Pentecost Sunday

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Conforming to the world, its not really a new thing, it’s been happening from the onset of the church and even before, Galatians 1:6, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:”

The world can twist, refute, dilute, delete, and compromise the Word of God in pretty much any matter including salvation!

Jude 3-4, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” On this Pentecost Sunday let us contend for the “Faith”.

There are not many ways to get to heaven as many Hollywood personalities have claimed as well as some biblically ignorant churches, Oprah Winfrey says this, “Well, I am a Christian who believes that there are certainly many more paths to God other than Christianity” Steve Harvey also believes this.

What’s worse is that an ever-increasing number of church goers believe that your good works will get you into heaven. According to a Christian post article from September 2022, over a third of senior pastors believe, “good people” can earn their way to heaven.

Psalms 14:1-3, “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Your “good” works cannot get you into heaven!

If we had multiple choices to make heaven, I would think the Apostles would have been witness to that, Acts 2:1-4, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

This attracted a crowd questioning what was happening in which the Apostle Peter stands up to explain this phenomenon in verse 21 he says, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Peter doesn’t stop there but continues on talking of Jesus and the resurrection which then brings us to the question that we all need to come to in our life, when we realize we were sinners that needed a Savior, Acts 2:37, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

This is where we should see an option lists if there are other ways to salvation, Acts 2:38-42, “then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

We can find this same formula in Acts chapters 8,10, and 19 which is the only formula to fulfill the Born-Again experience in the Gospel of John.

The book of Acts of the Apostles is the only NT book that gives us the history of the birth of the church. The “Epistles” to follow, literally, “letters” contain topics that the author which often carried an admonition to turn away from sinful things with instructions about how to live a life as a believer in Christ.

These are written to “saints” example, Galatians 1:1-5, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Galatians 1:9, “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

We will not conform to the world’s standards in doctrine and especially when it comes to what the Word of God tells us when it comes to salvation!

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The Price Has Been Paid!

1Corinthians 7:23, “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”

What is the value of a human being? The U.S. government federal agencies have a very specific answer. They say a human life is worth about $10 million. 80 quadrillion dollars. A housewife would be considered worth an estimated salary of $113,586.00 per year.

Psalms 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Ways To Evangelize Effectively – STOP USING THE WORD “SIN!” by Robert Wimer|Published December 31, 2019, stated this,

“Probably the worst thing you could do when evangelizing to anyone is to use the word “sin.” It’s a word that has no meaning to anyone except Christians. Jesus never used it, but this is what He did do.” WRONG!

Joh 8:34, “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”

Rom 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I read recently that one very large church in their invitation to the public won’t use the words “blood of Jesus”, “calvary”or “resurrection” in an effort to make their church more accessible to a wider audience, they have chosen not to use certain words that might alienate potential non-Christian attendees.

When talking about our salvation the “blood of Jesus” is an extremely important doctrine that we need to understand.

Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

In the sacrifice that was required of the Israelites, blood was the main ingredient in it, Hebrews 9:18-22, “Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

This is no more apparent in the “Passover” found in Exodus 11-19, a lamb without blemish was to be sacrificed, “Exodus 12:5-8, “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.”

Now I have heard that the angel of death only had to see the blood upon the doorposts and would Passover that house no matter who was inside the home.

But there was a preparation made before the blood was applied, the house was to be rid of leaven which often is referenced as “sin” in the bible. Like wise before the blood of Christ can be applied in our lives, we need to do one thing! Acts 2:38

Matthew 26:26-28, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

1 Peter 1:18-20, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,” How precious is that blood?

The price has been paid and God had the plan for it before the creation of this world.

One of the last things Jesus mentioned on the cross was “It is Finished”. Telling us the era of the law was over, Jesus came not to destroy the law but fulfill it and the beginning of the era of Grace was to begin.

The one thing that amazes me in all this is Romans 5:6-8, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.”

Hebrews 12:1-2, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

You looking unto the author and finisher of our faith?

1Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s”

We can because the Price has been PAID!

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The Spirit of Fear

2Timothy 1:1-7, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Fear: “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger”

According to Clifford Nass, a professor of communication at Stanford University, “We get scared because of what we imagine could happen. Some neuroscientists claim that humans are the most fearful creatures on the planet because of our ability to learn, think, and create fear in our minds.” Once you have become frightened, everything seems scarier, and your fear response becomes amplified. It’s called potentiation when your fear becomes intensified and you react more powerfully. For example, if you are already afraid of snakes, and you see one, you might jump back and scream – even if it’s a harmless garter snake.

Fear does have two positive outputs according to the word of God, Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.”

Fear, “reverence”

Jude 1:21-23, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Fear today is being wielded as a powerful weapon to control us and to conform our minds to be totally dependent on those who have become our masters.

Just think in the past couple decades how we have surrendered freedoms one after another whether you feel that makes you safer or not.

We can go back to the disaster at the twin towers and easily see how things changed for the way we travel by air. You can’t take liquids over a certain amount, you have to empty your pockets, take your shoes and belt off, go through an x-ray machine and if deemed necessary may be put in a room to be examined further.

We also have an ever-increasing number of restrictions put on our right to bear arms.

Your right to speech has also been limited against certain cultural beliefs that at one time wouldn’t be acceptable in most places which can get you banned, arrested, or even worse!

Look how a small virus has completely changed our country starting over 4 years ago.

Luk 21:26, “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” Fear!

They are trying to use fear to control us in every facet of our lives, has anybody heard of climate change?

How about our coming election, if we don’t vote the way they tell us our democracy is over, we will be in WW3, interestingly those making that claim are the ones who have those intentions.

You ever heard of Disease X?

In 2018 he WHO announced a shortlist of priority diseases, disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be cause by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease, January 28^th 2024 the symptoms were announced, symptoms appear suddenly and may consist of fever, cramps in the muscles, fainting, neck pian, back pain, headaches, swollen eyes, and light sensitivity.

A few paragraphs later it says additional signs and symptoms include fast heartbeat, swelling of lymph nodes, and petechial blisters on the skin and inside surfaces like the mouth and throat.

After the fourth- or fifth-day patients can get organ failure, in the second week of the illness most patients pass away. It is expected to kill 50 million people so are you fearful now?

The good news that after the ninth or tenth day of sickness most survivors get better.

H.R.3832 Disease X Act of 2023 introduced 6/5/2023 gives (BARDA) more power to develop a program for developing medical countermeasures for any viral threats with pandemic potential.

1Jn 4:17-19, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.”

Hebrews 13:5-6, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

This World is seeking total control over mankind and to do that it needs to silence the church.

What should we do?

Keep speaking the truth anyway

Combat the lies of the enemy with the Word of God

To expose sin

To tell the world of the coming consequences of the sin

To share the rescue that came through Jesus Christ.

I will not live in fear!

2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Such a Mess-terpiece

So, who has it all together?

Romans 7:14-20, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.”

I ask you again, who has it all together?

If we really would sit down and would just be able to look at your life in nonjudgmental way, how would you describe it? Would you say you had it all together or would you say, what a mess?

It isn’t too hard to see that our country is a mess, from inflation, rising interest rates, uncontrolled crime, natural disasters, wars, awful political climate, to just to name a few.

The Apostle Paul was a man that most would think had it all together, but we can plainly see the struggle was real with him. He describes himself in 1Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” Ephesians 3:8, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”

We don’t have to look to far in the bible and see that many of the ones used by God were a mess, Jacob was liar, Moses killed a man, Aaron built an idol for the Israelites to worship, David committed adultery, most of the kings after Solomon were wicked, the prophets had issues, Elijah suffered depression, Jonah ran from his duties.

“People are messy”.

Look at the twelve men that Jesus choose to carry on His message. A thief, betrayer, denier, jealous, angry, fearful bunch of followers!

Thank God we are not like that, we got it all together, right?

Rom 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

1Co 6:9-11, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Rom 5:1-5, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Thank God that Christ died for the ungodly, but He doesn’t want you to stay there!

1Ti 1:12-14, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”

2Co 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Eph 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” NLT translation of workmanship is “masterpiece”

God has turned this mess into a Mess-terpiece!

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For His Good Pleasure

Ephesians 1:6-10, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”

I don’t know if you ever have seen a picture of what man imagines God to look like but it usually is an old, grey-haired, muscle-bound man how is stoic without emotion. (My bible says Gd is a Spirit and no man has seen him so this is just the imagination of men).

Movies sometimes have given this same non-emotion to our savior Jesus Christ so is probably why I don’t take time to watch them for we are created in His image, Revelations 4:10-11, “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

“Pleasure?” you mean God, Jesus, had emotions, ahh yes, yes, yes!

Philippians 2:12-13, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

We are created by Him and for Him, we are created with emotions just like our creator and we are to continue to walk in good works. Not to earn our salvation but because we love Him and desire to serve Him with all our heart.

That’s hard! John 15:4-5, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

In our yard and around us we have a abundance of wild black raspberries growing in which I pick several gallons of each year we have lived here. Its not the easiest thing for its usually during the hottest weeks of the year and can take at least two hours to pick that amount. Thorns also are part of the raspberry plant and I also find the best fruit is found among the tallest and thickest of these. I have been cut by these thorns and been tripped up by the vines that grow among. But this never stops me for I always push forward because of the pleasure of canning several jars of jam from each batch I pick.

Life is similar to this as we have to endure what this world piles on us, but we know of the prize to come and our desire to be with our savior forever out weighs the sufferings of this world.

Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus did this for me so I will do this for him! Hebrews 13:15-16, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

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You Grace is Sufficient

2 Corinthians 12:6-10, “For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

There are many thoughts about what this thorn in the Apostles Paul’s side was, if it was a physical problem or may have been a spiritual one but the Lord clearly tells him that his prayer for it to go away would not happen but to rely on God;s grace in dealing with it.

Today I’m going to attempt to answer one of the “why” questions.

There are biblical reasons for our prayers seemingly being not answered and the main reason is because we have sin in our lives. Isa 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

It maybe be for a selfish reason, James 4:3, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Lack of faith is another, James 1:6-8 , “but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

Other reasons are that you didn’t ask or its not God’s timing and so on.

First thing we need to understand is that God is not the cause of suffering in this world. Ultimately, it’s man that brought sin and death upon all mankind.

Who brought the thorn in Paul’s side? Yep, Satan

I’m not positive who the author of the book of Job is but who is the one who brought death to Job’s family? Who caused illness to Job?

When God spoke to Job, did He ever explain why these things happened to Job?

Isaiah 55:6-12 tells us that God is sovereign!

Now, if you’re not Born Again of the water and Spirit, God has no obligation to hear your prayer, Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

But paise God he can and will answer prayers of those not in the “Born Again” group as many of us would not be here if Jesus hadn’t answered our pray in those dark days of our lives. Matthew 15:21-28, “Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour”

John 9:39, “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

God does not cause sickness, Matthew 17:14-18, “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.”

God is not the source of death, Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

So, we can easily see why there is sickness and death in this world but that doesn’t answer why it seems God does not answer our prayers, I mean we ask, we believe, we repent of our sins, we forgive others, so why?

It really goes to our feeble thoughts of who God is and how merciful He is!

1Timothy 1:12-16, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

We live in a corrupt fallen world, where every evil imaginable is possible, where sickness, murder, death is rampant, where a child in what should be the safest place you could imagine is in danger. Where governments that were established to protect your freedoms are taking them away and looking for complete control every facet of your life. Where Jesus Christ and His followers have become a threat to this control and are labeled as bigots and racist.

In a way God has answered the prayers of this world and that prayer is for God to leave us alone! Let us decide for ourselves what is right and wrong.

But I also contend that Jesus does hear the prayers of His children Psalms 66:19-20, “But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.”

This my not answer in its entirety the “Why” question since in this life we may not get that answer but God does hear and sometimes we don’t like the answer. Never lose that trust and get caught up in the lie of the devil that God just doesn’t care for He does!

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The Promise

Promises made, promises kept used to be the saying, not so much anymore!

A promise is an assurance similar to a vow or a pledge where one will do, give, or arrange something, undertake, or declare that an event will happen. A promise is sacred and verbal commitment that isn’t to be broken.

We all of unfortunately been the victim of a broken promise and try as we may, have been guilty of breaking a promise sadly. It used to be that “your word is your bond”.

There is someone who will always keep His promise, Titus 1:1-2, “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”

Let’s look at the greatest promise ever made in the History of mankind that came about by a major mess up at the very beginning of mankind.

The man Adam was created with the best of everything with only one instruction to not do something which was to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 3:1-3, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”

There were several consequence of this disobedience to God and first was to the serpent, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”

With that comes the first promise from God of a redeemer one day, Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Throughout the entire Old Testament, we have the hope that this Messiah would be appearing soon. But for 4000 years as man waited even though having many miracles are recorded this miracle was not fulfilled.

It has been said that we have over 300 prophecies about that birth, life, and death of the Messiah and the book of Isaiah is the clearest about what to look for about the promise.

A virgin; Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The Name; Isaiah 9:6-7, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

His lineage; Jeremiah 23:5-6, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

A forerunner; Isaiah 40:3-4, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:”

The promises of the place of the birth of Jesus is also mentioned in Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

So when were these promises fulfilled?

Mark 1:1-4, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”

Luke 1:26-33, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

Luke 2:1-7, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

So, with all these promises and more how could the nation of Israel miss the coming of the Lord?

The promises of God didn’t end with the birth of the Messiah, for each of us are given a promise if we are willing to accept it, Acts 2:38-39, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

Our lord also promises in no matter what situation you are in that you will never be alone, Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

We also have the promise that Jesus is going to come back for us, John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

This place is going to be the most wonderful place and beyond our imaginations, Revelations 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Jesus Christ is and will always be the GREATEST PROMISE

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No Neutral

A storm in the spiritual realm has been going on for decades now with different strengths. Like Hurricanes when it is out in the ocean gathering strength it can’t be seen by the eye but some other means, the church doesn’t notice the storm with the naked eye. When the storm comes ashore, we are able to see the damage from the wind and rain but then it starts to lose strength as it moves further more inward. The church similarly should see the damage of this spiritual storm as it hits and should start to battle against it pushing it back, but unfortunately in our world today it remains neutral to it.

The problem is that these storms are not only getting stronger and the gaps between events are getting shorter and shorter but they are not fighting anymore. They have taken up a neutral ground!

1Kings 18:21, “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

Paul put it his way, Romans 8:6-9, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

Jesus said in Matthew 12:25-30, “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”

C. S Lewis wrote, “There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every minute of every hour is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.”

There has been an argument in the churches for as long as I can remember about if the church should or should not be involved in politics. Some take the position that all we should do is preach Jesus to the point that we don’t follow trends, don’t vote, or take any position on who is running our country both local and nationally. Some take that neutral position that we should vote but it is not to be discussed in the pulpit. Some others think it should be something to be discussed in light of what the scripture says and still others are very bold in speaking about politics.

Gods’ intention for the nation Israel was that He would reign of them, but seeing other nations led by a king, they cried to Samuel, in 1Samuel 8:5, “And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” Vs 7, “And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”

The Lord even told them the consequences of having a king, how they would lose freedoms, possessions, be taxed, etc., but it didn’t matter. Israel had some good kings and very evil kings and eventually became captives under other nation rulers.

So what is our responsibility to the government, 1Timothy 2:1-3, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;”

Number one is that we pray not just for our fellow man but our leadership, so the question is, do you”

Romans 13:1-7, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”

Who likes that? Who wants be subject to the higher powers, who likes to pay taxes?

But we must notice something that the government is to do…to do good, to reward good, to punish evil! We are to submit to God and government until we can’t because they require to violate the word of God, then we submit to God!

Those given authority (state) are responsible to act in the interest of God who has all authority, Government should be a ministry of righteousness.

1Kings 3:6-9, “And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”

The Apostles give us several examples of what happens with the government abandons God’s purpose for it and goes against His word…

Acts 5:29, “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

“How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him”

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Dealing With Grief

Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

In spite of we as Christians have been told we just like every other person in this fallen world go through times of grief. One author put it this way, “Grief never ends, it’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness nor a lack of faith, It is the price we pay for love.”

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” When I was dealing with the loss of my daughter to cancer, I will be honest and say that I didn’t like this scripture very much. How could something so horrible ever work together for any good…ever, and even today it’s a tragedy in my life that I still don’t care to think about but I have learned several things as result of handling grief.

Grief can either destroy you or can motivate you and for me it has allowed me to become more compassionate to others especially those that have experienced loss similar to what our family has. Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” We receive comfort from not only Gid but from others.

It definitely gave me a different perspective on precious, how fragile life, and how short life is, James 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Grief has allowed me to not be fearful of showing emotions for I once took great pride in keeping my emotions in check. We are often told and have told our children to not cry or to suck it up and take it like a man. With the loss of my friend Russ, then my son Jeff, and then my daughter Sarah I found that I could no longer control those emotions and you know what? Its Okay! Isaiah 53:3, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Jesus knew grief and likewise understands the grief we suffer as well.

So, with that, I would like to talk about the bit “D”, yes “Depression”. Something that we as Christians ignore and claim that we are immune to it since we are filled with the Spirit of God. After the culmination of the three deaths in a relatively short time even though at the time I would have denied it, I was indeed in period of depression. I was never angry with God, but I was disappointed, because I know our Lord is a healer, but my friend and daughter where not healed.

I thought to myself that how could I ever enjoy life again, what is the point of going on if everything I love is being taken from me. Now I wasn’t suicidal (I don’t think) but I was emotional numb.

So, this gets me to the picture of our cat Bullet that I selected for this blog. I always been okay with cats but I could live without them. So, one day my wife decides to bring this kitten home and I was like why? But watching this little ball of fur run around, get into mischief, lay on my feet, purr as it would nibble on my nose, I began to laugh and smile once again, (we ended up with another cat “Duke” as Bullet was supposed to be a boy and turned out to be a girl and I’m okay with that).

Our cats didn’t save my life for only Jesus Christ can do that but they did change me to start enjoying life which is one thing we need to remember when going through grief is that it will be okay to smile, laugh, and have a good time one day and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it!

Psalms 34:18, “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

The last thing I want to share about grief is that it has made me even more aware of how much I need Jesus in my life, He never left me nor forsook me during my grief or my entire life and one day I will be in His marvelous presence, Revelations 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Strange Things

Acts 17:16-20, “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.”

Can any of you think back to the first time you heard the gospel and what you thought?

Our generation was the last generation that most of us on a Sunday attended service with any regularity. The Gen X kids seem to have very little knowledge of Gods word which seems to be fulfillment of Amos 8:11, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:”

Have any of you ever seen when Jay Leno would go on the streets and ask questions of people and some of the bazaar answers he would get?

This was a series of questions asked of group of 12 college bible students with the first question of “What was the occupation of Matthew before he followed Jesus?” ½ gave the wrong answer as some said he was a fisherman. Another question was, “What is the shortest book in the NT?” many answered Jude but it is 3John, another question was, “What was the Apostle Paul’s occupation?” one said he was a killer of Christians, and still another was is they could name just 7 of the 12 original disciples? With only one being able to name 7.

When many of us in here were growing up we didn’t have any issues with such as Moses crossing the Red Sea, David in the giant Goliath, The Virgin birth or The Resurrection.

To many of those out in the world today they would tell you that these are “Strange Things”

I didn’t have any issues with any of these things but If I was to be honest there were many times when I first heard of something that was in the word of God, that I to said those are “Strange Things”.

I never heard of the rapture until I read a book by Hal Lindsey called “The Late Great Planet Earth” to me it was a “Strange Thing”. With that I fist heard of “The Mark of the Beast”, that there would be a “New Heaven and a New Earth” someday. “Strange Things” indeed.

Rom 10:14-15, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

I had read the bible several times but still found and heard “Strange Things”, I remember the first time I had overheard someone talking about “Speaking in tongues”. Well, I was just like those in Acts 2:12-13, “And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.”

Many speakers of that time claimed tongues was only for the first believers and I even heard one say it was of the devil not God. There is some bad teaching out in our world today and we have to be not fearful in calling it out. We need to be faithful in what we tell others to be true the infallible word of God and be careful to not put our fallible opinions in. We also as hearers need to verify what we are being told with the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

When I heard tongues explained to me in the context of the book of Acts and Acts 2:38

The Jewish people had everything they needed to become Born Again but had one issue. Romans 9:30-33, “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” The law was a stumbling block to truth for faith was a “Strange Thing” to the learned Jew of the day.

Romans 10:16-17, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We have an obligation to tell others of the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but don’t be shocked by the response of what you are saying is a “Strange Things”. You may need to explain things slower than how you had received the salvation message because you had some faith in the word of God already.

As Paul continued ministering to them with “Strange Things” look what happens Act 17:29-34, “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” Never be fearful to use your testimony as a step to share the gospel, it may sound as “Strange Things” but it may what strikes a cord in the heart of the hearer!

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