Jesus Is the Message

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to talk to a stranger about the weather, about football or our children or where we are from, and yet when it comes to telling them the simple truth, our stomach ties up in knots and our tongue gets stuck to the roof of our mouth? Why is that?

God hasn’t called us to be weathermen and sportscasters; He has called us and empowered us to be light shining in the darkness. Somewhere in the course of our conversation we need to seize upon the opportunity to Preach Jesus!

I’m going to Preach Jesus!

To the lost, I’ll preach Jesus as the Way!
To the lonely, I’ll preach Jesus as the Friend that sticks closer than a brother.
To the child, I’ll preach Jesus as Father to the fatherless.
To the sick, I’ll preach Jesus as Great Physician.
To those addicted to drugs or drink, I’ll preach Jesus as the Deliverer.
To the brokenhearted, I’ll preach Jesus as the One who came to bind up the brokenhearted
To the man on the deathbed, I’ll preach Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life.
To the sinner, I’ll preach Jesus as the Savior.
To the church, I’ll preach Jesus as Lord and Master.

No matter where I am, or who I’m talking to, I can preach Jesus in a way that will fill a void and make a broken man whole.

Jesus is the message!

Do Good Anyway

In the course of our lives, we will run across quotes, books, movies and songs that move us, challenge us and inspire us. They serve as the gas to get us closer to God.

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite pieces of inspirational writing, a poem, by Mother Teresa. It's called, 'Do It Anyway,' which has just enough gas to get us to our Destination.

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may often accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

~Mother Teresa

This did not speak volumes to me. The knowledge, wisdom, faith and truth spoke whole libraries to me! What we have to realize is this-- there are a lot of jerks in the world, but as Christians we can instead look at it in another way . . . there are a lot of lost people in this world. The thing I've found is LOST people act lost, so it should come as no surprise when people are ugly to us for seemingly no reason at all. Should it?

My Dad has taught me, and encouraged me, to love people with absolutely NO expectations at all. Love them because Jesus, who is Love, inhabits your being. He overtakes your body, your Earthly vessel, so much so that no matter how people 'treat' you . . . you always respond in love! You do nice things for people not expecting anything back. In fact, if you do something for someone just to get something back . . . you really need to check your heart because your motives aren't motivated by love! The truest litmus test of character is doing something out of the goodness of your heart-- not expecting, or seeking, any recognition. It's giving something-- your time, love, energy and fellowship-- to someone who has nothing to offer in return.

Love always requires sacrifice and putting the recipient's needs, wants and desires above your own. It's putting an action with your words. It's simply wanting to make that person's day better in that moment. It's adding sun rays, Sonshine, to their day no matter how dark of a place they're in or how blue their life's skies are! It's uplifting words, words of encouragement, smiles, hugs and just attention, and validation, we all need.

I am LEARNING how to take things more with a grain of salt. Praise, criticism, being treated well or being treated terribly, responding the same way in indifference or in love, but doing my best not to react or do what is has been done to me. Be more like a duck and let their hurtful words and actions be the water that goes flying off your back!

Through forgiving someone, and asking someone to forgive you, there is great freedom, so let things go . . . life is too short not to! It's not easy to have the self-control to respond to cruel behavior in the right fashion, but it definitely worth it. For God sees!!

"You are my friends if you do what I command." (John 15:14) What is that command? Look at verse 17-- "This is my command: to love each other." What a radical, yet nonetheless, powerful thought!! Do I have this perfected? HARDLY, but God, through me, is making strides in this area.

Am I offended when someone is rude to me for no reason? When someone acts hateful toward me when I've done nothing to deserve it? Of course I am. I am human, when someone is ugly to me it hurts my feelings, it temporarily angered me . . . as in past tense. But what we have to understand is what Jesus said was and will always be true! The world will HATE us the same way it hated, and hates, Him (John 15:18-25).

Look at Jesus' words and it will come as no great surprise, or no surprise, at all when we are treated as outcasts.

Verses 18 and 19. "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as it's own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

But then look at verse 25 "But this is fulfill what is written in their law: 'They hated me WITHOUT REASON.'

So we should not EXPECT people to be nice to us, but we should assume the exact opposite. We get spoiled into thinking we aren't supposed to be ridiculed, shunned, disappointed and treated badly, but the reality is without expectations of how we're SUPPOSED to be treated . . . there is no disappointment.

Hurt people do what? They hurt! And let's face it . . . there are many, many hurt people in our daily lives. What's the easy thing to do when someone hurts you? That's right-- to hurt them back, but the 'easy' thing to do is never the right thing to do. It's not about what the offender 'deserves' ; it's about being who God intended you to be! After all, we didn't 'deserve' mercy, grace, forgiveness and love, but thankfully that didn't stop God from extending it when all we REALLY deserved was death.

It's not just about when someone treats you badly . . . it's also about being who God created you to be-- being who YOU ARE! It's no coincidence the Bible says we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27). With that being the case; we are made out of Love, to love, to share His love!

I encourage you to pray John 3:30 over your lives every day-- More Jesus to fill your body, your vessel, and less of yourself. Only through dying to ourselves, see Romans chapter 6, can He, through us, allow us to obey the Golden Rule. A big part of the Christian walk is taking up our cross (Luke 9:23) and sharing in the suffering of Christ (Romans 8:17). It's not fun, but it is what we are called to do.

There will always be people who speak destructive words instead of words brimming with life. There will always be words filled with doubt, fear and hate not of faith, courage and love. There will always be people telling you you can't do something as opposed to encouraging you to achieve those special goals you have in mind. There will always be those telling you to be realistic when you want nothing more than to chase your dreams.

They can easily steal your joy if you let them. They can certainly chip away at the peace, which has been given to you, that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

But remember, it's not about them . . . it is between you and God, so DO GOOD ANYWAY!!''

He has shown you, O' mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

Why Did Jesus Wait Three Days to Rise from the Dead?

Maybe this is a pointless question, but why did Jesus wait three days to rise from the dead?
I mean, once He died, He had fully paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind. Why couldn’t He just resurrect right there, jump down from the cross, dust himself off, and call it good?
Maybe he needed to be buried in the grave. Fine. But why wait three days for the resurrection? Why not get wrapped in burial clothes, then rise sometime during that first night?
Here are some possible reasons, but honestly, I find none of them satisfactory.

To prove He was dead

I suppose some could argue that He had to stay in the tomb for three days to prove He was dead. There is, after all, the “swoon theory” in which people say Jesus didn’t really die, but just went unconscious. I suppose if Jesus “resurrected” two minutes after dying on the cross, this theory would be much more plausible. But when Jesus is buried in tomb for three days, this theory loses all credibility.
But at the same time, this still doesn’t answer the question. If Jesus wanted to prove He was dead, why not wait seven days? Or thirty? I suppose these longer periods can be disregarded because God did not want Jesus to see decay (Psa 16:10; Acts 2:27). But even in three days the body of Jesus would have started to decay.

To fulfill prophecy

Some say that Jesus had to spend three days in the grave to fulfill prophecy. Which prophecy? The sign of Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of a great fish (cf. Matt 12:39-40). But we must be careful here because the story of Jonah is not really a prophecy. Yes, Jesus prophesied that He would be in the grave for three days, just like Jonah was in the fish for three days, but if Jesus had never said this, then there would be no such thing as a prophecy about spending three days in the grave.
So this answer just kicks the question back a little further: Why three days? Why couldn’t Jesus have connected His death with the creation of the world, and said a prophecy about how “Just as the world was created in six days, and on the sixth day, Adam was raised from the dust of the ground, so also, after six days the Son of Man also will rise from the dust”? Jesus could have taken any number of stories and accounts in the Bible and turned them into a prophecy about how long He would be in the tomb. Why did He pick the story of Jonah? What is special about three days?

To increase faith

Another possible explanation is that Jesus wanted to increase the faith of His followers. By not resurrecting right away, they had to question why they had followed Him, and whether He was truly the Messiah. They had to work through the despair of losing Him, and the questions of what would have happened if they had not followed Him, or if they had defended Him better, or if they had simply been duped.
By waiting three days, Jesus allowed them time to work through some of these issues and questions. But again, this begs the question. If three days does this, why not seven, or twelve, or forty, all of which are also significant biblical numbers.

Could not rise during the Sabbath

It could be argued that resurrection is work, and so Jesus could not rise on the Sabbath, but had to wait until the Sabbath was over. This argument actually has some merit. But Jesus was always doing things on the Sabbath that other Jewish people frowned upon, including healing on the Sabbath.

Acting as our High Priest

Maybe Jesus was busy “doing stuff” in paradise, hell, and heaven. You know, High Priestly stuff like sprinkling blood on the altar in heaven, defeating sin, death, and the devil, preaching to spirits in prison, that sort of thing (Heb 9; 1 Pet 3:19).
I suppose this is possible. It just doesn’t really explain why these things took three days.

It doesn’t matter

Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe it was all just random. Maybe Jesus picked a number out of the air, and selected Jonah as a way of making a prophecy about it to prove that He could predict the future, which would then prove that He was a prophet of God when the prophecy came true. But the number of days in the grave is irrelevant. It just happens to be what Jesus chose.
I just struggle with this because the biblical authors seem to place such an emphasis on three days in the grave.
But in the end, I have no answer.

The important thing is that Jesus rose

We can all agree here. Maybe questioning why Jesus spent three days in the grave is a pointless question which only theologians ask. The important thing is that Jesus rose from the dead, and for this, we can praise and thank God for all eternity.

The love of Jesus

  I am amazed and in awe when I think about the love of Jesus. Jesus' love is not like human love. Jesus love for me and for you is unlike any other love that we have and will ever experience. Jesus love for you and me compelled him to step down out of the comfort of heaven and enter into this world. Jesus love compelled him to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus love compelled him to dine with sinners, offer his forgiveness freely, heal the sick, touch the leper and be associated with people that others would have nothing to do with. Jesus love compelled him to take on sin and death. His love compelled him to lay down his life for all humanity. His love compelled him to reach out to the thief on the cross next to him.

The love of Jesus cried out "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." The love of Jesus cried out, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone." The love of Jesus cries out, "fear not for I am with you." Jesus love is not a love that holds grudges or requires retribution. Jesus love does not require a love you in return. Jesus just loves you and me. And he said the way that others will know that we are his followers are by our love. By God's grace, as we follow Jesus, our love should become more like his. Our love for others, our forgiveness, our willingness to lay down our lives for others grows because that is what the love of Jesus does.

 

 

 

 

Psalm 34:8

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

I think of the difference between looking at a shiny red apple and tasting it. No matter how tasty the apple looks on the outside, the only way that I will truly experience its goodness is to take a big bite out of it!

It is when I sink my teeth into it, that I will be able to taste and see that it is really delicious. Looking at an apple will never sustain us. We could be surrounded by an entire orchard of apples and yet die of starvation if we don't eat the apples.

I believe that God is extending an invitation for us to not only behold His goodness from afar, but to come close and taste and see that He really is good. In some Christian circles, looking for an experience with God might be seen as undermining the importance of believing without seeing. I am not suggesting that we base our entire Christian walk on experience, but I would suggest that experience is part of any relationship that we have.

While faith (Hebrews 11:6) is still the foundation on which we relate to God, I believe that He wants us to experience Him in every facet of our being. I pray that today, each and every one of us will taste of God's goodness in a very tangible way that will give us a greater insight into our Lord's heart.

 

God Loves You

 

 

John 17:23

I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one;
that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.

I can understand that God loves Jesus completely and without reservation because Jesus is His perfect Son. But to think that God the Father loves me exactly the same way that He loves Jesus? Wow!

The truth is that when we became born again, we were united with Christ in every way. In today's Bible verse, Jesus describes it by saying... "I am in them, and you in me." When our God and Father looks at you, He sees you through the finished work of Jesus Christ. In Galatians 2:20, the Apostle Paul said "No longer I that lives, it is Christ that lives in me". Because I am in Christ, and Christ is in me, the love that the Father has for Jesus is exactly the same love He has for me!

The truth is that there is nothing that we could do to make God love us any MORE than He does right now... And on the flip side of the same coin... There is nothing that we could ever do to make Him love us any LESS either! Don't try to understand God's love, just receive it like a little child! God is your Father and He loves you even as He loves Jesus!

 

AGAPE love

AGAPE is true and genuine love. AGAPE love is not sexual love as between a man and a woman. Love is the very nature of God. The ultimate expression of AGAPE LOVE is God giving His only son to die on the cross for our sins. This kind of love comes to us by God through His Son Jesus Christ. We have AGAPE love in our hearts as a result of knowing that God loves us with no strings attached and that His love for us never changes. We show our love for God by the commitment of our heart, soul and mind to our Lord. This is TRUE AND GENUINE LOVE!

How many times in life do we find ourselves in a position of just needing someone to love us? This is when we need AGAPE love because we need the caring and comforting love that only the Lord can give. Remember, He gave His life for you. What greater love is there then this?

AGAPE love means that God first loved us and we are to love God first and then to love others. It is the love from Christ that compels us to act, on Christ’s behalf to share Christ’s love to someone (II Corinthians 5:14). It is a love that never fails (I Corinthians 13:8). It is a love that made Jesus say to His disciples in John 21:7, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” In Romans 12:9-10 (above verse), Paul defines AGAPE love as being sincere and being devoted to one another in brotherly love. Sincere love is not selfish. When we have AGAPE love we will honor others above ourselves.

This AGAPE love can only be felt by one that has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to experience AGAPE love then make that decision today.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE. This is how God showed His love among us; He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” I John 4:8-10.

Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” Matthew 22: 37-38

Love must be sincere --- be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:9-10.

Spiritual-Wellness

Spiritual-wellness is the result of being at peace with God. To be at peace with God and experience spiritual-wellness, you must first believe that He exists, “--- without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6 NASB).

Why is faith necessary to please God? Because we cannot serve Him unless we are convinced that He exists and that His plans for us are “good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom: 12:2). It is necessary if we are to trust in Him with all our heart (Prov. 3:5)

God has a plan for our lives whether we believe He exists or not. He gives us the freedom and power to make choices. During our lifetime we have the opportunity to make literally thousands of choices. Some are significant, some are not but all have consequences. The single most important choice that we have to make is what our relationship with God will be. The consequences of that decision are eternal.

God is omniscient. He knows every thought that we have or will have. He knows every deed that we have ever done. He knows our sinful nature. Yet He loves us deeply and stands ready to accept us as we are. All we have to do is believe his word and accept His grace to have spiritual-wellness. He paid a heavy price for you and me as individuals, which is the ultimate testimony of His love for us.

We cannot approach the Father God except through the Son, Jesus Christ. “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

When the apostle Paul writes there is one God, he is referring back to Israel’s statement of faith (Deut. 6: 4-9). This foundational belief is not replaced – it is deepened. Jesus is not another deity, but God Himself, who has also become our Mediator. A mediator is like a priest who brings two parties together in peace. As our High Priest, we can “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16) because we know He will faithfully represent and lead us in His way (Heb. 2:1-18).

In Jesus we are set free from the bondage of the law and the penalty of death required by the law. Therefore, when we die we will be in the presence of the Lord and will enter into his kingdom. Think on this and give praise and thanks to God for His love for each of us.

In the natural world, the more that you know someone the easier it is to believe their words. It is the same with God. When you read and meditate on His Word, you will begin to realize how deeply He loves you and you will begin to trust Him in every area of your life. You will be at peace with God and have spiritual-wellness. In the words of the hymn “all is well with my soul.”

But We See Jesus!

“In putting everything under him, God left nothing

that is not subject to Him. Yet at present

we do not see everything subject to Him.

But we see Jesus.” (Heb. 2:8b-9a NIV)

Don’t you love it when a familiar scripture leaps off the page at you as if you’ve never seen it before? As I read the above scripture the other day, this part bounced up and crashed right into my heart, “Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus.” (Heb. 2:8b-9a NKJV)

Though some circumstances may not be subject to our control, they are always subject to the Lord’s control, even when, at times, they do not appear that way to us.

Without the same point of view as God, the same Spirit-realm vision, we fail to see God’s hand in action or His Word at work. We wonder why He is taking so long to remedy our circumstances or why He doesn’t answer our prayers.

But, no matter...

No matter what others say about us, we see Jesus.
No matter how discouraged we become, we see Jesus.
No matter what trials and afflictions pursue us, we see Jesus.
No matter how dark the night’s grief enshrouds us, we see Jesus.

As David said, “I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven.” (Ps. 123:1 NLT)

Whatever comes our way...we see Jesus!

Why Christianity is Not a Religion

Those who know me often ask, "Emma, why does it offend you so much when people call you religious?" The summary of my answer is, "Religion has no more to do with biblical Christianity than sitting in a church pew every Sunday does."

One difference between the two is that every religion is man made. Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Mormonism, and liberal Christianity all involve man’s interpretation of faith. When you start worshiping with another man’s credo, you are dangerously close to religion, not biblical Christianity. Many of these religions have a manual (Koran, Book of Mormon, the writings of Buddha) to go along with the true word of God. As a knightly Christian, I refuse to worship with any man’s rules other than those of the God man, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God is explicit about not taking away or adding anything to His word found in the bible.

Furthermore, the false prophets of religion teach that the only way to benevolence (God of their choice) is by good works. They teach self-esteem, moral actions, and humanistic pride as the way to their God of choice. However, never doubt that religion does not have to be centered on a God for it can be centered on mankind itself. Jesus foretold them coming in Matthew 24:11 when he said, "And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."

Defining "Religion"

In the dictionary, "religion" is defined as a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by, or an object, practice, cause, or activity that somebody is completely devoted to or obsessed by. This can be anything that takes us away from the true living God—Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Religion can be alcohol, drugs, pornography, a career, sex; thus, anything that drives a wedge between us and the trinity of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a religion.

Religion teaches us to hide our sinful attitude behind a mask of goodness, righteousness, and secular humanism. How many self-help gurus have we heard claim to have the secret to our happiness by giving us self-esteem, pride, and true self worth? I tire of hearing pompous professors and teachers of "higher learning" telling young folks that the only way to fulfillment is through "enlightenment of the mind."

In his book, Hard to Believe--The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus, John MacArthur hit the nail on the head when he said, "Natural reason seeking God ends up ignorant, idolatrous, and demonic. Demons are behind all false religions. They are behind all philosophical and religious systems. They are behind every lofty thing lifted up against the knowledge of God. Any unbiblical, anti-God idea is demonic."

Don’t let anyone fool you--we all have masks. Biblical Christianity is taking that mask off, first before God, and then second, before man. Why the second, you ask? Because not doing so is denying Christ before man—denying his ability to free you from your bondage and denying his true kinship over you. If you hide what you are--a vile sinner--Satan wins. The Bible makes the point this way in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15: "For such men are false prophets, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve."

Christ demands that we realize and admit our fallen state. He demands that we acknowledge before man that on our own we cannot reach benevolence. He demands that we become transparent with our sin, vile nature, and admit the dirty secrets and desires that permeate our minds. Religion requires us to hide our weakness because only the strong survive. Biblical Christianity demands that we admit our weakness to become strong so we may survive.

God's Grand Plan

God’s grand plan of the Bible first showed Jesus Christ as a lamb coming to earth as a man full of the blood God required for the forgiveness of our sin. It then talks about Christ coming back as the lion, conqueror of Satan’s world, "And every knee will bow." My point is that God required Christ to be a lamb before He could be a lion. He bowed before God and did His will, and not His own. We must become meek before God before we can be strong for Christ—a lamb before a lion. As biblical Christians we must forgo the sinful pride of our reputation and gain the pride of Christ’s reputation. Religion is about doing your own thing; Christianity is about doing Christ’s thing.

Are You a Leader, or a Follower?

Religion is about being a leader, strong and defiant. Christianity is about being a follower, meek and mild. Don’t get me wrong: Jesus Christ demands that we pick up our cross and follow Him with strength and loyalty, whereas religion requires that we do society’s thing with strength and loyalty. There in itself is a glaring hypocrisy of religion; i.e., "do your own thing with strength, loyalty, and pride as long as it’s what everyone else is doing." That further hypocrisy is being observed in our public forums. Today’s society is about understanding and respecting everyone’s faith and beliefs so long as it doesn’t threaten one's perception of pride, strength, and the American dream.

Christianity is being watered down beyond being effective when it’s allowed to be mentioned at all, because, in our society, admitting weakness is a sin. Few parents want their children in school learning to be followers; instead, they want leaders like Trump and Turner—rude, prideful, rich, and successful. Religion requires that we have goodness through our own reputation and good works. Only the top of the class make it into the "club." If you aren’t healthy, wealthy and fat, you must not be living a complete benevolent life—you must do better. Christianity gives us the hard core truth about what we are--"not one of us is good, no not one, and we all fall short of the glory of God." Religion teaches that we must pull ourselves up by our boot straps to reach Utopia. Many of our rich and famous have fallen head long for this ideology. They think if they save enough people from HIV in Africa, feed enough of the homeless, and save enough babies, they will make it into heaven. Wrong. One of the bedrocks of biblical Christianity is that we do these things not in our name, but Christ’s.

Ted Turner was once quoted as saying that "Christianity is for losers." Man, did he hit the nail on the head. We are losers. That is to say that, to be a biblical Christian, we must be a loser in society’s eyes. To become a winner, we must lose all that society lives and strives for. We cannot chase the American dream of fame, fortune, and "stuff." We cannot pick our wives and husbands based on where they went to school, what they drive, wear, and make, but rather where their allegiance lies. We cannot feed the homeless or help the poor and sick with swelled chests and pride. We cannot become indulgent. We must lose our appetite for the fleshly desires that plaque this world. We must get up every morning, try with everything we are to be righteous, and swear our allegiance to our Lord, not because we can ever live up to His requirements, but rather because we know we can’t.

Worshiping in a million-dollar church with forty-thousand-dollar cars sitting in the parking lot is religion, not Christianity. Taking the words, hell, damnation, Jesus Christ, and the Old Testament out of our sermons is not biblical Christianity. Allowing homosexuals and lesbians to preach feel-good Christianity, and portraying Jesus Christ as a 60s hippie is liberal Christianity and, therefore, religion. Seeking fame and fortune with a microphone in your hand, singing about Christ and healing people in three-thousand-dollar suits is religion, not biblical Christianity. Putting the symbols of the Virgin Mary, Star of David, the prophet Muhammad, Buddha, the Masonic Lodge, and a God of erotica before Christ is not biblical Christianity but religion. Christianity is not looking at people and thinking, "They’re messed up; I’m glad I’m not messed up like that." Rather, it’s seeing the sin in their life and rebuking them with candor, truthfulness, and biblical teaching. Knowing in your heart you’ve been there, or if you trust in your own righteousness, you can fall just like they did.

Biblical Christianity is fire-and-brimstone teaching just as much as teaching the love of Christ. Feminism, liberalism, and the sexual revolution is religion from the depths of Satanic teaching, not biblical Christianity.

Making Hard Choices

Nobody said it was going to be easy. In fact, Jesus said that he did not come to "bring peace to the earth, but a sword." For many, the cost of becoming a winner in the afterlife is too great a loss on earth. Jesus underlines in the New Testament without a shadow of a doubt what must be done to gain the greatest prize—an eternity in His presence. We must turn against our family if need be, and we must acknowledge Him before man even if it means the greatest sacrifice of laying down our life. As Jesus says in Matthew 12:30, "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."

As biblical Christians we must take a stand in our lives and that stand is turning our backs on the person we were before God called us. It even means turning our back on those who try to pull us back into that pagan lifestyle because, truthfully folks, if God had called them that would not be their aspiration. Remember, becoming a knightly Christian is not going back to the bars, having premarital sex, and basically thinking you have received the genie called Jesus Christ who is waiting to fill your every wish. It’s not watching Sex in the City, Desperate Housewives, and viewing Internet porn. As knightly Christians we must search the word of God and see its truth, not spin its truth to fit our desires.

Forgiveness

However, as knightly Christians we must not forget an important aspect of biblical Christianity—forgiveness. In Matthew 18:35, Jesus talks about forgiveness, saying "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." He used the word brother for a reason. This is to mean our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Bible is clear about not intertwining nonbelievers in our lives. The pagan lifestyle has no business in the biblical Christian lifestyle. However, if God leads pagans into your life and they truly accept Jesus Christ in a biblical way, they are now your brothers and sisters in Christ, and they must be forgiven and the old lifestyle forgotten.

The LORD Jesus is our:

LOVE
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is Love." (1John 4:8)


"The LORD did not set His Love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people... Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth Covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His Commandments to a thousand generations." (Deuteronomy 7:7,9)


JOY
"The LORD had made them joyful." (Ezra 6:22)


"The joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)


PEACE
"Now The God of Peace be with you all." (Romans 15:33)


"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our LORD." (2Peter 1:2)


HOPE
"Now The God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." (Romans 15:13)


"That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His Commandments." (Psalm 78:7)


WISDOM
"For after that in the Wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (1Corinthians 1:21)


"Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God." (1Corinthians 1:24)


UNITY
"Endeavouring to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:3)


"Till we all come in the Unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13)


SAFETY
"Safety is of the LORD." (Proverbs 21:31)


"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:8)


"The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders." (Deuteronomy 33:12)


HEALTH
"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him, Who is The Health Of My Countenance, and my God." (Psalm 43:5)


"Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." (Proverbs 3:7-8)


"My son, attend to My Words; incline thine ear unto My Sayings. Let Them not depart from thine eyes; keep Them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find Them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:20-22)


STRENGTH
"I will love Thee, O LORD, my Strength. The LORD is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in Whom I will trust." (Psalm 18:1-2)


"Now know I that the LORD saveth His anointed; He will hear him from His Holy Heaven with the Saving Strength of His Right Hand." (Psalm 20:6)


"The LORD is my Strength and my Shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him." (Psalm 28:7)


PROSPERITY
"Save now, I beseech Thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech Thee, send now prosperity." (Psalm 118:25)


"They shall prosper that love Thee." (Psalm 122:6)


SALVATION
"The LORD is my Strength and Song, and He is become my Salvation." (Exodus 15:2)


"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my Strength, and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)


RIGHTEOUSNESS
"Their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:17)


"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD... He hath covered me with The Robe Of Righteousness, as a Bridegroom decketh Himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61:10)


"This is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Jeremiah 23:6)


SANCTIFICATION
"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our LORD Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever." (Hebrews 13:20-21)


"Who are kept by the Power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1Peter 1:5)


"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." (2Peter 2:20)


LIFE
"According as His Divine Power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto Life and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue." (2Peter 1:3)


"And this is Life Eternal, that they might know Thee the Only True God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent." (John 17:3)


"Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life." (Psalm 42:8)


BROTHER
"For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother." (Mark 3:35)


"Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren." (Hebrews 2:17)


"For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of One: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." (Hebrews 2:11)


"A friend loveth at all times, and a Brother is born for adversity." (Proverbs 17:17)


FRIEND
"13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you." (John 15:13-15)


"And I say unto you My friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." (Luke 12:4)


INTERCESSOR
"It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8:34)


"For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." (1Timothy 2:5)


"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)


"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." (Hebrews 9:24)


"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." (1John 2:1)


HIGH PRIEST
"We have such an High Priest, Who is set on the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens." (Hebrews 8:1)


"10 We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this Man, after He had offered One Sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:10-14)


LORD & KING
"He is LORD of lords, and KING of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful." (Revelation 17:14)


"Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances..." (Psalm 44:4)


"For God is my King of old, working Salvation in the midst of the earth." (Psalm 74:12)


"For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver, the LORD is our King; He will save us." (Isaiah 33:22)


BRIDEGROOM
"The bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." (Isaiah 62:5)


"He that hath the bride is the Bridegroom." (John 3:29)


"The Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him." (Matthew 25:6)


"The Bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with Him to the Marriage: and the door was shut." (Matthew 25:10)

Will We See The Savior?

“Sovereign Lord … you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation …” -- Luke 2:29-30

The religion page of a local newspaper carried a story called “Divine Encounters.” It was an account about three women who had what they called life-changing moments when they experienced God in a special way. One of the women talked about a time when she had lost all hope because she was full of pain and despair. She had decided to end her life. At that moment she saw Jesus standing in front of her, and she heard him say, “I love you. I love you so much that I died for you. And I want you to live for me.” It was the beginning of a new direction in her life. It would be easy to dismiss her story as a product of her imagination. Most of us have never seen the Savior standing in front of us. But whether it is through physical eyes or through eyes of faith, our Savior wants us to see him.

Simeon, after years of waiting, could finally say, “My eyes have seen your salvation.”

And later on, Peter wrote, “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).

Have you seen your Savior? Ask God for eyes of faith to see his impact on your life. You don’t have to see him physically, but it’s possible to see his work in your life so that you know, beyond doubt, that he is there. Ask God today to open your eyes so you can see Jesus.

“Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus.” Please give us a glimpse of your presence and reassure us that you are with us always. For your name’s sake, Amen.

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. – Psalm 32:1-2

"I had a vision of the Lord Jesus........!"

After my nightly prayers, I lay in bed, and before I close my eyes to go to sleep, I always say, "I Love You Jesus", and I always hear that inner small voice respond, "I love you too, Emma"! I did the same last night as I do ever other night, and no sooner I closed my eyes, I saw Jesus standing before me. Jesus was illuminated with a dazzling sparking white light! Jesus was clothed and dressed in whiter than white, as he stood there smiling at me with his arms wide opened reaching out to me! The next thing I knew I saw myself in his arms, which were wrapped around me as he was holding me close to Him and hugging me, as His love overflowed in my most innermost being. I too was dressed in a white gown. His white light was so brilliant on His person which engulfed and surrounded us both, I felt like we were one being...The vision must of lasted 5-10 seconds! I opened my eyes with tears flowing down my face as I was totally overwhelmed at what I had just seen occur. Then I heard within, that still small voice; I am coming to take my bride home! I have prepared a place for you and for all those whom love my appearing! Occupy just a little longer, and do not despair! I will come!


Come Lord Jesus, we are waiting, longing and loving your appearing!

The Lord’s Prayer For Today

My Father who lives in Heaven, may Your Name always be kept Holy and revered in my life, may your Kindgom, Will, Plans and Purposes be accomplished in my life today as it always is in Heaven.

Give me today my daily bread, finances, health, joy, and shalom and forgive me of all my sins, financial debts, wrong thinking and times of doubt that I questioned You, as I have forgiven all those around me that has ever done me wrong or misunderstood me.

Do not lead me into any hard testing and trials beyond my ability to withstand them, but protect me and keep me safe as Your child from the evil one and his authority, for Your Kingdom existed forever and Your Power and Glory reigns Supreme for all eternity.

I am in agreement to Your Will and let it be so in my life today.

REACHING OUT ( A Vision )

Today I was praying and I saw several men and women in vision. They had one thing in common, they were all reaching out. Each one was reaching out for someone or something that was missing. One man was reaching for his wife, but she was gone, another woman was reaching for her husband but he was dead, another woman was reaching for her child, but the child was gone, another man was reaching out for his mother but she was dead. Every one of them was reaching, reaching, and only gaining emptiness. The Lord told me that they were reaching in vain because all that they thought could comfort them was gone, and He wanted to comfort them, but instead of reaching out to Him, they continued to reach out to only memories of those things they imagined were comforting. The Lord told me that if His people would reach out to Him that He would delight in comforting them in every circumstance. He said that when people reach out to Him, they are filled with His comforts to such a degree that they are able to give those comforts to others.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.   2-Corinthians 1:3-4

The Story of Christmas

The story of Christmas dates back over 2000 years. During this era, Rome was a great empire ruled by Caesar Augustus and Israel was governed by King Herod.

The Story of Mary and Joseph
In the small village of Galilee in Nazareth, Israel, lived Mary a young virgin who was engaged to be married to Joesph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited Mary in her dream who told her she had been chosen to bear a Son of God and his name was to be Jesus. And thus, it happened that when Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. When Mary told Joseph, naturally he felt betrayed, but an angel visited him in his dream and verified what Mary had told him to be true. He thus took Mary to be his wife despite a possible public disgrace.

Mary and Joseph leave Nazareth for Bethlehem
At that time, Caesar Augustus declared that a census should be taken of every person in the entire Roman empire. And, everybody had to go to the place to which they belonged to register. As Joseph, was of the line of David, he and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to register. Joseph and Mary left Nazareth for Bethlehem. Mary who was with child, and close to the birth, rode on a donkey while Joseph walked beside her. They traveled for many days and only rested at night.When they reached Bethlehem it was night. They looked for a place to rest but there were no empty rooms when they reached the inn. As they were being turned away Joseph mentioned that his wife was with child and close to birth. The inn keeper took pity on them and told them of some caves in the nearby hills where shepherds would stay with their cows and sheep.

Jesus is Born
So Joseph and Mary went up into the hills and found the caves. In one cave was a stable room. Joseph cleaned it and made beds of fresh hay. He found a feeding trough which he cleaned and filled with hay to use as a crib. The next night Mary gave birth to a son and they named him Jesus, as the angel had said.

The Shepherds
When the child was born a shining star appeared over Bethlehem that could be seen for miles around. In the fields nearby were shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep. An angel appeared to them surrounded by bright light. The shepherds were frightened and tried to run.

"Fear Not," said the angel, "For I bring you tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day in Bethlehem - a Saviour who is Christ the Lord."

"And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

Suddenly the sky was filled with angels, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men."

After the angels departed the shepherds set out for Bethlehem. When they reached the cave they found the stable and inside was the child wrapped in swaddling clothes. The shepherds left, praising the lord and soon spread the news about this miraculous child who was to be the Savior of the world.

The Three Kings
As the star shined over Bethlehem, three kings of the east saw it. They knew it was a sign and they set off to follow the star. There was Caspar - the young king of Tarsus, Melchior – the king of Arabia who was a long bearded old man, and Balthazar - the king from Ethiopia. They traveled on camels for many days over mountains, through deserts and plains always following the shining star.

When they finally arrived in Bethlehem they found the child in the manger. The three kings bowed to the child and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They stayed the night in the cave and returned the next day to their lands to spread the news.

Merry Christmas

Spiritual Gifts

Every believer should go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to release these 9 gifts through them anytime that He will want to do so. Let God know that you will be a willing vessel for the manifestations of these gifts, and that you will give Him a full and solid green light to manifest these gifts though you at anytime that He will want to do so.

Wisdom Seeing life from God's perspective.

The gift of wisdom is the wisdom of God. It is the supernatural impartation of facts; it is not natural. You can't earn it. It is received from God through prayer (Ephesians 1:17).


Knowledge The supernatural comprehension of Christ and His Word.

The gift of the word of knowledge is the transcendental revelation of the divine will and plan of God. It involves moral wisdom for right living and relationships, requires objective understanding concerning divine things in human duties, and refers to knowledge of God or of the things that belong to God, as related in the Gospel.

The gifts of the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge function together; knowledge is raw material and wisdom builds on it.


Discernment Recognizing what is of God verses the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Discerning of spirits is the supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to perceive the source of a spiritual manifestation and determine whether it is of God (Acts 10:30-35), of the devil (Acts 16:16-18), of man (Acts 8:18-23), or of the world. It is not mind reading, psychic phenomena, or the ability to criticize and find fault.

Discerning of spirits must be done by the power of the Holy Spirit; He bears witness with our spirit when something is or is not of God.



Faith  Function on the behalf of the believer to perform something impossible by ordinary human efforts. God intervenes with His sovereignity and glory to work this miracle for us.

The gift of faith is the supernatural ability to believe God without doubt, combat unbelief, and visualize what God wants to accomplish. It is not only an inner conviction impelled by an urgent and higher calling, but also a supernatural ability to meet adverse circumstances with trust in God's words and messages.

This gift not only operates in healings and in miracles, but in the realm of the impossible as well. Saving faith produces the active faith of the fruit of the Spirit which, in turn, produces the gift of faith. When the gift of faith is empowered, the results are miraculous!



Healings Removing diseases from the spirit, soul, and body.

The gift of healings refers to supernatural healing without human aid; it is a special gift to pray for specific diseases.

Healing can come through the touch of faith (James 5:14-15); by speaking the word of faith (Luke 7:1-10); or by the presence of God being manifested (Mark 6:56; Acts 19:11-12).
The Bible speaks of "gifts" of healing because there are three types of healings: physical (diabetes, blindness, cancer, deafness, etc.), emotional (jealousy, worry, discouragement, and other destructive attitudes), and spiritual (bitterness, greed, and guilt, etc.).


Miracles Natural or supernatural events with precise timing to bring glory to God.

A miracle is the performance of something which is against the laws of nature; it is a supernatural power to intervene and counteract earthly and evil forces.

The gift of miracles operates closely with the power gifts of faith and healings to bring authority over Satan, sickness, sin, and the binding forces of this age.
Miracles can also be defined as supernatural intercessions of God. God exhorts us with energy to do something that is not natural or normal to us. Just as the ministry gift of miracles is the expression of prayer, so is the function of the Holy Spirit to direct our prayers (Romans 8:26).



Prophecy Bringing to light secret motives of the heart.

Prophecy is divinely inspired and anointed utterance; a supernatural proclamation in a known language. It is the manifestation of the Spirit of God - not of intellect (I Corinthians 12:7), and it may be possessed and operated by all who have the infilling of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 14:31)

Intellect, faith, and will are operative in this gift, but its exercise is not intellectually based. It is calling forth words from the Spirit of God. The gift of prophecy operates when there is high worship (I Samuel 10:5-6), when others prophets are present (I Samuel 10:9-10), and when hands are laid on you by ministers (Acts 19:1-6).



Diverse Tongues Glorifying God through language and music.

Supernatural utterance through the power of the Holy Spirit in a person that manifests as spiritual language. The Holy Spirit energizes the tongue to edify believers through language and music.

Diverse tongues is the most misunderstood and dynamic gift. It is not your prayer language, but it can surface through intercession, conference, or through the individual.


Interpretation of Tongues A supernatural verbalization and subsequent interpretation of the diverse tongue.


Interpretation of tongues is a supernatural verbalization and subsequent interpretation to reveal the meaning of a diverse tongue. This gift operates out of the mind of the Spirit rather than out of the mind of man.

The Word of God says that if you pray in tongues, you should pray that you will also interpret - not only for the benefit of others - but for your own benefit as well.


These 9 gifts are a tremendous help and aid to not only you in your own personal walk with the Lord, but many of them can be also used to help other people out as special needs and circumstances arise in their lives.

Jesus has been here, He is coming again

Jesus has been here, He is coming again, below are some of the differences between His two appearances.


1st time - only 1 star in the sky points to Him

2nd time - all the stars will fall for Him.


1st time - no room for Him on earth

2nd time - all the room of the universe is His


1st time - only a few will worship Him

2nd time - all will bow down to Him


1st time - came in humility

2nd time - comes in glory



1st time - comes in peace and joy

2nd time - comes in punishment and judgement



1st time - defeats evil

2nd time - removes evil


1st time - came in a womb

2nd time -comes on a cloud



1st time - left alone

2nd time - leaves with ALL His friends


Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Matt 24:24)

John 3:13 "The Story Of Love"

I have been crying for about half an hour after realising that I need God so badly. I thought I could hold all the pieces of my life together but I can't do it. I need my saviour. And after all of this, after all the things I've done wrong in my life, after all the stupid things I've said & done that I wish I could forget, God has forgiven me. GOD HAS FORGIVEN ME. No grudges, no threats, no anger. Just pure love.Thank you God, for saving me.