How We Start and End

‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭Psalms‬ ‭63:1‬ ‭[1] O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. [4] Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. [6] When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.

Do we truly love the Lord as much as we claim? If so, would we not desire to be in His presence, to meet with Him as often as possible, away from the distractions of this world? It truly saddens me when I ask someone about there time with the Lord, and I hear, "I want to read my Bible, but I'm just so busy." "I try to pray, but I have to get to work and just don't have time." These are just a couple of the excuses I've heard, and even used myself in the past. What I have discovered over the years is that we will make time, and find time, to do the things we love most. We will make time to be with the people we love most. We will make sacrifices in order to accomplish this. You don't believe me? Okay, let's stop and consider these things. How often do we hear that a Christian will wake up before the rooster crows in order to get ready for a fishing or hunting trip? The busiest of people will sacrifice an entire day to go to a live sporting event, in a cold, rainy, snowy, and most uncomfortable day. Many will spend all kinds of money and waste many precious hours on video games. Those of us who claim not to have time will waste hours on our phones, on social media; the same phones that also have the Bible apps we use on Sunday morning, IF we "have time" to go to our local church. Should I go on? The bottom line is that if we truly hunger for God, and really desire to walk with Jesus, we will make whatever sacrifices need to be made in order to have some quiet time with Him to pray and read His Word. Jesus Himself rose up early in the morning to go and be alone with the Father. Why then do we think that we need anything less? I guarantee you, my friends, if we will commit to waking up a bit earlier, or if we'll commit to replacing some of the time we waste on mindless and perverted TV shows, and social media; and dedicate that time to being alone with the Lord, it will change our lives dramatically! We can claim to love Jesus until He comes back. We can claim to love His Word; but until we prove it by making some real sacrifices in order to have some real quality time with Him, all we are doing is giving God lip service. By the way, lest we forget, God sees beyond our words, and sees straight into our hearts. So, how did we start our day today? Did we prove that we truly love Jesus by sacrifices an hour of sleep in order to meet with Him this morning and spend time in prayer and in His Word? Will we talk with Him throughout our day, in the car in our way to work, or at lunch time, and on the way home? Will the last thing we do before laying our heads on the pillow be reading and meditating on His Word, giving Him thanks; or will the last thing we do be scrolling through all the nonsense on social media? If we say we love and long for Jesus, is how we start and end our day a true indication of that?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

That Calls for A Celebration

‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9:6‭-‬7‬ [6] For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. [7] There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

John 1 tell us that our God became flesh and dwelt among men. Stop and think about that for a moment. God chose to leave the glory of Heaven and come to us as His only begotten Son. He was born of a virgin, as prophesied, and lived life as a perfect and sinless human being. While we celebrate Jesus' birth this time of the year, it's not just about His birth. If all we are celebrating is the birth, then our celebration is short-sighted. This time of year is about more than just His arrival. It is about the fact that Jesus not only came to us as a Baby, but that Baby grew to be a Man who gave His life to pay a debt we could not possibly pay on our own. There was nothing we could do to reconcile with God. So God sent His Son to erase that debt, by paying for it with His Blood. But wait! There's more! The prophecies of old not only told us about His arrival, His death, and His resurection; they also told us about what is yet to come. The angels told the disciples that this same Jesus, as He was ascending to Heaven in the clouds would be returning in the same manner! Jesus promised His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them and come back to get them to be with Him. That promise is extended to us, in Christ Jesus. So you see my friends, this time of year we not only celebrate the birth of Jesus as a Baby, but we celebrate the birth of One who is our Savior, Lord, and returning King. He will come back for His church (those of us who have called on His Name and trusted in Him alone for eternal life) and take us to be with Him. Afterward, He will return, with us, to establish His Millenial Kingdom for a thousand years; which by the way, we will rule and reign with Him. Then we will be with Him forevermore when He creates a new heaven and new earth, with Him seated and ruling from the New Jerusalem. So, if all we see this time of year is a little Baby in a manger, we are truly only seeing a small portion of the big picture and our celebration is one to be pitied. Let us celebrate the true meanimg of what it means that our God became flesh, and dwelt amongst us; because a day is coming soon when He will return so that we can dwell where He is. Now THAT calls for a celebration!

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

How Are We Doing?

Revelation‬ ‭3:14‭-‬20‬ ‭[14] “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: [15] ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. [16] So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. [17] Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, [18] I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. [19] Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. [20] Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

What can be said about what Jesus said to John in this portion of Scripture from the Book of Revelation? This message can be applied to this church age we are living in, to a local church, or to any one of us as an individual. I want to bring it right down to a personal level. We cannot control what the leaders of the local churches choose to do or what a local church chooses, but we can choose individually whether or not we will worship the Lord and truly live for Him. As time progresses, and as there have been times of prosperity, we have seen more and more Christians focus on gathering more of what the world offers, to the point of not wanting to sacrifice what has been gained. We go to the local church on Sunday and fulfill our religious duty, and then barely pray or read God's Word the rest of the week. For some, we don't even leave our homes to go to the local church, but instead settle for watching a service online. Please don't get me wrong. This is a great option for someone who is physically unable to go to the local church for corporate worship and service. However, far too many of us use it as a way to be at home doing other things, and barely pay attention to the message being delivered. We give our miserable tithes online as if doing God a favor, and as a way of quenching our guilt for not being where we should be on Sunday morning, serving as a vital part of the body. Sports, social media, work, hobbies, and other things have become our gods. God forbid we should get out of our comfort zone to share the Gospel with someone, or sacrifice our time, talents, or resources, to be a blessing to someone in need. We have become lukewarm as the church, and as individual believers who give God, and others, lip service at best. It is far past the time that we heed God's warning. He will not force Himself on us. However, His desire is that we would be either hot or cold for Him and His Kingdom, and either get busy with the things of God, or just stop pretending and go live for the world without the "Christian" facade. Remember this my friends, that one day very soon we will ALL stand before our God to give account for our lives. For those who reject Him altogether, to receive the punishment for their sins; and for those of us who have truly called on Him to receive or lose reward for how we served and lived for Him. So, how are we doing today?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Our Eternal Sabbath Rest

‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28‭-‬30‬ [28] Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  [29] Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  [30] For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Many of us quote verse 28 when we want to point out that we can find true rest in Christ. My question to us all is, "Rest from what?" For many of us life is busy to the point of having much anxiety and stress. That stress and anxiety, if unchecked, will lead to our bodies breaking down and will result in sickness and illnesses that often take us out of commission. So, is the rest Jesus speaks of rest from anxiety, stress, and the busyness of life? Well, in the longrun, yes. However, Jesus was speaking of a rest that is far more important and beneficial to each and every one of us. In this chapter, right before Jesus said this, He spoke of the condemnation that was in store for the people of all the cities where He performed great works, yet they refused to repent of their sins. Immediately thereafter He extended this invitation of receiving a rest that we could find only in Him. That rest is the freedom from being enslaved to our attempts at pleasing God by way of our own works. God already made it clear in the Book of Isaiah that ALL our works of righteousness are like filthy rags to Him, when done outside of Christ and in our own feeble attempts to earn our way into His favor, and into Heaven. It was for this reason that Jesus came. He came to pay a price we could never pay for ourselves. He chose to suffer physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually (when He cried out, "My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?!"), and lay down His life. He did that for us. Keep in mind that He gave this invitation before He actually went to the cross, because to Him it was already accomplished. So today, this invitation to come to Him to find rest is first and foremost an invitation to believe, by faith, what He did on the cross, that He rose again, and to call on Him for salvation, repenting of our sins and asking for forgiveness. Hebrews 4 tells us that there is a Sabbath rest for the people of God who put their faith in Him, and do not fall short because of unbelief, as the Israelites did in the wilderness and were not allowed to enter the rest of the Promise Land. When we put aside our tireless attempts at trying to earn our own way, only then can we find true rest in Christ. Once we possess that rest in Jesus, then He will lead us by His Spirit so that we can also find rest from the anxiety, stress, and busyness of life that the enemy want to use to break us down. The only rest that any of us will truly benefit from is the rest that can only be found and possessed in Jesus Christ, our Eternal Sabbath Rest.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Before It’s Too Late

Luke‬ ‭16:19‭-‬26‬ [19] “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. [20] But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, [21] desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. [22] So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. [23] And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. [24] “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ [25] But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. [26] And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

In ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16:26‬ Jesus asked, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Stop and seriously consider those questions. I ask you, "What exactly are we living for?" As born again believers, are we mindful of the things of earth or Heaven? Colossians 3:1 reminds us that if we have been raised up with Christ, we are to seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Today's verses are a sad reminder that there are many in this world who are on the path to be eternally separated from the Lord. The focus of their life is material gain, and the love of money. They hunger for power, prestige in the eyes of men, and desire to fulfill every desire of the flesh. They are living as if they will live forever, and somehow their riches will save them in the end. That mindset will change on the day they are diagnosed with a terminal illness and all the money in the world can't buy them a cure, or the day an accident leaves them disabled for life or takes a loved one from them. What is even worse is that one day they die and the very next moment open their eyes in the same place of torment where this rich man opened his eyes. As we read those verses we see that after death there was no hope for salvation. The reason for that is that a decision to accept and follow Jesus must be made before physical death comes. This rich man was wealthy in the things of this world, but he was extremely poor when it came to having faith and a relationship with God. Lazarus, on the other hand, though he suffered in his earthly life, and was poor in the things of this world, was rich in faith and relationship with God. What a contrast we see when life on earth ended for both of them. This nameless rich man went out into eternity to be forever separated from God and suffer physical torment. Lazarus, who God knows by name, was carried to the bossom of Abraham to enjoy the riches of Paradise and fellowship with the Saints of old, and the Lord, for all of eternity. So, I ask you, "What are you trading eternal life for? What is so important here on earth that you would risk losing your soul?" Christian, I want to ask YOU an important question, "What are you (and me) doing to make sure that family, friends, co-workers, and the people God puts before us, hear the life changing Good News of what Jesus did for us? Are the things of this world blinding is to what our true mission is while we are here on earth? We may have eternal life and be saved from the wrath to come, but there are also costly consequences for us when we refuse to bring the Gospel message to a lost and dying world. Let's take our eyes off of earthly distractions and set our eyes on the Kingdom and what we are supposed to be doing as ambassadors of Christ Jesus; before it's too late.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Until He Returns

Matthew‬ ‭18:21‭-‬22‬ [21] Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” [22] Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

These two verses are sandwiched between two important passages. The first is about dealing with a brother who has sinned against us, and the other is about a king who forgave a large debt to one of his servants, but then that servant chose not to forgive a fellow servant who owed him much less than he owed the king. Jesus was making the point that we will be forgiven by God as we forgive others. This does not mean that we lose our salvation of we don't forgive, for no one can take us out of His hands, and nothing can separate us from His love. However, when we choose not to forgive we put a barrier up between us and God, in our relationship and fellowship with Him that hinders our prayers and quiet time with Him. That being said, Peter's question got him a very interesting answer. The Book of Matthew was written from the perspective of demonstrating to the Jews that Jesus is their Messiah. I point this out because there is an Old Testament Book that speaks of "seventy times seven" in it, and it pertains to the entire history of God dealing with Israel, bringing an end to sin, finishing transgressions, bringing reconciliation, and bringing everlasting righteousness. In Daniel 9 an angel explains to Daniel that there will be seventy sets of seven years for God to carry out His plan for Israel. Thus far, sixty nine of those sets of seven years have been fulfilled. There is one set of seven years still left to be fulfilled, which will occur at the seven year Tribulation Period. When we go back to what Jesus responded to Peter, in essence He was saying, "Peter, you forgive as many times as you have opportunity to forgive, until I return." In other words, we are to forgive others until the day Jesus returns or He calls us home. No exceptions. Will that be easy? No, it won't. As a matter of fact, it'll be impossible, but only if we try to do it in our own strength. In our flesh we cannot truly forgive, but in the power of the Holy Spirit we can. So the next time someone offends us, sins against us, and puts us in a position to forgive, we must ask ourselves this question, and answer it, "How many times do I have to forgive? As many times as required, until Jesus returns." That, my friends, could be a long time from now or tomorrow; because He could return at any moment, and we're not promised another day.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

The One and Only

‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46:10‬ [10] Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

What is troubling your heart right now? What enemy, problem, circumstance, trial or tribulation is pursuing you; creating anxiety, stress, and worry? Does it seem like you now find yourself at a dead end with no logical way to move forward, as your anxiety and worry close in on you from behind? Have you allowed yourself to be convinced that somehow you're the only one that has ever found themselves in your current circumstance, and that this is all too big, even for God? Well, you're not the only one, and you can stop believing that lie. Remember, the devil is the father of lies. Israel once found themselves in this predicament. The Egyptian Army was pursuing them and at one point they found themselves at the edge of the Red Sea with nowhere to go. However, like in today's verse, Moses said to the Israelites in Exodus 14:13, ‭‭"Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever." Did you catch that? "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see!" Be still. Stop fighting. Stop worrying. Stop being anxious. Stop trying to manipulate the circumstances. If we are honest, this is often what we try to do, and no matter what we try nothing seems to work. Things keep going in a direction we wish they wouldn't, and we just don't know what to do. How about we try being still and letting God be God in our situation. What if we slow down and stand still long enough to pray, I mean REALLY pray? What if we get into our quiet meeting place (which I pray you have) and meet with God, spending real time in His Word, and not just reading to get our "daily, weekly, or once in a while" duty done? I guarantee you that if we do, we will find direction, peace, and even joy, in the midst of weighty and troubling circumstances. If we would just be still we would see God make a way that we did not see coming, just like He did for Moses and the Israelites. When we trust God this way, He will exalt Himself in our lives. Others will see Him make a way, while at the same time they see the peace that passes all understanding shining brightly in our lives. Imagine, He could even open a door of opportunity for us to share with others why we can have peace and joy, while the rest of the world around us falls apart. The fact of the matter is that when we allow God to be God in our lives, He will be exalted before those who are observing our lives. A time is coming soon when the Lord Himself will sit on His earthly throne, ruling and reigning, and all these things we worry about now will be insignificant faded memories. Bottom line? Be still, pray, meditate on His Word, wait for His direction, and watch Him reveal Himself to you, and be exalted before everyone else. In the end, all will know that He is the one and only true God.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).