Tag: LORD
A light unto my Path!
Do you know what a Compass is, and what it is used for.
A Compass has only one purpose and that is to point to North.
Where would the world be with out something to guide man to North?
Story: All Ships use a compass for Navigation.
And all Air Planes use a compass. Now they have GPS or DGPS
They all do the same things telling you where you are, and show you the directions you are going.
I am the way the truth and the Light
John 8: 12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus is just like a compass he is shining his light on the path we need to be traveling on and if you are looking unto Jesus he will guide you safely home.
I love pictures of old light houses.
As a boy growing up on an Island we would sometimes go to the hill where the lighthouse was to camp out. The lights on that Island were turned off at 10pm and everything was in completed total darkness. The only light you could see was the light coming out of the lighthouse.
When it would light up, it lit up everything around it, that’s how bright it was. It had to be bright because ships far out at sea needed to know where they were. The only thing they had was the light from that old lighthouse to guide them to a safe shore.
Thats how the song goes “Jesus is the lighthouse” it is he that will lead us to the safe shores of heaven!
********* If you were rich what would you do with all your Money? ***********
There was a very popular song many years ago recorded by a group called the Beatle. While; I never like the group, I must also admit that they did have some truth in there song. Money can’t buy me Love.
Money can buy a lot of things; many people are all trying to get something that can’t buy everything, and they think money will make then happy.
Do you realize that there are more rich people killing themselves than any-other people group! Why is that?
They have all the money in the world why then are they killing them self…. WHY?
1. Money can buy medicine, But not Health
2. Money can buy a house, But not a Home
3. Money can buy companionship, But not True Friendship
4. Money can buy entertainment. But not Happiness
5. Money can buy food, But not an Appetite
6. Money can buy a bed, But not Sleep
7. Money can buy a crucifix, But not a Saviour
8. Money can buy the good life, But not Eternal Life
9. Money can buy anything on this Earth, but not Jesus
That explains why we are told in this section of the Scriptures that it is God (alone) who is able to supply us “with all things to enjoy”
(Charles Swindoll once said, “Money has never made anyone rich”)
Can you believe that MONEY has never made anyone rich….Do you believe that only rich people have money.
I know a lot of people who are rich but have no money, because they are rich in Faith.
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When I worked in a shipyard, sometimes I work on yachts and these rich people had signs that said. “He who die’s with the most toys Wins” If only they knew the truth…
Toys in this world don’t make you a winner. Faith in Jesus is what makes a person a winner.
Money can’t buy the love light that shine from Jesus nailed to a Cross dying for you and me.
****** What is Gods word to his children? *******
Ps:119:105:
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Isa:42:6:
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
The Biggest problem with our world to day is we are LOST.
The Creator has giving us a compass (The Bible) and we refuse to use it. It kind of like going on a road trip, not know how to get where you want to go, and not believing in any of the Maps that tell you how to get there.
It just does not make any sense does it to try and get someplace with out using something that tell you how to get there safely. We will stay Lost all our Life, never getting to the heavenly home God has prepared for you.
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Have you every been in a cave “It’s Beautiful”
**** Story of Caves
In most Caves you will always have a rope to show you the way out if you get lost.
Now if we are lost in a cave we can look at the rope and say, I don’t believed in you, I don’t believed you are there, and I don’t believed you will lead me out of this Cave.
Here is a choice you have to make. Follow the rope out of the Cave, or stay Lost.
Many people stay Lost!!!
You see the Bible, cannot be just simply a good book. It is either true or it is not. It cannot be a good book if it is a book of Lies. It is either the Word of the Living God, as it claims to be, or it is not. One or the Other.
If there is no Creator there is no Redeemer it is as simple as that.
So how do you know that Jesus is real? How can you believe in someone you can’t see? Easy, all that is needed is for you to get to know him, how do you do this, only by studying in his word.
I hear people say that Jesus was nothing more then a another good Prophet, that he was not the Son of God but like John the Baptist and another good Man trying to lead his people back to there former God. What does the Bible say about that!
John 1:
1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2: The same was in the beginning with God. Who are we talking about?
3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4: In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
There is no doubt that we are talking about God the Son here “Jesus Christ”. We know that God the Father and God the Son existed long before there was anything. We know from reading that God the Son was the one who did the Creation part. Verse #3
6: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Who was John, just a good man? John was not the Light; he was more like a mirror just a reflection of the Light that had come into our world.
7: The same came (Here God the son Jesus is now called the Light. He it is that will light your way in the world of darkness. No man that sets his faith in Jesus will ever be in darkness, for darkness can’t overcome light) for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8: He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9: That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
So who is the Light?
10: He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11: He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
I am almost ashamed of this statement, Jesus said he came unto his own and his own knew him not. Was he just talking to the Jew’s of his time or was he also talking to us today.
How many religious leaders proclaim to know God but refuse to teach his true words. They rather hold to there traditions then to God’s doctrines. They have turned away from the truth of Gods light so many times that they have become blind, and seek to hold others in the darkness of this world that they have become so accustom too.
But God is not slack in those who Love him and want to follow his true teaching.
12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
If Jesus came today how many would receive him as the Saviour. Or would we all just nail him back on the cross. Would he come the way we expect him to come, if not would you be disappointed.
14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Before creating this world God the Father and God the Son knew that sin could spoil his creation. If that happen all of Gods creation would have to die forever. Because the law said that the wages of sin is death. The sole that sinnith it must die. This was just not acceptable to God. He would put himself in place of mankind if man would fall to sin and die in his place.
15: John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16: And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17: For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
18: No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Now we find out who this John was. The word said he was a witness, a witness to what?
19: And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20: And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21: And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22: Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23: He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
We like John are to be a witness, a Voice crying in the wilderness of this world of Sin. Get ready; for you know not the time of his coming. As his faithful witnesses we must sound the alarm of his soon coming. Will the world hear our warning, or will it say, ever since the days of out Fathers all things have been the same. Will the world look onto us as a Fanatic? The prophet John stood in the mist of all these Pharisees to give account as to who he was. He was not the Christ but only the Voice crying to make ready his coming.
If we do not warn them then they will die in there sin, and there blood will be required at our hands for keeping silent. We must point them to the Light that is our job as Gods people: “Christians”
24: And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25: And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26: John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27: He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
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I am amazed at Evolutionists. You know why. They are people of Faith. Did you know that?
Anybody that can believe BANG and it all began. Is a man of Faith to me?
**** But none can come up with what we call First Cause ****
****Do you know the Key element that all things are made of? (Atoms)
A Chair, Wood, cloth, People, Brick’s, All different, But All the same “Atoms”.
An Atom is the smallest elements know to man. Except for the Electrons that Orbit the Atoms
Billion all over us the very building block of our solar system
One day Man found a way to split the Atom. It gave us then the H Bomb…
Never would our world be the same again.
Listen to this
Splitting of the Atom is in reality creation in reverse. Can you see how this breathtaking discovery makes belief in the Scriptural record of creation, not at all difficult?
For if man can turn matter into energy, could not the Creator have turned energy into matter.
Sr. Albert Einstein
Sometimes is seems so easy to be lost in our world, why because people don’t listen.
They choose not to here
They choose not to learn
They choose not to see
They choose not to do
And when they choose not to, Gods Spirit can’t work with them. He comes to them who are waiting for him. He doesn’t force himself on us. Those who choose to follow him, he lights there path that they may see and those who choose not to follow him He respects there discussion and leaves them in the dark. Because they have no light they stumble and fall and soon die.
God has giving us a way to know him “His Word” His Word is a guide in our life showing us the way, pointing us to God. With out his word we are all lost.
Thy word is a light unto my path
Isa:8:20:
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Today Not Tomorrow !!!
Sunday night, October 8, 1871, Dwight L. Moody was preaching to a large congregation in Chicago’s Fairwell Hall.
The text of his sermon was “What shall I do then with Jesus?”
At the close of the sermon he said: “I wish you would take this text home with you and turn it over in your mind during the week, and next Sunday we shall come to Calvary and the Cross, and we shall decide what to do with Jesus of Nazareth”.
Then, as usual, he turned to Sankey and asked him to sing a hymn. Sankey’s strong tones rang through the hall.
“Today the Savior calls;
For refuge fly;
The storm of justice falls,
And death is nigh”.
The hymn was never finish, for while Sankey was singing there came the rush and roar of fire engines on the street outside, and the heavens suddenly turned crimson with the reflection of the great Chicago fire. In the morning Chicago lay in ashes.
To his dying day Moody was full of regret, because he had told that congregation to wait until next week to decide what to do with Jesus.
“I never dare”, he said, to give an audience a week to think of their salvation. Settle it in your heart what to do with Jesus today, because tomorrow may never come.
KNOWING GOD RESULTS IN TRUSTING GOD.
IF YOU DON’T KNOW HIM, YOU WON’T TRUST HIM.
IF YOU DON’T TRUST HIM, YOU DON’T KNOW HIM.
The best blessing God ever gave me was Cancer, you see while I was physically strong I was Spiritually weak. God new that he had to do something so he made me Physically weak so that through Him I could become Spiritually strong.
Was it not Job who said; throw he slay me, yet will I serve Him.
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the
“Peanuts” comic strip.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and
actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.
Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.
They are the ones that care.
Jesus Cares; he proved it by dieing for you.
John 8: 12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Listen to words of this song.
The Lord is my light; then why should I fear? / By day and by night His presence is near;
He is my salvation from sorrow and sin; / this blessed persuasion the Spirit it brings in.
The Lord is my light; though clouds may a rise, Faith stronger than sight, looks up to the skies; Where Jesus for ever in glory doth reign: Then how can I ever in darkness remain?
The Lord is my light, the Lord is my strength; I know in his might I’ll conquer at length; My weakness in mercy He covers with power, and walking by faith, He up-holds me each hour.
The Lord is my light, my all and in all; there is in His sight no darkness at all; He is my Redeemer, my Savior and King; with saints and with angels His praises I sing.
The Lord is my light, my joy, and my song; by day and by night He leads me along;
The Lord is my light, my joy and my song; by day and by night He leads me along;
Make a decision in your heart to day to follow Jesus for he and he alone is the Light that will guide you through the toughest and most difficult times in your life.
Just put your trust in Him and believe. May God bless and lead you with the light of his love.
Holiness unto the Lord
Story: Noah
God called a man named Noah Why? The Earth was full of SIN and Evil
Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD
Genesis 6: 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD
• Doing something that everyone thinks you are crazy
Did you know that Noah preached the same sermon for 120 years: If the Pastor preached the same sermon for two or three Sabbaths in a row what do you think will happen?
Time to get honest here Everyone will start complaining right.
Noah was giving a Warning to the people of his day, Why because the cup of evil was full to the rim and running over
God did not just zap everyone out, He sent Noah to warn them and give them time to make a choice and save themselves.
Everyone had time to make ready, Everyone had time to study, Everyone had time to change their life style. But no one took the time to do anything but laugh at this crazy old man
The Garden of Eden was still on the earth and people could still go and see where it was and to know that it was because of Sin that they no longer had access to it.
One day something strange started to happen, Animals started to walk two be two out of the forest right into the Ark.
Sign after sign was giving but still no one believed
Till the great door of the Ark closed and probation also closed for the World
In everything Noah did he honored God and gave God the glory by his obedience and love for his creator, it was just too bad no one listened to what he was preaching
Let us Pray!
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Thousands of years ago, God gave a vision of what His people could be in contrast to the rest of the world around them.
In the book of Leviticus we see a holy God and we see what he thinks of all the evil around us and we find out what His plans are for His people.
Can God’s holiness give us hope? I’d like to share that message of hope with you today.
I invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Leviticus and we’ll look at a couple of Bible texts that emphasize God’s holiness.
First of all we’ll look at chapter 20, and I’d like to direct your attention to verses 22-23 and 26.
Verses 22-23 “You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them.”
Let me explain what the problems was with the other Nations (The Sins of the others Nations has reach their limit and probation was fixing to close for them)
Now verse 26: “And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”
I would also like to point your attention to chapter 11.
Leviticus chapter 11:44, 45. “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
If you were to sum up those verses, what would you say the message is?
I believe we could summarize it this way:
The book of Leviticus is about the holiness of God versus the ugliness of Sin.
In fact, God’s holiness is a way to describe His pure loving character which is totally good and entirely separate from evil in any form.
And the more exalted our views about God’s holiness, the more we will not want to disgrace our holy God. Because the more we know Him, the more we will want to be like Him.
Now I’d like for us to look at Leviticus 19 for the sake of asking ourselves, “What is the holiness of God and what does it mean for us?”
Chapter 19, along with the other places it stresses that God wants us to be holy, because the Lord our God is holy. That’s in verse 2. I want us to notice how that theme is developed in this chapter.
In verse 3 it tells us that God wanted the Israelites to hold in the highest regard their mothers and fathers. To respect their mothers and fathers.
Gods commandment
If fact the 5th commandment in the book of Exodus 20: 12 tell us: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Have you ever seen a child treat his mother or father with disrespect? Yep
We all have! This is a day and age when there is very little cross-generational respect. We hear stories of parents killing their children and children killing their parents.
In Leviticus19: 3 God also says “Keep my Sabbaths.” Most people don’t even know what “rest” is, much less the Sabbath experience. (God gave Man rest) Man is Over Worked today!
Verse 4, Don’t turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods. They Can’t see, hear or walk.
Verse 11: You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. Stealing these days is a common thing to do, dealing falsely as well, and lying is easy for anyone.
Verse 13: You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him Not very many people care about their neighbors these days.
Verse 14: You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind.
You shall not hate your brother in your heart. And it goes on to tell us that there should be no grudges against people, but we should love our neighbors as ourselves. (19:17, 18) Forgiveness that’s a rare thing today It is one thing to forgive and another to forget.
Some of the things have changed since the days God spoke these words to Moses. Lev. 19:27, for example, tells men not to shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.
The SDA Commentary is helpful for things like this. It tells us that at that time it was a common practice, as a sign of devotion to one’s pagan god to shave off some hair and offer it to his gods.
So shaving off the sides of the head or disfiguring the natural shape of the beard was a symbol for all to see that a person was devoted to a certain pagan god. So that’s not quite the same today, or maybe it’s in another form today, I don’t know.
Other things are still relevant, however.
Verse 31 says Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits. It’s common to hear of people that claim they can speak to your dead family member. Fortune tellers and channelers seek to give you extra-terrestrial wisdom. They claim they can give that.
• Have you notes that today more so then ever in the History of man, all the people who clime that they can speak to the dead.
That also clime they can tell the future: But they can’t tell what the lotto number will be next week.
Gods says don’t believe them, and don’t play on Satan’s ground
Verse 33 says Don’t mistreat strangers. In today’s society of suspicion and prejudice, do we really care about people we don’t know?
Leviticus 19:34 says “The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
Verse 35: You shall do no injustice in measurements of length, weight or volume. Don’t steal or cheat someone.
So what is God saying to us here? All of these admonitions, all of these commands, reflected God’s extreme dislike of the practices of society around us. Why would that be?
Because God is holy, and by nature hates anything having to do with the ugliness of sin. You see, God is not an arbitrary God.
God does not tell us not to do these things just because He doesn’t think we should do them, but because He doesn’t want those things to damage or kill us.
God wants His people to be different from the sinful society around them. He says You shall be holy, for I am holy.
Can you imagine living in a society in which
1. No one Cheats each other
2. Doors wouldn’t need to be locked because you could trust people.
3. People wouldn’t have to be scared of walking all alone in the dark.
4. People wouldn’t get kidnapped.
5. Kids wouldn’t become the victims of incest and abuse.
6. Women wouldn’t get raped.
7. Stores wouldn’t be robbed.
8. No one would have to go hungry.
9. People would care for each other.
10. There would be no adultery.
11. There would be no child pornography.
12. There would be no bribery.
13. And there would be no more politicians who care only about campaign contributions and saving their own jobs.
14. There would be no more deal-making behind closed doors of government
Why does all that sound so good? Is it perhaps because that picture, that dream, is so unlike our present reality?
The picture in our minds is what we want because we’re hungry for something that isn’t. We’re starving for a taste of what isn’t true today.
We’re so accustomed to most of the evil in society that we are unaware to the not-so-good that exists inside each of us.
Leviticus tells us that we have a God who is holy. He hates evil and sin, but He graciously loves us. He’s a holy God who cares so much for us that He wants to bring us from that evil, and save us from that and from the damage that sin brings to us.
Leviticus is about a God who cares enough about us to take us out of the dirt and the grime. To pick us up, dust us off, wash us and cleanse us, and polish and shine us with his love.
He is a God who wants us to be separate from the garbage that exists around us, garbage that is offensive, ugly and hateful.
I am thankful today that God’s plan is to restore us to His image so that we do what’s right because it is right. So God takes us out of the garbage of sin and tells us, “You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” (Leviticus 20:26).
You know that tells me that God values us.
I never used to think about God’s holiness as giving me hope that’s often because I don’t feel holy. Do you know what that’s like? Do you ever feel unholy? Maybe 10% of the time, or 5%? Or maybe rather it’s 99% of the time.
It has always been the love of God, God’s forgiveness, God’s patience, God’s grace and mercy that has meant a lot to me.
But after studying the book of Leviticus, I see it very differently. And I see that there is a purpose and a message behind it all. And God’s holiness is that message.
In all of God’s pure, loving goodness. God can’t stand evil in any shape or form. And even though evil exists inside each one of us, God has His plan to get rid of that evil.
The sacrifices in the book of Leviticus communicated that. Jesus’ death was the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan to cleanse us from evil so we could be His people. And we could be His people in complete freedom once again.
God’s call to His holiness gives me hope because it means that we are all valuable to Him and He has a plan to heal us from the damage of sin.
He calls us to escape the sin and corruption that is in this world, because we are valuable to Him. God really does have something much better in mind for us.
STORY: Imelda Harrison and her sisters had made reservations to stay in a motel in the town of Yulee, Florida, in a very out-of-the-way place.1
Instead of rooms, it had cabins set way back from the highway. Imelda had an uneasy feeling about the place, but they had already taken care of their luggage, and her sisters were lying on the bed, resting.
It had been a long day, and all they wanted to do was to stretch out and relax. Soon, however, they heard a lot of cussing and swearing coming from the other side of the duplex cabin.
There was a door going from their side of the cabin to the other, with only a slide lock on the door. They could not hear every word being said, but they heard enough to know that the man was talking about them!
When they had first arrived, a car had been parked on their side of the cabin, and her sister Arlene had gone to knock on the door to ask the man to please move his car out of their way.
He had been sleeping and was wearing only his under garments when he came to the door, cussing and swearing at her.
Well, he got dressed and moved the automobile. But Arlene noticed a pistol on his night stand and mentioned it to the others.
Yet she still felt as if they would be safe enough with the doors locked. Imelda didn’t share her feelings, and was sure that they could be murdered if they didn’t get out immediately.
She eventually tried to talk her other sisters into packing up and getting out of there, but they just didn’t seem to want to be bothered at eleven o’clock at night.
She started to pray for something to happen to change their minds. Suddenly she heard them both scream at the top of their lungs.
She looked and saw something green in the middle of their bed! A lizard had jumped from the windowsill onto the bed, leaping right between them.
They packed up and were out of there in twenty minutes. They went ten miles down the road and rented another room at a motel that appeared much safer.
As they were registering at the desk, the woman said to them, “At a motel about ten miles down the road, there have been several unsolved murders committed in the last few months.”
When she mentioned the name of the place, it was the same motel they had just left. So Imelda thanked the Lord for sending the lizard to drive her sisters out of there.
God wants us to escape the corruption in the world, the evil. He has something better in mind for us. He has a better “hotel” for us to stay in.
And He will use whatever is necessary to motivate us to leave our ugly world of sin.
He offers you and me an escape from evil! With His loving holiness God rescues us from evil.
My prayer is that we may all choose to be, by God’s grace, His holy people.
One thing I have always found is that History repeats it’s self, time and time again, why because God keeps giving mankind chance after chance.
But like in the days of Noah time is running out and the great door of salvation will soon once again close forever
Those who Honor and give God the glory by doing what He said to do, and Keeping his words and Laws and taking on Gods Holiness will be saved.
Why because God is Holy and like Noah, we can find Grace in the sight of a Holy God.
In the Eye of the Storm
I met a man many years ago who in fact changed my life.
He turned my life from a Church back pew warmer to a Church Leader.
But the thing that amazed me most about him was his Faith.
No Matter what happen to this man, he always had a smile and always said thank you Jesus, whether good or bad…
Daniel 3:17 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”
STORY: Pastor Frank
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We must understand that the King of this world is Satan, and he has only one aim and that is to
keep you from Jesus, by letting little things get in your way and become an obstacle between you and salvation.
Don’t let the little troubles in life get you down. Jesus knows what you are going through, He knows your problems. He says “just put your truth in Me and I will take care of you.”
There are many Storms in life that we fight everyday, and if we try and fight them with our human strength we will fail, it is only as we depend on Jesus and put our trust in Him that he will enable us to meet the trial ahead and in His name be Victorious!
Let us Pray!
When thing are going bad for you, can you still hold up your head and say Praise you Jesus?
Bad things may happen, but if a bad thing happens at the right time is it still a bad thing?
Story: The Van in Florida:
When God has His hand over His people there is no need to worry, He is taking care of the little matters that we forget.
Have you ever been between a rock and a hard place?
Where no matter what decision you make it is going to be the wrong one…
Look at what happen to Jesus:
Some of the leading priest of his times, who he came to save; gave Him the hardest times and made His life very bitter.
Mark 12:14 “And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”
What a deception, if they knew that he was a true teacher, why did they keep on him with their malicious hate?
Continually they kept-up with their words of hate and drought. Beating upon God’s dear Son for no other reason then because He was different.
His holy life made there sinful life all the more revealing; In the presence of Jesus they could not hide or cover up there Sins.
15: Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
Jesus fully understood their motive and read into their malice therefore He said unto them
16: Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s.
17: And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.
Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He did not use any of His Godley power to withstand the attacks of satin,
He just like us today must fully rely on the protection of the Father.
We too, need to learn this lesson; many times we try in our ‘Human way’ of thinking to do it our own way, and it never works…
Too late sometimes, when all we needed was to trust in Jesus!
When in time of trouble, don’t worry about what you are going to say, just rely on Jesus, He will give you the right words to say that will convict the hearts of people who are truly seeking.
Hardly any stories in the Bible matches the Faith of three Hebrew young Men.
Story: One day a King made a decree, All he was trying to do is to get every one on the same playing field.
There were problems in the kingdom and so he made a plan to resolve it.
This is about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
All the King was asking for was a little compromise, a little helping out here, you scratch my back and I am going to scratch yours.
Was that too much to ask? He made this ‘decree,’ and it must be obeyed.
Everyone else was making a compromise, no one will care about you Hebrews, and you can go back to servicing your God tomorrow.
Daniel 3:16 “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17: If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18: But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
Many times in our life we become entangle in a storm that seam like there is no way out.
If we would only trust in God and not in Man we too would say “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnaces of Life, and he will deliver us out of hands of the king’s of this world.
Jesus will take all who put their trust in him through the fire’s of Life.
Story: Fire at Sea….
It was just an ordinary winter day back in February 1976. The M/V Aleutian Island was loading up to make another run to an offshore rig that was a little over 100 miles out to Sea. She was loaded with Drill Mud and 48 inch Cashion and had a full load of Fuel, Water and other drill rig supplies.
The weather started out very nice but by the time the Aleutian Island made it out to the Field the weather started getting bad.
Little to the Knowledge the crew, it would be a night they would never forget.
It all started while in transit from one Platform to another the first of many problems started.
1. Port Main Engine Exploded and caught the Engine room on fire.
After the fire was put out, they continued to the rig on one engine.
2. The Starboard main engine exploded and it too caught the engine room on fire again.
3. All they had was the ship’s anchor while they waited on a rescue tug.
4. Weather was getting bad.
That night there was 70 mile an hour winds and 30 foot seas, the ships anchor was not designed to hold in weather like this!
The Anchor stopper plates were kicked out by the force of the waves, the electrical brake was burnt out, the manual brakes was all they had left and they were not holding. Little by little the chain was being pulled out.
But somehow with God’s help the anchor chain held until the storm passed and help arrived.
No one could believe that we made it through that storm on one little anchor.
God will keep you through the storms of your life if you will trust Him.
Story of Paul:
Paul was taken prisoner, but he did not fear. Why? Because he knew that sometimes, bad things happen to God’s good people. But he was not going to let it get in his way, or let Satan have the victory.
He was going to find a way to let the bad things praise God.
He was put on a ship to go to Rome where he was to answer to Caesar because of his faith in Jesus
Acts 28:3 “And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4: And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
5: And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
6: Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.”
Each and every one of us will have trials that come before us, there will be times when it will look like the whole world will be against you, and more then likely it will be.
Our Hope must be in Jesus
Look at Isaiah 54:13 “And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
14: In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.”
We have the promises of God that those who remain faithful that He will be their protector.
Psalms 91:5 “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6: Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7: A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8: Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9: Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11: For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12: They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
There is not a Christian today who can say he is not without trials in life. If you are having problems give Jesus praise for it.
Thank Him that you are counted as worthy to be tried
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
Satan is not seeking his own people to persecute, they are already in his bag, he my friend, is after God’s people. To try them and to make sure their life is as bitter as he can make it!
All he is asking for is a little compromise, you will not have to give up much and you can go right back serving your God tomorrow.
Look at what the Bible says:
Revelation 12:17 “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
God’s people will love him so much that they would rather die then to sin.
Revelation 17:14 “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
While we may drink of a bitter cup now; the daylight of Christ’ return is coming. A day of hope and gladness for all who have kept the faith and put their trust in Him.
We are told by the Prophet John in Rev 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2: And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3: And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
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.
5: And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6: And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7: He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
Daniel 3:17 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”
Our God whom we serve will save His people from the fiery trials that Satan puts us through, because greater is He that is in us then he that is in this world.
So if your life is in the midst of a storm just remember Jesus, and like Peter, cry out from the bottom of your heart, Jesus save me, and He will be there to take your hand and lead you out of the fire, but only through your faith.
God bless and keep you my friend
The Bible Millennium
There will be only four (4) groups when Jesus returns!
1. The righteous living
2. The righteous dead
3. The wicked living
4. The wicked dead
The coming of Jesus Christ will mark the beginning of the Bible millennium (1000 years).
There will be a resurrection at the beginning of the millennium and another resurrection after the millennium. You want to be in the first resurrection.
The Bible says it is at “His coming,” when “the trumpet sounds,” that “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Notice that only the righteous who are called, “the dead in Christ,” rises at the coming of Jesus Christ. So Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the righteous marks the beginning of the 1000 years.
The dead in Christ (Righteous dead) are resurrected, and then together with the righteous living they are all “caught up” from earth to meet Jesus in the air.
What happens to those (wicked) who are not “caught up”? Many teachers say that they will have a second chance during a supposedly seven years of tribulation!
What does the Bible say!
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. For when they shall say Peace and Safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them … and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
Paul says that those who are not “caught up” will experience “sudden destruction” and shall “not escape.”
Jesus says it will be as in the days of Noah and “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (See Luke 17:26-30)
At the coming of Jesus, Scriptures describe a total destruction of all human beings all over the world!
Matthew 24:13, 14 – After the gospel is preached to all, “then shall the end come.”
1 Corinthians 15:23 – “At his coming, then cometh the end …”
1 Thessalonians 4:17; 5:3 – Those not “caught up,” will experience “sudden destruction.”
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – When Jesus comes in flaming fire, the lost will be destroyed.
Revelation 16:17, 18 – During the seventh trumpet, cities crumble around the world.
Revelation 6:14; 16:20 – Every island sinks, and all the mountains disappear.
Jeremiah 4:23-26 – Planet Earth is totally devastated, with “no man” left alive.
Jeremiah 25:30-33 – Those slain by the Lord lie dead, unburied, all around the world.
Revelation 19:17, 18, 21 – The birds eat the flesh of every human being worldwide.
(Revelation 19 says that birds will be eating the flesh of all men!)
What will we see when we climb out of the grave?
It all depends if we are resurrected before OR after the 1000 years (millennium).
Speaking of the wicked Jeremiah says, “And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:33
“I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger” (Jeremiah 4:23-26).
The righteous will spend 1000 years in HEAVEN with God and the unsaved who are alive when Jesus comes will be killed.
Everyone who remains here on earth are DEAD! Satan and his evil angels are ‘chained by circumstances’ here on earth with no one to deceive. (Until the thousand years were up)
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:5a
What happens after the 1000 years?
Revelation 20 says:
The “rest of the dead” are raised to life (vs. 5a).
Satan is loosed (verses 3, 7).
When the lost are resurrected, Satan has people once again to deceive – so he is “loosed” from his chains.
Satan “will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (vs. 8).
Who will Satan gather together?
All the lost, through history, from the days of Adam all the way down to the last person who experienced “sudden destruction” (1 Thess. 5:3) at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ!
During the 1000 years, all the lost remained in their graves, but at the end of the 1000 years they are all raised to life in what Jesus called “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29).
How many lost will there be?
John said their “number is as the sand of the sea!”
What are the lost doing after they are resurrected?
“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9
The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven (see Revelation 21:10).
The Holy city comes down at the end of the 1000 years with the saved in it. When the “rest of the dead” are raised and Satan is loosed, the city has just landed. Satan then commands the resurrected nations to surround the “camp of the saints and the beloved city” to try and take over God’s new Jerusalem.
At this time, ALL the lost and ALL the saved are together for the first time, alive on earth!
The saved are inside the city and all the lost are outside the city!
The resurrected lost will have a chance to see the reward of the righteous, while the saved will see the fate of the wicked!
The following explains why the saved are inside the city, and why the lost are outside the new Jerusalem. It’s a solemn thought!
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14
“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Revelation 22:15
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29.
D5 Creation
