, but I feel a greater since of urgency after last night. Was this dream I had a vision from God? I have no idea. Was Mindy's Dream a vision? No clue. But I do know that my burden to tell people that time is short is strong again. I do not claim to know what the future holds other than Christ is coming again to judge the world. Are you ready? What will you say when you meet the Most high God, Creator of All, Alpha and Omega? To say that you have been good is not enough. To say that you prayed and went to church isn't enough. What will you say?

Well its easy as ABC.

A - Admit that you are a sinner and need God's Forgiveness.
Romans 3:23
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

B - Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.
John 3:16
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

C - Confess Jesus Christ is Lord.
Romans 10:9
9That 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.

Here is a simple prayer that you can pray:
Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Please post a comment or send me an email if you prayed this prayer so that I might pray for you personally.

Pondering the awesome God

I looked up into the sky today and realized how small I am. I am but a speck on this gigantic ball of soil we call earth. If I could run a 4 min mile and do that without stopping until I ran around the entire earth it would take me 33.3 days. Wow, a month of running as fast as an Olympic sprinter to get around the earth. If I ran at the speed that i did in High School which was a 12 min mile, it would take me 100 days of non stop running to go once around the earth. I feel so small in this world, yet, the creator of all of this loved me so much he died for me so that I can spend eternity with him in paradise. This blows my mind. What an awesome God I love and serve, that created all thing with his words in a flash but still knows me personally and loves me. There is nothing better, in all of creation, than knowing the creator personally. Even though I mess up daily and struggle to show what little love I am capable of, He still loves me with out fail. Even though I slap him in the face daily with my sin, he still loves me. Even though He knew how sinful I would be during my life He died for me anyway. What an awesome God we serve.