"Hope and Despair"

“Hope and Despair”

 

 

He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.  He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.  Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God---children not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  John 1:10-13.

 

To me these verses of Scripture give HOPE and DESPAIR in the very same context.  The Lord Jesus Christ, the Word, was with God from the very beginning, because the Word, Jesus, was God, and through Him ALL things were created, as a matter of fact, without Him nothing was created that has been created.  (v1).

 

Though He created the world, the world did not recognize Him, and much of the world still refuses to RECOGNIZE or ACKNOWLEDGE Jesus Christ.  He came to His own people, the Jewish Nation of Israel, and even they refused to RECOGNIZE or RECEIVE Him.  Much of the Nation of Israel like the rest of the world, still REFUSES to RECOGNIZE Jesus as the Messiah, or the Son of the Living God.  This is the DESPAIR that is upon this sin-sick, wretched, depraved, and DOOMED world, the REJECTION of Jesus Christ, the ONLY source of SALVATION for a lost and dying world.  A lost people who are dying, and will face condemnation and the sentence of an ETERNITY in Hell, at the hands of a RIGHTEOUS and HOLY JUDGE

 

Yet to ALL who did and will receive Him, those who BELIEVED and will BELIEVE in Him, today, He gives the ability to become the Children of God.  This is the ONLY WAY to receive Jesus Christ and to become a part of God’s Holy Family, who will inherit ALL the glories of Heaven, and be able to live with Christ and the Heavenly Father throughout ALL ETERNITY.  This is the HOPE that is offered to ANYONE who will BELIEVE, with ALL their HEART in His name and RECEIVE Him as their SAVIOR and Lord.

 

So the question that I pose to you today is:  “Are you LIVING with HOPE? Or are you LIVING with DESPAIR?  If you are LIVING with DESPAIR, and DOOMED to face the judgment of your sins, and the condemnation of your soul, and to be sentenced to an ETERNITY in Hell.  You are NOW given the opportunity to TURN AWAY and LEAVE your life of DESPAIR and to RECEIVE your adoption into the Family of God, and to LIVE in HOPE for an ETERNITY in Heaven.  You do that by:  coming to God with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING your sins to Him, and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you before God, then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION and start LIVING with HOPE for an ETERNITY in Heaven.  Do it NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"The Defilement of a Person!

“The Defilement of a Person”

 

 

But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.   For out of the heart come evil thoughts---murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.   These are what defile a person…            Matthew 15-20a

 

 

The defilement of a person does not come from the outside, but from what is in the HEART.  A person’s MOUTH tells of that person’s mindset, and you can pretty much tell a lot about a person when they open their mouth and speak. 

 

Out of their MOUTH comes the true essence of the HEART.  And the HEART is DECEITFUL above ALL things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?  (Jer. 17:9)   The Lord searches the heart and examines the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct. (v10).   

 

So since it is the things that come out of a person’ s mouth, which indicates the content of their HEART, that defiles a person, it must be the HEART of mankind that is EVIL, WICKED, CONIVING, SCHEMING, and DEPRAVED.  Because the EVIL THOUGHTS, MURDER, ADULTERY, SEXUAL IMMORALITY, THEFT, FALSE TESTIMONY (lying), and SLANDER, among other corrupt, depraved, and evil doings, brings DEFILEMENT to a person. 

 

When a person comes to Christ for their SALVATION, the process begins in the HEART, and from the HEART to the MOUTH, and SALVATION has come.  Romans 10:10 says:  “For it is with your HEART that you believe and are justified, and it is with your MOUTH that you profess your FAITH and are SAVED.  

 

If you declare with your MOUTH, “Jesus is LORD,” and believe in your HEART that God raised Him from the dead, you will be SAVED.  This is a promise from God’s Holy Word.  When you are given the invitation from the Holy Spirit of God to come to Christ for the SALVATION of your soul.  You must be WILLING to come to Him with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART and TURN AWAY from your sinful deeds. Then with your MOUTH, CONFESS your sins to Him, asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVEING, with your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God, then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION and receive the HOPE of Heaven for all eternity.  We are facing UNCERTAIN, UNNERVING times, some of us BELIEVE that the RETURN of Jesus Christ is IMMENIENT, it COULD happen ANY DAY.  Are you READY??  You can be if you do this NOW, while you still have time.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!

 

 

 

 

"Our ONLY Hope!"

“Our ONLY Hope!”

 

 

We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.  May Your unfailing love be with us Lord, even as we put our hope in You.         Psalm 33:20-22

 

We are facing UNCERTAIN times, with the outcome of the election for the highest office in the land.  The looming results that will alter our lifestyle, such as the appointments to the Supreme Court, immigration, taxes, AFFORDABLE healthcare, the economy, the security of our nation, etc., but for the TRUE BELIEVER, the most vital thing; our RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES.  As TRUE BELIEVERS we SHOULD be, and NEED to be in CONSTANT contact with our ONLY HOPE, God, our Heavenly Father, we do that by PRAYING CONSISTENTLY, and SEEKING His GUIDANCE.

 

While we WAIT on His timing, we NEED to wait in HOPE, because He is our HELP and our SHIELD in EVERY situation.  He is the ANSWER for this MOST UNPRECEDENTED time in the history of this nation.  He is our PROCTECTOR during the PERILOUS times we are facing.  I believe with ALL my HEART that whatever happens, HE IS IN CONTROL, and we CAN and SHOULD TRUST in His holy name.  I believe that we are VERY CLOSE to the end of this age, and it could be that the NEXT climatic event facing this old, wretched, sin-laden, world is the RAPTURE of the TRUE BELIEVERS of Jesus Christ.  Are you READY?

 

PLEASE VOTE, and VOTE your CONVICTIONS.  Make it a matter of PRAYER, and seek God’s guidance.  He is our ONLY HOPE!  Our HELP and our SHIELD.  TRUST in His HOLY NAME, the NAME of JESUS CHRIST, His Only Begotten Son, the HOPE of our SALVATION. 

 

If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God, then you have NO HOPE for the days that lie ahead nor for the ETERNAL destination of your sinful soul and will face certain judgment and condemnation.  However, because of God’s UNFAILING LOVE, AMAZING GRACE and ABUNDANT MERCY, you have the opportunity to come to Him with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING your sins to Him and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART that JESUS died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God, then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION and let Him be your HOPE, HELP and SHIELD for the days ahead.   Do it NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"The Word"

“The Word”

 

 

But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s Word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  By the same Word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly.            2 Peter 3:5, 7

 

In the Apostle Peter’s second letter to the TRUE BELIEVERS of his day, he addressed the problems with the false teachers who were bent on leading people away from the TRUE doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ and His return.  The false teachers in this chapter are referred to as “scoffers” who, following their own evil desires, try to discount the return of Christ, saying:  “Where is this coming He promised?  Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (V4)

 

Then the Apostle Peter reminds the TRUE BELIEVER of the POWER of God’s WORD, saying that these scoffers DELIBERATELY FORGOT that by God’s WORD the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water, and the world was DESTROYED by God’s WORD and by water.

One important fact:  The “WORLD” meant the inhabitants of the earth, and not the planet itself.  The planet was not completely destroyed, only the inhabitants, except for Noah, his family and two of each species of wildlife. 

 

And God is holding the earth in reserve until the time when He will DESTROY the earth by the power of His WORD, and by FIRE.  The Day of the Lord includes the TRIBULATION, the MILLENIUM, and the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT, where UNGODLY MANKIND, will be JUDGED and thrown into the Lake of Fire, this is their Day of Judgment and destruction.  Will this be your destiny?   

 

Then the heavens and earth will be destroyed by fire. All of this will be carried out by the POWER of God’s WORD.  Just as this earth was created by God’s WORD, it will be destroyed by His WORD.

 

If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God then you are in danger of being cast into the Lake of Fire, but God in His AMAZING GRACE and ABUNDANT MERCY is offering you a WAY of escape by coming to Him with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING your sins to Him, and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God, then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and be SAVED by the blood of Jesus, and by the POWER of God’s WORD.  Do it NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

 

 

 

 

 

"The Wicked, The Righteous, and God!"

“The Wicked, The Righteous, and God!”

 

 

The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.  But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.  He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them.         Psalm 94:21-23

 

It seems that we are living in a “WORLD of LAWLESSNESS,” a world where wrong doing has become the norm and RIGHTEOUS LIVING has become a THREAT to society.  There is something TRAGICALLY wrong with this scenario.  But I believe that we are living in the last days, and are seeing biblical prophecy unfolding before our very eyes. 

 

In 2Thessalonians 2:7, the Apostle Paul is telling the believers in Thessalonica that:  “the secret power of lawlessness is already at work;” and if Paul felt that way in his day, I wonder what he would think about today.  In 1 Timothy 1:8-9, Paul tells Timothy that:  “we know that the law is good if one uses it properly.  We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for the lawbreakers and rebels.”  Amazing how we see just the opposite happening NOW, the lawbreakers are allowed to break the laws and the law enforcement officers are told to ‘stand down’ and do nothing.  (i.e. Riots, looting, arson, and murders).    

 

We have one running for the highest office in our land, who has openly stated their support for an organization that upholds the LAWLESS behavior of those who break the law.  And yet a righteous person is NOT allowed to run their OWN business the way they feel God would have them run it. “The wicked band together against the righteous.”

 

But the righteous can take heart, because, the Lord is our FORTRESS, and God is our ROCK and our REFUGE.  There is SOON coming a day when He will repay them, the wicked, for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness.  God’s judgment is coming, and the time is NOW, to get things RIGHT with Him. 

 

If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to Him, you will be considered among the wicked, and will face JUDGMENT at the hands of the RIGHTEOUS JUDGE.  However, He is giving you the opportunity NOW, to come to Him with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING your sins to Him and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God, then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and become His RIGHTEOUS CHILD, and TRUST Him as your FORTRESS, ROCK, and REFUGE.  Do it NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Holding Unswervingly to the Hope We Profess!"

“Holding Unswervingly to the Hope We Profess!”

 

 

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.        Hebrews 10:23-25

 

The writer of the book of Hebrews, which I believe to be the Apostle Paul, is urging the TRUE BELIEVERS to HOLD UNSWERVINGLY to the HOPE they PROFESS.  It is believed that the Church that he was writing to might have been facing persecution, and there was an URGENT need for concern and warning for the TRUE BELIEVERS to stand STRONG in their FAITH and NOT to waiver.

 

Paul was not only concerned for their welfare, but for their FAITH in GOD and His promises.  There is STRENGTH in numbers, and Paul encouraged the TRUE BELIEVERS to find ways to encourage each other to carry out love and good deeds, and to not give up meeting together---and all the more as they saw the Day, the RETURN of Christ, approaching. 

 

Friends, I fear we are facing some of the most PERILOUS times for the TRUE BELIEVERS that we have ever faced, in the history of our nation.  The elections are quickly approaching, and word is out of one of our candidate’s feelings towards the Catholics and the Evangelicals, and also her view concerning the beliefs of the Christians in regard to abortion, suggesting that they denounce their belief of the right to life, even to the point of making it a law.   PEOPLE, WAKE-UP, OUR RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS are eroding and we are going to lose our rights to WORSHIP and SERVE God the way He has intended us to do, if we don’t take a stand and VOTE our CONVICTIONS.  We as God’s Children must be TRUE and FAITHFUL to His laws.   We must draw CLOSE to Him and seek His face. HE IS OUR ONLY HOPE.

 

If you have not given your HEART and LIFE to Him, then you are a part of His enemies.  You do not belong to His family, but are living a sinful life, in a sinful world.  One, in which, God will bring JUDGMENT and a RAGING FIRE that will consume His enemies. (v. 27)   It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.  But He is giving you the opportunity NOW, to come to Him, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING your sins to Him, and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God, then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and become a TRUE BELIEVER, HELPING to PROTECT our RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES.  Do it NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

 

"A Single Seed"

“A Single Seed”

 

 

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. “        John 12:24-25

 

These words of Jesus are examples of a believer and an unbeliever.  A True Believer is like the kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, and if it dies, by being planted into the ground, it will produce MANY seeds. 

 

A True Believer must die to SELF, to their old ways and mindset.  When they come to Christ for their SALVATION, they must be willing to TURN AWAY or REPENT from their sinful ways and to  hate their old way of life, and die to their OLD SELF and to be raised to a NEW LIFE, in Christ, one which will be a witness to others.  In other words, they will produce “MANY SEEDS”, they will be instrumental in adding to the Family of God, which is their mandate.  They will be concerned about the things of Christ and not the things of their old, sinful life, before they came to Him.

 

An unbeliever is one who LOVES their sinful life and embraces all that it entails.  They are a threat to the SALVATION of others, who are searching, unknowingly, for their SALVATION, and eternal life in Heaven.  

 

This life on earth is TEMPORARY and one day SOON it will end.  Then the question that a person needs to deal with NOW is:  “Where will I spend eternity?”  My dear friends, there IS a LIFE after death.  For the TRUE BELIEVER, those who have given their HEART and LIFE to God, it will be an eternity in Heaven, with Father God, and His Son Jesus Christ.  For the unbeliever, it will be an eternity in Hell, the place of TORMENT, TORTURE, HEARTACHE, AGONY and DESPAIR for ALL ETERNITY, with NO WAY of escape. 

 

If you believe that there is NO AFTERLIFE, then you are sadly mistaken, and if you believe that I am the one that is mistaken, then think of this:  What if YOU are wrong?  If you are wrong you are in BIG TROUBLE, IF I am wrong, and I’m NOT, I have lost NOTHING, but YOU, being WRONG have LOST EVERYTHING. 

You don’t have to lose anything, just come to God with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING your sins to Him and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God, then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and be that SINGLE SEED, which has died to its old sinful self, and is planted in Jesus Christ, and that produces MANY SEEDS for the Family of God.  Come to Him NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!