“Faith and a Prayer”

 “Faith and a Prayer”

 

“But You, O Lord, are a God of COMPASSION, and MERCY, slow to get angry and filled with UNFAILING LOVE and FAITHFULNESS.”  Psalm 86:15

This was a part of a prayer of King David, who at this time, was intent on getting HELP from God. You will see in verse fourteen, that a group of VERY PROUD, disrespectful people had risen against David, and a mob of VIOLENT MEN were after him.  David feared for his life.  But he asked God to show His STRENGTH in the FACE of OPPOSITION from the PROUD.

David’s OPPOSITION was a group of RUTHLESS men with NO REGARD for the Lord, however, David had FAITH in the POWERFUL ATTRIBUTES of the ALMIGHTY GOD. And to his BENEFIT David sought HELP from God, whom he KNEW had MIRACULOUS STRENGTH. And David had FAITH in GOD to bring him through this problem.

And so, David went to God in PRAYER and asked for the HELP that he NEEDED.  So, David says: “But You, O Lord, are a God of COMPASSION, and MERCY, SLOW to get ANGRY, and FILLED with UNFAILING LOVE and FAITHFULNESS.” In Verse sixteen, David gives his PLEA to God by saying; “Look down and have MERCY on me.  Give Your STRENGTH to your SERVANT.”  This is a GOOD example of David’s FAITH in GOD’S ABILITY. 

He asked God for a sign, (v17) “Send me a sign of your FAVOR.  Then those who HATE me will be put to SHAME, for YOU, O LORD, HELP and COMFORT me. David wanted this to show GOD’S GOODNESS and KNOW that it was GOD AT WORK. 

When YOU NEED GOD, it is ESSENTIAL to have FAITH that GOD is ABLE to do ALL that you ASK.  Having FAITH is KNOWING GOD, PERSONALLY, NOT just KNOWING ABOUT Him, but having an INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with Him.  It’s putting your TRUST in His ABILITY, KNOWING ALL about Him and His ATTRIBUTES. It is BELIEVING!! 

If you DON’T BELIEVE in GOD and have not come to Him, FIRST, through His ONLY SON, JESUS CHRIST, then God will NOT even ACKNOWLEDGE your PRAYER. “If I had NOT CONFESSED the SIN in my HEART, the Lord would NOT have listened.” (Ps. 66:18) You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU, because YOU are a SINNER.  

“For ALL have SINNED and FALL SHORT of the GLORY of God.”  “Yet God, in His GRACE, FREELY makes us RIGHT in His Sight.  He did this through CHRIST JESUS when He FREED us from the PENALTY for our SINS.  For God presented Jesus as THE SACRIFICE for SIN.  People are made RIGHT with God when they BELIEVE that JESUS SACRIFICED His LIFE, SHEDDING His BLOOD.  This SACRIFICE shows that God was being FAIR when He held back and did NOT punish those who sinned in times past, for He was LOOKING AHEAD and including them in what He would do in THIS present time.  God did this to DEMONSTRATE His RIGHTEOUSNESS, for He Himself is FAIR and JUST, and He MAKES SINNERS RIGHT in His SIGHT when they BELIEVE in JESUS.  (ROM. 3:23-26) So, IF you are NOT a TRUE BELIEVER in CHRIST JESUS, then YOU MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS, who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED and RESURRECTED for the FORGIVENESS of your SINS.  You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus DIED for your SINS and is NOW 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 be made RIGHT with GOD and have FAITH in GOD, and KNOW that God HEARS you when you PRAY.  And have a CLOSE RELATIONSHIP with your LOVING, FAITHFUL HEAVENLY FATHER, and spend your ETERNITY in Heaven with ALL its BLESSINGS.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

“Do Not Love the World”

 “Do Not Love the World”

 

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  1st John 2:15

When we look at the moon and see its LIGHT, we need to remember that the MOON is REFLECTING the LIGHT of the Sun.  And sometimes the EARTH gets in the way, and the LIGHT of the MOON is WEAKENED.  We, believers also have an ENEMY who, at times, prevents us from reflecting the LIGHT of God’s SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

When John talks about “the WORLD”, he’s NOT referring to the PLANET EARTH. He is referring to a system that is ORGANIZED and HEADED by Satan, who does his best to DRAW US AWAY FROM GOD’S LOVE and WILL for us.  And if you are consumed with the THINGS of the WORLD, you LOSE your INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP with God.

You are in LOVE with the WORLD, when you ALLOW IT to OWN your AFFECTIONS and GOVERN your CHOICES and LEAVE God OUT of your life.  Love for the WORLD, leads you into making WRONG decisions.  These DECISIONS might determine your DESTINY, especially if you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to GOD, through His Son, Jesus Christ.    

John goes on to warn us that when we LOVE the WORLD, we do NOT have the LOVE of the FATHER in US.  The WORLD only offers a CRAVING for PHYSICAL PLEASURE, (lust of the flesh). A CRAVING for EVERYTHING we SEE or COVETOUSNESS. (Lust of the eyes) And DESIRING and PURSUING, what is NOT APPROPRIATE for us to have.  And then we have the PRIDE in ONE’S POSSESSIONS, which is when we are LIVING to impress others, at ANY cost.

Those in LOVE with the WORLD and its LUST, seem to FORGET, the WORLD with its LUST is PASSING AWAY.  And it gives the assumption that “NOW” is MORE IMPORTANT than ETERNITY.  My prayer for those who are not a PART of God’s FAMILY and are in LOVE with the WORLD and its LUSTS, would make the RIGHT DECISION of TURNING AWAY FROM ALL the WORLDLY LUST and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. Because ANYONE who DOES what PLEASES GOD will LIVE FOREVER.

In order to become a part of God’s Family and LIVE FOREVER in HEAVEN and to ESCAPE HELL with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE once you are there.  You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST who GAVE His LIFE to REDEEM mankind FROM their SINS.  You MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS CHRIST, DIED for YOU and that He is 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 God’s Gift of SALVATION and START having an INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP with YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER and His SON.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

“The Rejection of God’s Wisdom”

 “The Rejection of God’s Wisdom”

What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.  Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame so their roots will rot and their flowers wither.  For they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.  Isaiah 5:21, 24

The people of the Nation of Judah had a very REVERSED WISDOM of their VALUE SYSTEM, which led them to REJECT GOD’S Standard of RIGHTEOUSNESS.  This caused them to see such atrocities as EVIL being GOOD and GOOD being EVIL.  Don’t think how IGNORANT this idea is, because we are seeing this come about in our own time.  We are living under such ARROGANCE. 

Just like the Israelites, having the SIN of ARROGANCE, we too see this SAME SIN playing out before our own eyes and ears.  Some of you may think that there is NOTHING WRONG with that train of thought, however, God LAMENTED over the SIN of ARROGANCE committed by the nation of Judah.  Why, because, they were REJECTING the WISDOM of the HOLY GOD.  And they REPLACED it with their OWN WISDOM.  They were BELIEVING that THEY were WISE in their OWN EYES. And they thought that they were CLEVER too.  Professing to be WISE they became as FOOLS. 

As a RESULT of the SINS of JUDAH, God PROMISED to JUDGE those who REJECTED HIS WISDOM, or POINT of VIEW concerning the WORLD in PROPER ORDER.  In other words, CONDONING and EMBRACING the mind set that EVIL is GOOD and GOOD is EVIL.  This CANNOT BE and will NEVER BE.  GOD WILL SEE TO THAT!!

Our time on this earth is drawing to an END.  Yes, we ARE living in the LAST DAYS.  If YOU are living your life like the PEOPLE of JUDAH, you are gambling with your ETERNAL DESTINY, and you are REJECTING the WISDOM of the ALMIGHTY GOD.  Your time is RUNNING OUT!!

And if you have NEVER GIVEN your HEART and LIFE to GOD, through His ONE and ONLY SON,JESUS CHRIST, who PAID the PRICE for YOUR SALVATION, you are headed for an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE once you are there.  But IF you WILL come to Him and ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, and BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that JESUS DIED for YOU and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for YOU before God.  And then CONFESS your SINS to Him and ASK Him for His FORGIVENESS.  Be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and TRUST in GOD’S WISDOM.  Do this NOW while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

“The Effects of Not knowing God”

 “The Effects of Not Knowing God”

 

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—-His Eternal Power and Divine Nature.  So, they have NO EXCUSE for NOT knowing God.  Rom. 1:20

 

People throughout the ages, knew OF God, but they REFUSED to WORSHIP Him as the ETERNAL GOD, CREATOR of ALL things, nor did they give Him the THANKSGIVING that He deserves.  Instead, their thoughts have become COMPLETE NONSENSE, and their EMPTY minds are FILLED with DARKNESS.  Believing to be WISE they become as FOOLS. 

And instead of WORSHIPING the EVERLASTING GOD, they WORSHIPED IDOLS that were made to look like PEOPLE and BIRDS and ANIMALS and REPTILES.  And their minds became DARK and CONFUSED.  They began to THINK UP FOOLISH IDEAS of what God was like. 

And as it was back then SO it is in this DAY in which WE LIVE.  In the Book of Isaiah, the fifth chapter, Isaiah, shows us what we are experiencing NOW, to some extent.  Verse twenty, says: “What SORROW for those who say that EVIL is GOOD and GOOD is EVIL, that DARK is LIGHT and LIGHT is DARK…”.  Verse twenty-one; “They take BRIBES to let the WICKED go FREE and the PUNISH the INNOCENT.”   Those who are doing such EVIL things are SEALING their OWN FATE for ALL of ETERNITY. They KNOW God’s JUSTICE, yet they CONTINUE TO DO WICKED things, and the WORST part is they ENCOURAGE OTHERS to do them also.

PLEASE, don’t be DRAWN into their EVIL WORKS, instead ACKNOWLEDGE the ALMIGHTY, EVERLASTING, COMPASSIONATE GOD, the SUPREME RULER of ALL that WAS, IS, and yet TO COME.  So, get yourself READY for the COMING of the LORD!!!

This is what you MUST DO.  You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the ONLY SON of GOD, who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED and was RESURRECTED from DEATH and the GRAVE, in order to SAVE MANKIND from an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORROR 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 LOOK UP for YOUR REDEMPTION is NEAR!  Time is FLEETING! So, do this NOW while you still can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

“Unconfessed Sin””

 “Unconfessed Sin”

 

Finally, I confessed ALL my SINS to you and stopped TRYING to HIDE my GUILT.  I said to myself, “I will CONFESS my REBELLION to the LORD.”  And You FORGAVE me!  ALL my GUILT is GONE.”  Psalm 32:5

David started this PSALM with PRAISE to an ALL-FORGIVING GOD. He begins with: “Oh, what JOY for those whose disobedience is FORGIVEN, whose SIN is put OUT of SIGHT!  Yes, what JOY for those whose record the LORD has CLEARED of GUILT, whose lives are lived in COMPLETE HONESTY!” (VV1-2)

When David failed to CONFESS his SINS of ADULTERY and MURDER, he was under a LOT of GUILT.  He KNEW what he had done, and he KNEW that he NEEDED to CONFESS it to GOD. However, David TRIED to HIDE the ADULTERY with BATHSHEBA and the MURDER of her husband URIAH.  But he could NOT, because GOD is an ALL-KNOWING, GOD and there is NOT a SOUL who can HIDE ANYTHING from HIM. 

Because of the UNCONFESSED SINS, David SUFFERED both PHYSICALLY and SPIRITUALLY.  In verses 3-4, He tells us that when he refused to CONFESS his SINS, his BODY WASTED AWAY, and he GROANED ALL day long.  DAY and NIGHT, GOD’S HAND of DISCIPLINE was HEAVY on Him.  And his STRENGTH EVAPORATED like water in the summer heat.

FINALLY, David CONFESSED ALL of his SINS, and he STOPPED TRYING to HIDE his GUILT.  He CONFESSED his REBELLION TO GOD, and GOD FORGAVE David, and his GUILT WAS GONE!!

In verses 6-7, David makes this declaration, to US, TODAY, “Therefore, let ALL the GODLY PRAY to GOD while there is still time, that they may NOT drown in the FLOODWATERS of JUDGMENT.  For YOU are my HIDING PLACE; You (God), PROTECT me from TROUBLE. And YOU SURROUND me with songs of VICTORY.  David calls on ALL BELIEVERS to RESPOND the SAME way, regarding their OWN SINS.  We should PRAY IMMEDIATELY.  We should GO to GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING our REBELLION, and DO it WITHOUT DELAY.  TIME is SHORT, JESUS is COMING SOON are you READY? 

OH, WHAT JOY to KNOW that YOUR SINS and GUILT have been CLEARED, ERASED, GONE, as FAR as the EAST is from the WEST.  GOD is FAITHFUL and JUST to FORGIVE us of ALL our SINS. 

If YOU have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God through, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, this is what you MUST DO:  ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR, who is GOD’S ONLY SON, He SUFFERED, BLED, DIED, and was RESURRECTED from DEATH and the GRAVE.  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 MISS spending ALL ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY TO ESCAPE once you are there and SPEND your ETERNITY in HEAVEN with ALL its BLESSINGS.  Do this NOW, while you STILL CAN.  HE’S WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

“The Wrath of God”

“The Wrath of God”

 

God’s anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known.  God punishes them, because what can be known about God is plain to them for God Himself made it plain.   Romans 1:18-19

Ever since the Creation of the World, God has made His POWER and His DEVINE NATURE CLEARLY SEEN; they are observed in the things He has created.  So those who suppress the TRUTH from being known by their WICKEDNESS, have NO EXCUSE for NOT knowing God.

They KNEW GOD but they chose NOT to worship Him as GOD, the CREATOR, the ONE and ONLY ONE, who was ALL POWERFUL and possessed a DEVINE NATURE.  And with their OWN FOOLISHNESS, they conjured up FOOLISH IDEAS of what THEY thought He was like.  And as a result, their minds became DARK and CONFUSED. And CLAIMING to be WISE, they became as UTTER FOOLS.  And they began WORSHIPING IDOLS.

 So, God ABANDONED them to do WHATEVER their SHAMEFUL, WICKED, PERVERTED, minds DESIRED.  As a result, they did VILE and DEGRADING things with each other’s bodies. They worshiped and served the things God CREATED instead of the CREATOR, Himself, who is WORTHY of ETERNAL PRAISE!!

We know that God, in His JUSTICE, will PUNISH ANYONE who REBELS AGAINST HIM and the LORD JESUS CHRIST, His ONLY SON, who GAVE His Life to SAVE MANKIND from their WICKED, DEPRAVED HEARTS.  BUT there will be GLORY, HONOR, and PEACE from GOD for ALL who will come to JESUS, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, and SEEKING a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with the ALMIGHTY GOD. 

We live in a very WICKED, DEPRAVED WORLD, and those who are practicing a WICKED, PERVERTED LIFE-STYLE, will one day FACE an ANGRY GOD, who will pass ETERNAL JUDGMENT upon them and SENTENCE them to an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once they are there.  That DAY is FAST APPROACHING, are YOU READY to FACE the ONE who has your ETERNAL DESTINY in His Hands?

In order to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL and GAIN an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS, this is what you MUST DO; ADMIT that you are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS, the ONLY ONE who can SAVE YOU.  You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that JESUS SUFFERED, BLED, and 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 ENJOY spending an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, experiencing TRUE LOVE PEACE and JOY.  Do this NOW while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

“Living For Christ”

“Living For Christ”

 

Christ’s Love controls us.  Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.  He died for everyone so that those who receive His NEW LIFE will no longer live for themselves.  Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.  2 Corinthians 5:14-15

The Apostle Paul tells us in verse sixteen, that ANYONE who BELONGS to Christ becomes a NEW PERSON. The OLD life is GONE; and a NEW LIFE has BEGUN. It is a LIFE that the ALMIGHTY GOD has PREPARED for those who will ACCEPT the PRECIOUS GIFT of His ONLY SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

The ONE who DIED for EVERYONE, in order to GIVE those who will receive the LORD JESUS CHRIST as their PERSONAL SAVIOR and LORD and will TURN AWAY FROM their OLD LIFESTYLE and FOLLOW CHRIST, and will NO LONGER LIVE for THEMSELVES, but they will LIVE for CHRIST. 

All of this is the way that God RECONCILED the WORLD to Himself.  No longer COUNTING PEOPLE’S SINS AGAINST them. And PREPARING the NEW LIFE, one that will last ALL of ETERNITY, for those who will ACCEPT GOD’S INVITATION to FORSAKE their OLD LIFESTYLE, and to become a part of HIS FAMILY and LIVING FOR CHRIST.   And God has given US the TASK of RECONCILING people to Him.   This TASK is given to GOD’S CHILDREN because we are His AMBASSADORS.  We REPRESENT the KING of KINGS and the LORD or LORDS.

Have YOU come to the LORD JESUS to be RECONCILED to God?  You MUST COME to CHRIST JESUS, and you MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR. 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 LIVE for CHRIST and become an AMBASSADOR for CHRIST.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!                              Don’t be LEFT BEHIND!!!