“Who’s In Control.”

“Who’s In Control?”

 

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year.  We will do business there and make a profit.”  How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?  Your life is like the morning fog—-it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.  James 4:13-14

James wrote to Jewish Christians concerning the impact of  selfish and worldly desires that were causing disruptions within the church.   God is NOT AGAINST making plans.  However, it is one thing for a TRUE BELIEVER to make plans and another to think that they are in complete CONTROL of EVERYTHING!  And one thing to REMEMBER is:  God HATES PRIDE!

The Believers that James was writing to had plans for the FUTURE.  And had SPECIFIC DETAILS.  They had a TIMETABLE (today or tomorrow), a DESTINATION (a certain town), a SCHEDULE (a year), a PLAN (to do business), and a DETERMINED OUTCOME (a profit). Now, you might think that it is a WISE thing to have PLANS, and in some situations it might be helpful.  But when a TRUE BELIEVER, who PROFESSES to have a STRONG FAITH and TRUST in the ALMIGHTY, excludes Him from those PLANS, and takes matters into their own hands. The believer, is acting in a PRIDEFUL and WORDLY way.

 It seems that they had more FAITH and TRUST in THEMSELVES than putting it ALL into GOD’S HANDS.   James asks:  “How do you know what your LIFE will be like tomorrow?” God SHOULD HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL of a TRUE BELIEVER’S LIFE.  Who BETTER than GOD?  He KNOWS EVERYTHING about His Children, from BIRTH to DEATH.  He KNOWS what will happen to them EVERY SECOND of EVERY DAY. 

I think that if you are a BELIEVER, it would be a VERY WISE thing to PRAY over EVERY ASPECT of your LIFE. James goes on to say that OUR LIFE is like the MORNING FOG, it is HERE a LITTLE WHILE, then it’s GONE! 

One VERY WISE PLAN that EVERYONE should make, is to GIVE ALL of their HEART and LIFE to the ALMIGHTY GOD, to do that, you MUST COME to GOD, the FATHER, through JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S ONE and ONLY SON, who GAVE His LIFE to SAVE your SOUL from HELL. FIRST, ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, who PAID IN FULL the PRICE of YOUR SALVATION and to KEEP YOU OUT of an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there.  You MUST BELIEVE with ALL YOUR HEART, that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him, and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS. You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.   You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and LET GOD BE IN COMPLETE CONTROL of ALL your PLANS.  He KNOWS what’s BEST for YOU.  Do this NOW while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

“Being Rich in Faith”

 “Being Rich in Faith”

 

My dear brothers and Sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our Glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?  James 2:1

 

James is writing to the Jews who were DISPERSED to other regions.  He is concerned about them being PREJUDICE, which is one of the ways a believer is STAINED by the WORLD.  Our Lord God is the CREATOR and GOD of ALL people, regardless of their STATUS in this life. He sent His ONLY SON to be the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE for ALL of mankind.  No matter if they are BLACK OR WHITE, RICH OR POOR, YOUNG OR OLD, MALE OR FEMALE, JEW OR GENTILE.  He does NOT SHOW ANY PARTIALITY.

James, gives them an EXAMPLE of being PARTIAL;  He tells of a person who is dressed in EXPENSIVE CLOTHING, indicating that this person is WEALTHY, who comes into their MEETING PLACE (church) and at the SAME-TIME, another person, dressed in DIRTY RAGS, indicating that he was POOR, came in.  If you gave the person dressed in the EXPENSIVE CLOTHING and JEWELRY one of the BEST SEATS in the MEETING PLACE, and took the POOR PERSON to another place that was far from being a GOOD place to sit, and you told them to sit on the FLOOR.  THAT IS DISCRIMINATION. 

James goes on to ask the question:  “Hasn’t God chosen the POOR in this world to be RICH in FAITH? In James’ time the RICH were MEAN to those who were DISADVANTAGED. And the people at the MEETING PLACE, in the example, were CATERING to the RICH and NEGLECTING the POOR, in hopes of FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, 

The ONLY ONE who is WORTHY of FAVORITISM is the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Jesus, tells us to LOVE our NEIGHBOR as we LOVE OURSELVES. And our NEIGHBOR is anyone we come in contact with.  The question is: Do you show FAVORITISM to one person over the other because of their RACE, FINANCIAL STATUS, or their STANDING in SOCIETY?  If you are, you are committing  a SIN, breaking  A LAW of GOD. 

We are to show KINDNESS, COMPASSION and LOVE, attributes of our Heavenly Father and His Son, JESUS CHRIST.  If you are NOT a TRUE BELIEVER, then DISCRIMINATION is only one of MANY SINS that you should REPENT of. The UNFORGIVABLE SIN is REJECTING GOD’S GIFT of SALVATION which is available ONLY through the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, who GAVE HIS LIFE to SAVE MANKIND’S WRETCHED SOULS and to give us an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS, and to be able to ESCAPE AN ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE ONCE you are THERE. 

In order to do that you MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR , JESUS, who DIED in YOUR place.  You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for us, before God, You MUST CONFESS ALL your SINS to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST be WILLING TO TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT GOD’S GIFT of SALVATION, and STOP DISCRIMINATING! And BE RICH IN FAITH!!  Do this NOW, while you STILL CAN!!!  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

“How Much God Loves Us”

 “How Much God Loves Us”

 

God showed how much He loved us by sending His One and Only Son into the world so we might have Eternal Life through Him.  This is REAL LOVE—not that we LOVED God, but that He LOVED us and sent His Son as a SACRIFICE to take away our sins.  1John 4:9-10

 

The month of February has been designated as the month of LOVE, at least in the United States of America.  And, as most people know, LOVE is celebrated on the fourteenth of this month.  And those who are linked by ROMANCE, show their LOVE by giving gifts of CANDY or FLOWERS, or maybe some other ROMANTIC ITEM. 

But there are those who do NOT participate in this tradition for various reasons.  Nevertheless, ALL of MANKIND, is LOVED by SOMEONE, and that SOMEONE is the One who CREATED THEM.  And will ONE DAY determine their ETERNAL DESTINATION. So, whether you receive FLOWERS, CANDY or some other reflection of someone’s affection OR you do not, you STILL have SOMEONE who LOVES YOU like NO-ONE else CAN.  And that SOMEONE IS GOD!!

God has shown us His LOVE and HOW MUCH He LOVES by GIVING us a GIFT that cannot be DUPLICATED, or MORE COSTLY than His.  But in order to EXPERIENCE GOD’S UNFAILING, EVERLASTING, ABUNDANT LOVE, you MUST HAVE a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with HIM, and  GOD is HOLY and RIGHTEOUS, MANKIND is NOT.  MANKIND is SINFUL, REBELLIOUS, and their HEARTS and MINDS are EVIL and DARK, GOD is NOT!!

So, the ONLY WAY to have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with the ALMIGHTY GOD, is to have a PURE, CLEAN, RIGHTEOUS, SACRIFICE. So, God LOVED MANKIND SO MUCH that He desired to have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with the CROWN of His CREATION, MANKIND, and to DEMONSTRATE HIS EVERLASTING LOVE, for His CREATION.  He GAVE MANKIND a PRICELESS GIFT; a HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, SACRIFICIAL LAMB, which is His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Therefore, “God showed how much He loved US by sending His ONE and ONLY SON into the WORLD so that WE might have ETERNAL LIFE through Him.  This is REAL LOVE—NOT that WE LOVED GOD, but that HE LOVED US and SENT His SON as a SACRIFICE to TAKE AWAY OUR SINS.”

Now, in order to EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVE, you MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.  You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU, and that HE is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you before God.  YOU must CONFESS your SINS to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. And you MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and EXPERIENCE GOD’S UNFAILING, EVERLASTING, ABUNDANT LOVE.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can!!!  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!  

“The LORD of Unfailing Love “

“The LORD of Unfailing Love”

For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. Psalm 103:11

 

Our God is GREAT and GREATLY to be PRAISED!! (Ps. 145:3) King David penned this Psalm of PRAISE to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. He started out with this: “Let ALL that I am PRAISE the LORD; with my WHOLE heart, I will PRAISE His Holy NAME.” (V1)

The King goes on to explain why he is so intent on PRAISING God. Here are a few of David’s HEARTFELT THOUGHTS. First, let me say that David was intent on NOT FORGETTING the GOOD THINGS that God had done for him. The LORD FORGIVES all his SINS. He HEALS all his DISEASES. He REDEEMS him from SPIRITUAL DEATH and CROWNS him with LOVE and TENDER MERCIES. He fills his LIFE with GOOD THINGS. He gives him STRENGTH to do what David must do. He also gives Him RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUSTICE. He is COMPASSIONATE and MERCIFUL. He is SLOW to get ANGRY and FILLED with UNFAILING LOVE!!

The God who CREATED ALL of HUMANITY, posses an UNFAILING LOVE that is as GREAT as the HEIGHT of the HEAVENS above. He has REMOVED our SINS as far as the EAST is FROM the WEST, NEVER TO BE REMEMBERED again. He KNOWS how WEAK we are; He REMEMBERS that we are only DUST. And that we are PRONE to being DISOBEDIENT to Him and His WORD.

And so, that is WHY He sent His ONLY, BELOVED SON, JESUS CHRIST, to become the ULTIMATE, SPOTLESS SACRIFICE for the SALVATION of ALL MANKIND.  And for those who COME to JESUS CHRIST, for the FORGIVENESS of their SINS, those SINS are GONE, NEVER to be REMEMBERED AGAIN.  And they will receive an ETERNITY in HEAVEN with ALL its BLESSINGS and they will be able to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY TO ESCAPE, ONCE YOU ARE THERE.

In order to experience the ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN and ESCAPE HELL, you MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST. You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS. You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFE-STYLE and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. You MUST ACCEPT HIS GIFT of SALVATION and become a RECIPIENT of the UNFAILING LOVE of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.   Do this NOW, while you STILL can. He is WAITING and COMING SOON!!!   Do not Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

“The Avenger of Sin”

 “The Avenger of Sin”

 

You who love the LORD, hate evil! He protects the lives of His Godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked.  Psalm 97:10

 

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout His Praise!  Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!  Let the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD for He is COMING!  He is coming to JUDGE the earth, and the nations with His Truth.   Psalm 96:11-13.

 

So, why should we offer Him PRAISE?  We should PRAISE Him because, He is the PROTECTOR of His Godly Ones and RESCUES them from the POWER of the WICKED.  He will also JUDGE ALL people with FAIRNESS. 

 

 He is KING of the UNIVERSE, and RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUSTICE are the FOUNDATION of His Throne. (V 2)  And we, who are His GODLY ONES SHOULD HATE EVIL, because we TRUST HIM to PROTECT US from the POWER of the WICKED.  He also SHOWS MERCY to those who belong to Him, this act of MERCY is that: He does NOT give them what they deserve, because of their SINS.

 

In order for someone to receive this MERCY, they MUST ADMIT that they are a SINNER that is in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the ONE, who in His MERCY and GRACE, did NOT give them what they deserved, BUT gave them what they did NOT DESERVE.  He was able to do this because He is the PERFECT, LAMB and SON of the LIVING GOD, who SUFFERED, BLED and DIED for the SINS of ALL MANKIND.  So, they might be able to have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with the ALMIGHTY GOD. 

 

They MUST BELIEVE with ALL their HEART that JESUS DIED for THEM, PERSONALLY, and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for them before God. They MUST CONFESS their SINS to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  They MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM their SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  They MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and an ETERNITY in HEAVEN with ALL its BLESSINGS and to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS.  And NO WAY to ESCAPE, once they are there. 

 

So, this is WHY we SHOULD PRAISE our AVENGER of SIN.  If you have NOT GIVEN your HEART and LIFE to God through the SHED BLOOD of His Son, JESUS, you NEED TO FOLLOW the steps ABOVE and do it NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!! We KNOW NOT the TIME of HIS RETURN, so be READY NOW,  and DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

“God’s Divine Plans”

 “God’s Divine Plans”

 

You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in Your Book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Ps. 139:16

The enormity of these intimate thoughts, which King David expressed in this Psalm, must have been OVERWHELMING to Him. Nevertheless, he KNEW and BELIEVED with ALL his HEART, that GOD had CREATED him and DEFINITELY had a PLAN for his life. David not ONLY BELIEVED, but he CONFESSED that God had those DIVINE PLANS for him, from the womb to the END of his LIFE.

Each of David’s days were PLANNED BY GOD.  And who BETTER could make those PLANS, but the ONE who CREATED David. In this PSALM, we see the DIVINE ATTRIBUTES of the ALMIGHTY GOD, which are:  His Omniscience—ALL KNOWING, His Omnipresence—He’s EVERYWHERE at the SAME TIME, and Omnipotent—-ALL POWERFUL.

David TRUSTED in God to carry out His DIVINE PLANS.  And even though, David SINNED GRIEVOUSLY.  He REPENTED of those sins with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  And has the reputation of being, a MAN after GOD’S own HEART.  David KNEW GOD PERSONALLY and wasn’t AFRAID to CALL on Him whenever the GOING got ROUGH.  And that TRUST was brought about because he KNEW his GOD and was not AFRAID to put HIS LIFE into the MIGHTY HANDS of his CREATOR.  “NO FEAR!”

So, as we embark upon a NEW YEAR, let us, with COMPLETE ABANDONMENT, give our CREATOR GOD, COMPLETE CONTROL of our EVERYDAY LIVES.  He KNOWS what is BEST for us, because He has PLANNED ALL OUR DAYS, and He KNOWS the NUMBER of DAYS we have til the END of this life. 

If you have NOT come to the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the ONE who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED, and was RESURRECTED so that you might have ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN with ALL its BLESSINGS, then your DESTINY is at GREAT RISK of spending an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there. 

In order to have this ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN, you MUST COME to JESUS and ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR.  Then BELIEVE with ALL your HEART, that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your sins to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFE-STYLE, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. And you MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and be WILLING to WHOLE-HEARTEDLY COMMIT YOURSELF to GOD’S DIVINE PLANS.

What does 2025, hold for us, I do not know, but I MUST FAITHFULLY and FULLY TRUST the ONE, Who has ALL MY DAYS PLANNED.  And YOU SHOULD DO the SAME, because your ETERNAL DESTINY DEPENDS on IT!!   And He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

“The Resolution of a King”

 “The Resolution of a King”

 

“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51:10-11

 

This time of year, we make RESOLUTIONS and PROMISES to do BETTER in the NEW YEAR. These are RESOLUTIONS and PROMISES that could CHANGE one’s way of THINKING and even possibly LIVING. But as SURE as NOT, we don’t FOLLOW through with KEEPING those RESOLUTIONS or PROMISES.

King David, had made some VERY BAD choices, concerning a married woman. And those choices cost him DEARLY.  David had SINNED against God, and he was confronted by Nathan, the prophet, after the Kings affair with Bathsheba. This caused David to have to FACE God with his TRANSGRESSIONS.  And with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, David cried out to the ALMIGHTY GOD for MERCY on him.

In verse 3, David pours out his heart, by admitting that he is a SINNER, that has REBELLED AGAINST God and GOD ALONE.  David asked God to PURIFY HIM from his sins and he proclaimed that he would be CLEAN.  David also asked God to STOP looking at his sins, and to REMOVE the STAIN of his GUILT. 

Then the King asked God to CREATE in him a CLEAN HEART. And to RENEW a LOYAL SPIRIT within him.  Then David asked God to NOT TAKE the HOLY SPIRIT away from him. David was NOT CONCERNED about his SALVATION, and he was NOT TALKING about the INDWELLING of the HOLY SPIRIT because the Spirit did NOT indwell the Old Testament Believers.  The Holy Spirit came to EMPOWER those who had a CALLING on their lives.  The Spirit  came and went as He was needed.  The INDWELLING of the HOLY SPIRIT was FIRST carried out, on the Day of PENTECOST, after the RESURRECTION and ASCENSION of the LORD JESUS CHRIST

Now, back to King David, who made a RESOLUTION of sorts.  He asked God to RESTORE the JOY of his SALVATION.  So, that he might be a WITNESS of GOD’S UNFAILING LOVE, to the REBELLIOUS, so they might come to GOD for their SALVATION.

Did he keep his RESOLUTION?  I would think he did, for the most part.  But David, was NOT SINLESS, he was a SINFUL person, BUT he was a man after GOD’S HEART.  And his THRONE will be ETERNAL with JESUS CHRIST COMING SOON to reclaim the DAVIDIC THRONE. 

So, have you made PROMISES or RESOLUTIONS to God, which you have NOT KEPT. Or are you one who has NOT had an ENCOUNTER with the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE.  The ONE who will be the JUDGE, and who will decide your DESTINY?

In order for you to come to God’s ONLY SON, JESUS CHRIST, you MUST ADMIT that you are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS, who GAVE His Life to SAVE your SOUL from an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there.  You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that JESUS DIED FOR YOU, and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINS, snd TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and KEEP your PROMISES to Him.   Do this NOW, while you STILL can!!!  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!   “Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!