Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
What Is Going On Inside Our Church?
I have noticed that church is not what it used to be. We don't see that excitement and joy as we worship with songs and music. There are not as many Amens during the message by our pastors. No one would be seen getting a little happy during a service. Our churches are not as eager to reach people anymore. I wonder what people outside the church know about what goes on inside our churches? We have come to place the church inside the four walls of the structure that we come to weekly and not really let the church be what it ought to be.
Our churches should be a place where people from all walks of life can come and receive the gospel and know that the church cares about them and is willing to go that extra mile to help them. We should be christians and not just say that we are. What does our lives say that we are christians or wannabes? That can only be answered by you. We are all responsible for our own lives, but we as christians are responsible for the lives of others that are not christians. There will come a time and it is called the Great White Throne Judgement when all God's people will be judged for our actions and the way we lived our lives here on this earth.
The Bible tells us that when we do something for someone else, we have done it unto him. How much have we done for others. I don't mean Christmas presents and parties. I mean to go out of your way to help someone that maybe did not have a Christmas. Maybe it is someone at work that is having a hard time in their marriage or is dealing with being a single parent or caring for elderly parents. You have no idea what people are going through unless you open your eyes and ears to what is going on around you and what others are showing you each day.
We are so wrapped up in our own lives that we cannot see any further than the end of our noses and a lot of times it is turned up. How many of us even talk about our churches outside the church? Are we afraid of what people will think of us? Is church that boring that it is not even noteworthy to talk about? We need to be excited about our churches and be excited about being able to help others and be excited about telling others about Jesus. We are christians and we are going to heaven when this world is over. That should put an extra jump in our step and a song in our hearts and make us want to share with everyone about Jesus and what he has done for usl
Maybe if we would tell others about our churches and what actually goes on and that they are very welcomed to be there, they might come and get a little excited as well. There is nothing wrong with smiling and singing and being happy. Some may think you are a little crazy, but my answer is that I am crazy about Jesus and I want them to know it.
Our churches should be a place where people from all walks of life can come and receive the gospel and know that the church cares about them and is willing to go that extra mile to help them. We should be christians and not just say that we are. What does our lives say that we are christians or wannabes? That can only be answered by you. We are all responsible for our own lives, but we as christians are responsible for the lives of others that are not christians. There will come a time and it is called the Great White Throne Judgement when all God's people will be judged for our actions and the way we lived our lives here on this earth.
The Bible tells us that when we do something for someone else, we have done it unto him. How much have we done for others. I don't mean Christmas presents and parties. I mean to go out of your way to help someone that maybe did not have a Christmas. Maybe it is someone at work that is having a hard time in their marriage or is dealing with being a single parent or caring for elderly parents. You have no idea what people are going through unless you open your eyes and ears to what is going on around you and what others are showing you each day.
We are so wrapped up in our own lives that we cannot see any further than the end of our noses and a lot of times it is turned up. How many of us even talk about our churches outside the church? Are we afraid of what people will think of us? Is church that boring that it is not even noteworthy to talk about? We need to be excited about our churches and be excited about being able to help others and be excited about telling others about Jesus. We are christians and we are going to heaven when this world is over. That should put an extra jump in our step and a song in our hearts and make us want to share with everyone about Jesus and what he has done for usl
Maybe if we would tell others about our churches and what actually goes on and that they are very welcomed to be there, they might come and get a little excited as well. There is nothing wrong with smiling and singing and being happy. Some may think you are a little crazy, but my answer is that I am crazy about Jesus and I want them to know it.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Jesus, The Real Gift
Christmas is full of hustle and bustle with all the preparations for family meals, Christmas parties, church activities such as programs, cantatas and office parties, outings with friends, Santa for the children, decorating our homes, lights outside, the list goes on and on. We have made Christmas into such a commercial and social event that we have really forgotten the most important part of Christmas.
We must get back to that very first Christmas when our Savior Jesus Chrsit was born. It was a cold night and Mary was about to give birth to her son and she had ridden a donkey all day and was very tired. Jacob had walked all day guiding the donkey carefully so that Mary would be as comfortable as possible. When they arrived in Bethlehem there was no where for them to stay except in a barn with animals. Now mind you the child she was carrying was Jesus Christ the Son of God.
That night she gave birth and wrapped him in cloths and laid him in the manger, or feeding trough to sleep. There was no large family gathering, no gifts, no carols, no decorations, no toys, just Mary and Joseph and the animals in attenance. Jesus should have been born in a palace with all the attendants to care for him. I can only imagine what was going through Mary's mind after her birth experience. She knew that Jesus was the son of God, but I can imagine that all of this was very confusing to her. Can we imagine that when she held him close and kissed his cheek that she was actually holding and kissing the Son of God. That sends cold chills down my spine to think about that.
This gift was and still is the most wonderful, perfect gift that has ever been given. Jesus was the one who died for our sins on the cross so that we could have eternal life with God in heaven. When I think about Jesus and his life here on this earth, it was short, simple , but oh so amazing and fullfilling. He spent his life giving to others of himself and God. He never turned anyone away or had a harsh word for anyone. He gave totally of himself to all. He did this in the end by dying on that cruel cross for our sins. Jesus had done nothing wrong. He lived a perfect life here on this earth, but was treated alike a very horrible criminal. When Jesus died he had no more belongings than what he had when he was born.
When we look at Jesus' mother and father and him we see that each of them had a choice in this matter. They could have each said no and God would have followed through with their wishes. They did not. Mary and Joseph had faith in God that he was directing them in his will. Jesus knew that he had to be the sacrificial lamb for all of us who were sinners to go to heaven. When I think how our story could have been, it makes me so thankful for Jesus and his life and death.
We as believers should be constantly in tune with those around us and taking every opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus christ with all that we come in contact with, because we never know when there is someone standing right beside us that does not know Jesus and we may be the very one that either helps or hinders their gift of knowing Jesus as their Savior. Quite a sobbering thought when you think about it.
I urge each one of you as Christians to spend time with someone that does not know Jesus this season and help them to understand and accept this most wonderful gift of Salvation. I promise you that your heart will never be the same and you will have helped someone else to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
May God Richly Bless you and keep you this season.
We must get back to that very first Christmas when our Savior Jesus Chrsit was born. It was a cold night and Mary was about to give birth to her son and she had ridden a donkey all day and was very tired. Jacob had walked all day guiding the donkey carefully so that Mary would be as comfortable as possible. When they arrived in Bethlehem there was no where for them to stay except in a barn with animals. Now mind you the child she was carrying was Jesus Christ the Son of God.
That night she gave birth and wrapped him in cloths and laid him in the manger, or feeding trough to sleep. There was no large family gathering, no gifts, no carols, no decorations, no toys, just Mary and Joseph and the animals in attenance. Jesus should have been born in a palace with all the attendants to care for him. I can only imagine what was going through Mary's mind after her birth experience. She knew that Jesus was the son of God, but I can imagine that all of this was very confusing to her. Can we imagine that when she held him close and kissed his cheek that she was actually holding and kissing the Son of God. That sends cold chills down my spine to think about that.
This gift was and still is the most wonderful, perfect gift that has ever been given. Jesus was the one who died for our sins on the cross so that we could have eternal life with God in heaven. When I think about Jesus and his life here on this earth, it was short, simple , but oh so amazing and fullfilling. He spent his life giving to others of himself and God. He never turned anyone away or had a harsh word for anyone. He gave totally of himself to all. He did this in the end by dying on that cruel cross for our sins. Jesus had done nothing wrong. He lived a perfect life here on this earth, but was treated alike a very horrible criminal. When Jesus died he had no more belongings than what he had when he was born.
When we look at Jesus' mother and father and him we see that each of them had a choice in this matter. They could have each said no and God would have followed through with their wishes. They did not. Mary and Joseph had faith in God that he was directing them in his will. Jesus knew that he had to be the sacrificial lamb for all of us who were sinners to go to heaven. When I think how our story could have been, it makes me so thankful for Jesus and his life and death.
We as believers should be constantly in tune with those around us and taking every opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus christ with all that we come in contact with, because we never know when there is someone standing right beside us that does not know Jesus and we may be the very one that either helps or hinders their gift of knowing Jesus as their Savior. Quite a sobbering thought when you think about it.
I urge each one of you as Christians to spend time with someone that does not know Jesus this season and help them to understand and accept this most wonderful gift of Salvation. I promise you that your heart will never be the same and you will have helped someone else to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
May God Richly Bless you and keep you this season.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Indoor Christians
Our lives on this earth as we know them could be very short indeed. Our country is such a combination of nationalities and beliefs that it makes it hard for some of us to understand just what our country is all about. When I was in school and studied history we were told that our country was built on christian principals. We believed in God and we stood for what the Bible taught. We were proud to let it be known that we were a Christian nation. Today as I spend time here and watch people in our nation killing each other for no reason, women aborting babies that are just as alive as the rest of us and who knows could be the one person that could bring about the cure for some of our most horrible diseases, see groups of young people in gangs that have absolutely no morals or thought for the lives they take each day, I ask myself, "Where are all the Christians?" Our government has strayed so far away from our beginnings that our nation doesn't even resemble the nation it started out to be. We care only for ourselves and what we can obtain, the glory we can have for ourselves, yet there are thousands of people in this nation that are homeless and out of work and have no future at all. There was a time when we could go out of our homes at any time of day or night and leave our doors unlocked and not have to worry that our belongings would be there. Now we have all these expensive security systems in place and still our homes are not safe. I remember the day when you did not have to fear for your life if you picked up a hitch hicker and took him a little farther down the road and maybe even bought him a meal. He would be gracious and say a harty "Thank You," and be on his way. I remember a time when our preachers could proudly stand in their pulpits and preach the whole Bible and not fear what might happen to them for doing so.
There are now people that have now been successful in taking prayer out of our schools, put legislation into place that makes abortion legal and a decision that is made by man instead of God, who by the way created us, removed the Ten Commandments from public places and have now even made money that does not even have the words "In God We Trust," on it. I ask you, "Where Are All The Christians Now?" As I live my life and make attempts at trying to help someone come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, I am told by some people that they are not interested in that right now. I am told that they are good people and they will go to heaven. Some have even said that they don't care. There was one young man that I worked with several years ago that even made the proclamation that when he died he was going to hell and that he would rule hell. He boasted about this as though this would be his grandest accomplishment. I ask, "Where Are All The Christians?"
I don't know about the rest of this country, but this scares me to death. God has given us so much and blessed this nation with so much and yet we have so little regard for our nation and the path that it is taking. We have elected a president that has no regard for Christian beliefs, as well as a lot of our legislators who feel the same way. I look around at the family structure to- day and see that it is very poorly put together. I see children living between divorced parents, not having any idea if they are truly loved or just tolerated, parents who have absolutely no morals spending their time with first one and then another person trying to find happiness and belonging. I see mothers who can't cope with raising their children so they just kill them instead of trying to take care of them and love them. The age of mothers is astounding. A lot of mothers are just children themselves trying to live adult lives. In times of death, I see children arguing over their loved one as they lay dying trying to decide who will get what when they pass instead of spending this time saying goodbye to their loved one. I see the legislation that has made same sex marriages allowed. Again, "Where Are All The Christians?"
Our regard for life has truly diminished. The sad thing is life is such a precious commodity. It is given by God. He is the one who breathes that first breath that we take at birth. God is the one who made us so perfectly inside the womb of our mothers. God is the one who gave His only son for our redemption that we could have everlasting life when we pass from this earth. God is there 24/7 to be our friend, our comforter, our rock, our shelter, the one that we don't even have to make an appointment with when we need to unload our problems. God is the father that no earthly father could ever be to us. He loves us when we don't even love ourselves.
I simply can't understand why this is such a hard concept for people to understand and why there are not more Christians in this world today. Again, I ask, "Where Are All The Christians?" I can tell you the answer to this question without even hesitating. The Christians of this world are inside their churches singing, having meetings, planning events, having fellowships, listening to preachers who preach a Feel Good sermon and are not out in this world living their faith where anyone else can see it. Christians today are "Indoor Christians."
I call out to each of you to come out of your little cocoon and be what God intended you to be. He wants you to be someone who stands for what you believe and make it known that you want our nation to stand tall as a Christian nation and that we are a nation that is Bible based and that we will conduct the business of this country in a Christian manner. This means that the Indoor Christian will have to become an Outdoor Christian. I can promise you that if you tell someone about Jesus Christ, you might just be surprised at what God will do with your willingness to serve Him and make the gospel known again in this nation. This is the only way that we will take our nation back and make her the strong God fearing nation that she once was and let people know and feel the love of God in their hearts. I feel that if we do this, our crime rate would go down, abortions would cease, gay marriages would stop, infidelity would stop, our children would grow up learning the Godly way to live their lives and unplanned pregnancies would greatly diminish, our family units would become strong and Godly once again, our country would be managed with Godly principals, the world would know us as a nation to be revered and not laughed at anymore.
I am so looking forward to the day when I can be in Heaven with my Heavenly Father and know that He loved me enough through the gift of is Son Jesus Christ to give me a place in His kingdom forever and ever. I don't want to live my life so that I can rule hell as this one young man boasted. I am so thankful that I was raised by 2 very loving, christian parents and that they taught me how to live a Godly life. My life has not always been what God would have, but I know that I have the assurance of a place in Heaven and that until that day I must be about My Father's business which is spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth as it is stated in Matthew 28:19-20. Christians of this country and this world, we have a job to do. We are instructed by God to be out in the highways and byways of this world sharing the gospel to every person in this world until Jesus comes for us and takes us home.
Indoor Christian, COME OUT AND LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE FOR HIM AND BE ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF SPREADING THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD !!!
There are now people that have now been successful in taking prayer out of our schools, put legislation into place that makes abortion legal and a decision that is made by man instead of God, who by the way created us, removed the Ten Commandments from public places and have now even made money that does not even have the words "In God We Trust," on it. I ask you, "Where Are All The Christians Now?" As I live my life and make attempts at trying to help someone come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, I am told by some people that they are not interested in that right now. I am told that they are good people and they will go to heaven. Some have even said that they don't care. There was one young man that I worked with several years ago that even made the proclamation that when he died he was going to hell and that he would rule hell. He boasted about this as though this would be his grandest accomplishment. I ask, "Where Are All The Christians?"
I don't know about the rest of this country, but this scares me to death. God has given us so much and blessed this nation with so much and yet we have so little regard for our nation and the path that it is taking. We have elected a president that has no regard for Christian beliefs, as well as a lot of our legislators who feel the same way. I look around at the family structure to- day and see that it is very poorly put together. I see children living between divorced parents, not having any idea if they are truly loved or just tolerated, parents who have absolutely no morals spending their time with first one and then another person trying to find happiness and belonging. I see mothers who can't cope with raising their children so they just kill them instead of trying to take care of them and love them. The age of mothers is astounding. A lot of mothers are just children themselves trying to live adult lives. In times of death, I see children arguing over their loved one as they lay dying trying to decide who will get what when they pass instead of spending this time saying goodbye to their loved one. I see the legislation that has made same sex marriages allowed. Again, "Where Are All The Christians?"
Our regard for life has truly diminished. The sad thing is life is such a precious commodity. It is given by God. He is the one who breathes that first breath that we take at birth. God is the one who made us so perfectly inside the womb of our mothers. God is the one who gave His only son for our redemption that we could have everlasting life when we pass from this earth. God is there 24/7 to be our friend, our comforter, our rock, our shelter, the one that we don't even have to make an appointment with when we need to unload our problems. God is the father that no earthly father could ever be to us. He loves us when we don't even love ourselves.
I simply can't understand why this is such a hard concept for people to understand and why there are not more Christians in this world today. Again, I ask, "Where Are All The Christians?" I can tell you the answer to this question without even hesitating. The Christians of this world are inside their churches singing, having meetings, planning events, having fellowships, listening to preachers who preach a Feel Good sermon and are not out in this world living their faith where anyone else can see it. Christians today are "Indoor Christians."
I call out to each of you to come out of your little cocoon and be what God intended you to be. He wants you to be someone who stands for what you believe and make it known that you want our nation to stand tall as a Christian nation and that we are a nation that is Bible based and that we will conduct the business of this country in a Christian manner. This means that the Indoor Christian will have to become an Outdoor Christian. I can promise you that if you tell someone about Jesus Christ, you might just be surprised at what God will do with your willingness to serve Him and make the gospel known again in this nation. This is the only way that we will take our nation back and make her the strong God fearing nation that she once was and let people know and feel the love of God in their hearts. I feel that if we do this, our crime rate would go down, abortions would cease, gay marriages would stop, infidelity would stop, our children would grow up learning the Godly way to live their lives and unplanned pregnancies would greatly diminish, our family units would become strong and Godly once again, our country would be managed with Godly principals, the world would know us as a nation to be revered and not laughed at anymore.
I am so looking forward to the day when I can be in Heaven with my Heavenly Father and know that He loved me enough through the gift of is Son Jesus Christ to give me a place in His kingdom forever and ever. I don't want to live my life so that I can rule hell as this one young man boasted. I am so thankful that I was raised by 2 very loving, christian parents and that they taught me how to live a Godly life. My life has not always been what God would have, but I know that I have the assurance of a place in Heaven and that until that day I must be about My Father's business which is spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth as it is stated in Matthew 28:19-20. Christians of this country and this world, we have a job to do. We are instructed by God to be out in the highways and byways of this world sharing the gospel to every person in this world until Jesus comes for us and takes us home.
Indoor Christian, COME OUT AND LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE FOR HIM AND BE ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF SPREADING THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD !!!
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Real Gift
As I stood in front of our booth at the Morgnton Festival on Saturday I saw a number of different people from all walks of life. Some were happy. Some were sad. Still others were dressed in many different types of clothes and hair styles. Children of all ages gazing at all the sites to be seen as they were walking down the streets with their eyes looking in all directions. As I spoke to the people passing our way, some were amazed that I would speak while others were very cordial. There were those that just looked at me and kept walking. We were giving away horse shoes with people's names hammered on the hores shoe. People were amazed that we would do this for free. They did not understand that we had an even greater gift to give them if they would ask for it. As the day went on, I would use the horse shoe to start a conversation about this wonderful free gift that I was so wanting to give each and everyone that came our way. This gift is something we all need in order to get our rewards when we die. This gift is Jesus our Savior. He died on the cross for our sins so that we could have eternal life in Heaven. This gift is totally free. All we have to do is to admit we are sinners and ask for forgiveness and believe that Jesus is God's son and that he died for our sins and rose the third day. The only thing left is to ask Jesus to come and live in our hearts and that my friend is the best gift in the world. You will never be happier than at that moment when Jesus comes into your heart. This was our real gift to these people. The horse shoe was extra. John 3:16 explaines this gift completely. On the horse shoe this verse was stamped on the ends. The person's name is in the center of the horse shoe, right in the center of God's amazing love for us. The Real Gift straight from God's heart to our heart. There were 33 that received that gift that day. AMEN!!!
Friday, September 4, 2009
For That Fearless Hero
There are times in life when no matter what we have done and no matter how much we have poured into a job, there is going to be someone that will either not like what we have done or just be completely jealous of the things we have accomplished. These are times that we want to either just lash out at these people or just simply take our stripes and hope that our lives will come together again. This can be one of the loneliest times in our lives. It seems that we are the only one in the world that has done something terribly wrong and everyone is out to get us and take a piece of us as they do.
It is a good thing to be able to call on family, but even that does not heal all the wounds. You know in your heart that you did the best that you could under the circumstances and acted in the best interest of all involved, but there is still that one who wants so badly to make us look bad and tear down all the good that we have done. They just simply cannot stand to see us rise above the rest of the group, even though we have earned it.
Jealousy is one of the most terrifying and destructive enemies in our society. It lurks around every corner and is patiently waiting for that time that it can jump out and attack us and tear us to shreds and then just go about its business like nothing ever happened.
When the dust settles, you'll find jealousy sitting there smiling and taking all the bows, while we just sit there and wonder if it is really over and life can begin to go back to normal again. Still this does not even begin to make any of it feel better or even make sense to us.
This would seem to be a time that we could feel sorry for ourselves and wonder "Why me?" Bad times are events that we can use to grow and to better ourselves if we keep our eyes on Jesus and don't let our enemy win the battle. They may win the earthly battle, but not the spiritual battle. God knows what has taken place and He will direct our paths on to something even bigger and better if we but keep our eyes on him and trust him. Matthew 6:33-34 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." KEEP THE FAITH!!!
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