In today's world it is hard to be able to trust people. Your boss tells you what a great job you are doing and what an asset you are to him, then he gives the promotion you have been working so hard for to someone else; You have had your best friend since childhood and they betray you in such a away that you are devestated and feel you can never forgive them; You invest your life's savings with someone whom you feel will do a great job in getting you a tremendous return on your money, only to find that you have been scammed and they have vanished with all of your money; Someone has made a life commitment to you and they cheated on you and broke your heart. You often feel that you will never be able to open up and take the risk of trusting anyone again.
The only one you can truly trust no matter what, where or how, is God our Father. I have been mentally abused and cheated on; was devestated to the point of trying to commit suicide; have been broke and hungry, but God was always there for me with outstretched arms even though I had turned my back on Him. I thought, "how could God love me and let me go through all of these things?". I was quite angry with Him for a long time. Now, years later, I can see how God always had His hand on me and always brought me through no matter how bad it had gotten.
You don't always feel His presence and sometimes you think He doesn't hear you, but He is ALWAYS there and He ALWAYS hears you.You are His child and He loves you very much no matter how bad the things you have done seem to be, or how unforgivable they feel. God will always forgive you if you ask Him from your heart to forgive you. God can read your heart even when you don't have the words.Invite His Son, Jesus Christ, to live in you and you will be amazed at the peace that will fill you. You have never experienced anything like it before and you can't explain it, but it is there. I had a friend who was gay and dying from cancer. God sent me to him to tell him that He loved him and it wasn't too late to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He accepted Jesus and slept peacefully for the first time in days. He died a short while later and is now in Heaven dancing with the angels.
I have done some horrible things in my life. I was a practicing witch, a partier, a drinker, an adultress, a pot smoker and God forgave me. He has called me into the ministry to tell others who need to know,that He loves us so much. This is a whole new year in front of all of us. Let it begin with accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).When you belong to Christ, God appoints angels to watch over you. You cannot believe the awesomeness of God until you walk with Him daily. Try it and you will be pleasantly surprised. Let me know if this has helped you.
God is Our GPS
In today's world I am sure you are all familiar with the term GPS. If not, it means Global Positioning System: God always knows where you are and where to send you. He will lead and guide you when you are lost, He is our true north. When we stray or wander from Him we have to find our way back through Him and the way we do that is through His instruction manual for our lives, the Bible. There is instruction for every part of our lives in God's word. After all, he created us in His image and knows us inside and out so, it makes sense that He would know how to guide us. He says in Psalm 32:8.." I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go: I will guide you with mine eye". God is ever watchful over us with lovingkindness, mercy, judgment and righteousness as He says in Jeremiah 9:23-24..23," Thus said the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24, But let him glories glory in this, that he understands me and knows me, that I am the LORD which excercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness,in the earth: for in these things I delight, said the LORD". ( I am using the American King James Version)
It is God's will for us to obey Him and keep His commandments; to love Him as He loves us; to bring glory to His name not shame. How many of us truly live to bring glory to our Father in Heaven? How many of us walk in strife one against another, backbiting, gossiping, bringing disdain (A feeling or show of contempt and aloofness; scorn) into God's house? Don't you know it breaks God's heart that we show no Christian love at times, especially in HIS house!!! I know, sometimes, it is hard to hold your tongue when you are wrongly accused and someone does you an injustice, but stop and think about how you are handling the situation. God's word says in Romans 12: 17-21..17, "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18, If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men. 19, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I wil repay, said the LORD. 20, Therefore if your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head.21, Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good".
I have used these verses over and over and over again during my life. On more than one occasion I have found myself wanting to do bodily harm to someone for what they have done against me or my family; I have not always made the wisest of choices in the situation at hand, but I have learned (with God's help) to quote these verses over and over and over again in my head until they have sunk in. No matter how difficult it is, let God have control. He is GOD! Who is more qualified to be your champion? He is truly our Father in Heaven. How do you react when someone hurts your child? Just imagine what God can accomplish, with all of His power, to bring justice to you and your family. Let it go and give it over to God; He is in control. He is our GPS, our pilot through life. He loves us so much that He sent Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, His only begotten Son, to die on the cross for our sins so that we can have eternal life if we only believe on Him. Just trust Him, obey Him, love Him and what a wonderful life you will have. No, life is not always a bowl of cherries after you are saved, in fact the devil will fight hard to get you back. Trust in Jesus, and God our Father, to protect you and bring you through any crisis or problem you will ever encounter. My favorite Psalm when I am frightened or feel threatened is Psalm 121..1,"I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, from where comes my help. 2, My help comes from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3, He will not suffer your footto be moved: He that keeps you will not slumber. 4, Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5, The LORD is your keeper: the LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6, The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. 7, The LORD shall preserve you from all evil: He shall preserve your soul.8, The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for ever more".
Let God truly be your GPS and accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior now, before it is too late. No one is guaranteed their next breath as I found out when I passed out in a parking lot from a brain aneurysm with no warning. I did not have that last breath to ask for forgiveness as all of us think we do. I could have gone to hell that instant, but God had a plan for my life, as He does for all of us, and brought me through it. He called me into the minstry shortly after that and I am to tell everyone, do not wait!There may not be a second chance for you to ask for forgiveness and save your soul. Jesus is waiting for you to call out to Him, either silently or out loud; please just ask Him to forgive you and to be your Savior today, now, before it is too late.
Have you ever heard someone say “This is a God thing?". There are those times when something you have been praying about comes to fruition at just the right moment; when you get the job you have been wanting, the house you need for you and your family, healing. I’m sure you have and it’s a wonderful blessing. If anyone could truly say this is a God thing, it was Paul. As read in Galations chapter 1,verses 11 and 12…”For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. The gospel is accurately called a God Thing; it was derived by God, it was given by God; start to finish it is a God Thing. Paul was a true apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ, but how could he prove this? He proved this by the transforming power in his life.
Paul speaks of his earlier life where he persecuted the church with great violence and with hatred for anyone who believed in and followed Jesus Christ. He literally tried to destroy the church. He viciously sought out any believer and threatened imprisonment and slaughter whether they were men, women, or children. He consented to the death of Stephen and even held his coat while they stoned him.
Paul was advanced in Judaism (his religious and ancestral traditions); he was trained by the greatest Jewish scholar, Gamaliel, where he was taught the Holy laws of his fathers. He was on the fast track of success beyond his friends. He was proud to be a Hebrew, proud to be a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee; he was zealous in his religious traditions. Why didn’t he continue in this? He had everything to lose and nothing to gain. Paul had wealth, power, and fame with the Jews, his reputation was impeccable, yet he gave it all up to become an itinerate preacher; he went from luxury to poverty and death by martyrdom. He was the bond servant of Jesus Christ because God spoke to him from heaven and called him into his service, that’s why!
He had an encounter with Jesus Christ face to face on the road to Damascus and it changed his whole life forever. It not only changed his life, but his heart and what he believed in. He totally surrendered his life to Christ as a result of this encounter. Paul went on to write 13 letters in the New Testament, about two thirds of it. In verses 15 and 16 Paul writes, “ But when God who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal His son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles ( anyone who is not Jewish), I did not confer with any human being,….
God had great plans for Paul’s life even before he was born. He has great plans for our lives as well. God loves us more than you know and desires for each and every one of us to be saved.God knows us each in intimate detail; He knows how many hairs we have on our heads, He knows what we need before we even begin to ask Him for it. He knew Paul would be a great evangelist and would lead many souls to salvation, not only Jews but Gentiles. God loved Paul just as much as He does you and me.
Paul gave up everything and followed Christ. He was beaten five times 40 lashes minus one by the Jews, he was beaten with rods three times, he was stoned, tree times he was shipwrecked; Paul was constantly on the move in fear of mortal danger from the gentiles and from the Jews; from false brothers who accused him of not being a true disciple and tried to get people to stay away from him..he went without food, was cold and naked. He never gave up; he continued to preach the gospel until the day he died. He was so full of the word that he was still preaching when he died. He probably told Timothy to get him some paper so he could write just one more letter. God had set him apart for a future time just as he has done with some of us.
As Pastor Joan said last week, the followers in this time period truly put their life on the line to follow Jesus and to preach the gospel. Even today our brothers and sisters in other countries put their lives on the line simply to own a Bible. Pastors are being imprisoned and murdered for preaching God’s word. I heard on the radio last week that prayer was being requested for our brothers and sisters all over the world because Pastors are being put to death for preaching God’s word, others are being tortured to make them renounce our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Like Paul they are willing to give up their lives for Christ and for the gospel because they know Jesus is right there with them every step of the way. Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:20 “Lo, I am with you with you always, even unto the end of the world”. We don’t know how good we have it. We can come to church any time we choose and openly worship God without fear of all that these precious saints are going through. We have to depend on God’s word to get us through difficult times as well. Paul would say to us today The gospel is a God Thing, believe and be saved.
Paul did not consult with any human being after he was called by God, he was led completely by the Holy Spirit and by Jesus himself. He went away for three years before he came back to Damacus to begin his preaching career. What did Paul do for those three years? It is believed that he was being prepared for the ministry of Christ. After all he was a well trained man in the Jewish religion, he strongly persecuted the church for years before his conversion and knew of the faith that he was persecuting, he could use both sides for God. The Old Testament teachings came in handy and now the light had come on in the scriptures of Isaiah, chapter 53:1-12 as to who the Messiah truly was, Jesus; the one he had passionately tried to destroy the people’s belief in. God was using all of this to equip him for his journey.
As he went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia he was still unknown to the believers by sight, although his reputation preceded him as being Saul of Tarsus; the persecutor and destroyer of believers. Can you imagine the fear the believers had of him and how hard it had to be to convince them that he was genuine in his discipleship of our Lord and Savior? I can understand completely how that was. I backslid for about 16 years and did a lot of things I am not proud of. I partied quite a bit in the bars. When I rededicated my life to Jesus I told my “friends” about it, they were completely not convinced. Later when I told them I had been called into the ministry they actually laughed in my face. But! through God’s leading and through Christ who strengthens me I can do anything. Paul had many obstacles in his life to overcome to be a credible witness for Jesus Christ as well. God uses the stuff from our past to help people because we have been there and done that. I for one would rather have advice from someone that has been there and done that..not to say that there are not many gifted people, who have been lifelong Christians that can help, too. God gives each one of us special gifts to use to His glory as He did Paul.
God used my backslidden days for me to be able to help people. Just as Paul was trying to destroy God’s church, I was a false prophet and tried to destroy God’s church by misleading people. I was going around telling people that they could do anything they wanted to do, they always had that last breath to ask for forgiveness. Well, NO YOU DON”T! I was out with friends and dropped in the parking lot from a brain aneurysm with no warning. I could have died and gone to hell, I did not have the coherency to ask for anything. The next thing I knew I was in University Hospital with the doctor asking to speak to the family first. God’s hand was upon me and I was home fully functional in 15 days. I am truly a walking miracle and that testifies to His power and I give Him the glory. He had a plan for my life, as He did Paul, and part of it is to tell you that you are not guaranteed that next breath. God showed me that you do not always have that last moment to ask for forgiveness. Perhaps there is someone here who needs to get right with God, maybe someone with a secret sin (but God knows), maybe there is unforgiveness in your heart toward someone. Maybe you have not truly surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and accepted Him as Lord and Savior of your life. All of us at one time or another have thought we were doing the right thing and wound up misleading someone by them hearing us gossip or tell a “little white lie”. Sometimes the only church the world sees is us. Please don’t be embarrassed to come forward. Jesus tells us,” to not be ashamed of him and He will not be ashamed of us before the Father. There may not be another chance. Jesus is waiting for you with outstretched arms and He loves you just as you are. This IS truly A God Thing.
God wants us all to shine with His love. Have you ever had someone say to you, "you're just too happy all the time, its not natural". In a way they are right, its not natural, but supernatural.
Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean your life will be perfect all the time. We all have had hard times, things happen to us that are unpleaseant, yet we have the unexplainable peace and joy that walking with Christ gives us. Even Jesus suffered, was tempted and went through trials and tribulations while He was here on earth. That is why He can help us to get through these things. He went through them. too, but didn't sin.
We have to remember that we are joint-heirs with Christ; that we are adopted into God's family and can truly call Him Father when we are saved. In Romans, chapter 8, verses 13 thru 18 it says that if we are saved we become joint-heirs with Christ. (Check it out just to know this information is true). Yes, we will suffer as He did by persecution; teasing, taunting, being called a Jesus Freak,but we have Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit on our side. No one can truly harm us while we stay true to God.
Don't dwell on the hard things that have happened, dwell on Christ's love for you and what peace you have deep on the inside of you. You will be amazed how you will shine with God's love. When I was called into the ministry I told my mother first and she wasn't surprised! She said she could see so much love in me that it had to be God. Wow! I didn't realize, at that point, that it showed.
If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior, I advise you to get to know Him. You will be amazed at the love you feel. He will wrap His arms around you and give you a peace and joy like nothing you have ever known before. No matter how tough life can get, Jesus is always there. No matter what you have done in your life He will forgive you. He is waiting for you to ask Him to forgive you and ask Him into your heart and life. Just think, it only takes a few minutes to do this and you will have a peaceful and joyful life for all eternity.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I promise I will answer you with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. May God richly bless you and keep you. Amen
I finally understand what God the Father , and created in His image truly means. God reacts to our actions as an earthly parent would with his or, her child. When we disobey Him it hurts Him as it does when our children disobey us. He loves us so much and wants to bless us with all the blessings Heaven has to offer. He may have something awesome lined up for us and we miss it because we have disobeyed Him, or have ignored Him.
Do you remember how we thought we knew everything and our parents did not? How we sneaked things behind their backs and thought they would never find out? How we thought we were invincible? Just as our parents actually were very smart, found out what we thought they never would, tried their very best to protect us from hurt and harm, God does as well. He protects us in ways we don’t even know about such as telling us not to go somewhere because we might get in a car accident, or to not do something to avoid an injury. Sometimes you just know something and do not know how ,but you do, or have a gut feeling about an incident. That is the Holy Spirit speaking to you to protect you. The Holy Spirit brings you messages from God Himself when he has something to say to you.
Jesus is a perfect example of “ created in His image”. He is God’s only begotten Son and has His genealogy just as we have our parents’ genealogy. Our parents and parenting were modeled by God our Father. As our parents do/ did get frustrated by our discontentment so does God. Disobeying Him causes pain just as it does our parents when we disobey them. Not trusting Him to know what’s best for us hurts Him just as it does our parents. God, our father, wants to show His love for us much as our earthly parents do. Jesus did nothing without His Father’s permission and prayed to Him for guidance and strength, for protection and power. He granted all to Jesus as He will us if we would only listen to Him and obey him. It’s actually very simple. Just learn to trust the Father with all of you and follow His commandments and you will see a whole new world opened up to you. He can open doors you could have never dreamed of opening. I know this is true because I have experienced it. Jesus is my Savior and friend, and God is truly my Father in Heaven.
In Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 4-8 we learn that God is rich in mercy and great love. In the book of Jonah we find examples of God dispensing mercy to people who do not seem to deserve it. Jonah himself was very disobedient and tried to run from God. In Jonah, chapter one, we see Jonah disobey God and get on a ship bound for Tarshish instead of going to Nineveh as God had told him to. In the midst of his disobedience he put other lives in danger. In God’s infinite mercy he caused Jonah to be thrown overboard and the lives of the men were spared. Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. God loves all of us. He wishes no one to die in sin. Like the men on the ship we can repent of our sins and be saved. God even had mercy on Jonah, who after spending three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, called out to Him and repented. He was saved and was spit out on the beach at Nineveh. Jonah carried God’s message to the king and people of Nineveh as God had first told him to do.
I’m sure most of us, at one time, or another, has run from God. What He tells us to do doesn’t fit in with our schedule, or it seems too hard. I know firsthand how God will get you where He wants you to be whether you want to go or not. Three times God called on me to participate in Vacation Bible School and twice I said no. The third time was so strong that I repented and said yes. It was an amazing experience.
Sometimes God speaks to us directly through the Holy Spirit, or through other people. Sometimes He will speak to us through TV or radio programs such as TBN or WOLC for examples. Have you ever gotten a “feeling” about something, had a “gut feeling”, or just knew something but didn’t know how you knew? That is God speaking to you through the Holy Spirit.
God spoke to the people of Nineveh through Jonah. They repented of their evil ways and were saved. In Jeremiah, chapter 18, verses 7-8 we see that God is ever willing to accept sincere repentance. Even when we get angry with God as Jonah did in chapter 4, He still loves us. His love is so great that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die on a cross so that we can have eternal life. God’s mercy is new every day and His saving grace is available to anyone who calls on the name of Jesus to be saved. Jesus is coming back, perhaps sooner than you think. Are you ready? Have you given your life to Jesus? No one is guaranteed their next breath. Repent and call on the name of Jesus before it’s too late. The gift of eternal life is the best gift you will EVER receive.
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