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.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful today that Christ came to this earth to live as a human for 33 years. The God of the Universe, Creator of all things, all powerful, all knowing God came to this earth. He lived through all the temptations that each and everyone of us go through BUT, He lived here sinless. Christ lived a perfect life here on the earth so that He could become the ultimate sacrifice for my sins. Christ at the end of the 33 years, was flogged, beaten, spit on, mocked, hair ripped out, and a crown of thorns placed on his head. But that was not all. He was then nailed to a cross, humiliated and bloodied to pay for the sins you and I commit everyday. We deserve death but Christ after the price was paid gave up His spirit and died for us. The old testament predicted this, and He predicted this while He walked the earth. On the third day he arose from the grave just as He told people he would. Mankind could not kill Him since He gave up his spirit and Mankind could not keep Him in the grave. Christ was seen by hundreds of people after he arose. Christ lives today in Heaven awaiting the day for his return to bring His church into glory. This is what I am thankful for.

You today, can accept Christ and have the gift of eternal life and avoid the eternal punishment we deserve. The Bible says that if we profess with our mouth and believe in heart we shall be saved. Do not wait, this is the day that your could can be asked of you. Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

What are you doing?

What are we doing with our life each day? Do we have any mind for heavenly things. or do we labor through each day for ourselves only? Do we work each day for our "stuff"? How much thought do we give each day, to eternity? There is nothing more important that what we do with this life while we have it for it all will be accounted in eternity.

2 Corinthians 5:6-10

6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

In this passage we see that Paul is telling us that as long as we are alive we are away from the Lord, but we still need to live with faith in the Lord though we can't see him. Why? Does this really matter? Of course it does, since Paul goes on to tell us that we are going to be judged on the things we have done while we are here on this side of eternity, both good and bad. I ask you, do you really believe that everything we do and every choice we make we will have to be judged someday? That is what is says, does it not? If we really believed that, would we live any different? We should. We have the Holy spirit in our hearts, guiding us daily if we choose to listen. It guides us to do God's will in our lives. We hear the Spirit easier when we are studying the word of God. My challenge to you is to embrace the Word of God daily, spend time with the Lord. Pray through out the day so that the Lord can guide you. My prayer is that when I get to heaven and meet my Lord, He will say to me, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God almighty.

I saw a video on youtube that my niece posted on facebook. Her comment was "if you're not moved by this song...there might be something wrong with you". Needless to say I was moved by it's message. Its a song that proclaims Christ's holiness. Take a minute to view this video and worship the almighty God as I did.



What struck me about this song is, its also how we see the angels in heaven worshiping the lord. Notice in the following passages.

Isaiah 6:2-4

2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:

“ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

and then in Revelation,

Revelation 4:7-9

7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:


“ Holy, holy, holy,[a]
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

I don't think its a coincidence, that we as Christians are also moved to worship by these same words. Maybe because its a statement of pure truth. No one else is Worthy, no one else is Holy, only the lamb that was slain for our sins. No other could have died for us as payment for our sins. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty. Amen.

Be Ready

Matthew 24:36-44 (New King James Version)

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,[a] but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour[b] your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

We all need to live today as if its our last. We do not know when Christ will come back and it will be too late. Do we love our family friends and neighbors enough to share the gospel with them? Why do we wait? How will you feel if the lord comes back in the next few seconds and you did not share with everyone you know about the gospel of Christ? Can you bare it if you knew someone went to hell because you did not tell them? I do not want to hide the gift of salvation from anyone.

The passage above says that people will be feasting, drinking, getting married and not knowing that judgment was coming. The flood came upon people in the days of Noah while life was going with no apparent doom being eminent. In verses 41-42 we see the picture of two brothers in the field and one taken and one remaining. We also see two women working in the mill, with one taken and one remaining. In an instant Christ will separate one for judgment and one for salvation. Head this warning that Christ himself gives us. We must be ready to meet Christ at any moment. Do not be one of those that wishes they had done more.

Remember it says, "as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.". What does it mean the days of Noah? In Genesis 6:5 it says "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.". I say to you, are we in the world today that far from this decrepit state? The more the world moves away from the Truth of Christ, and clings to the lie of man, we grow more evil in our hearts.

Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Do not wait. Disciple the new believers, read the Word of God, pray constantly, share your faith.