Monday, December 28, 2015

Forgiving Those Who Have Wronged You

Was Job restored when he forgave his friends? Was his restoration tied to his forgiveness of his friends? Yes he was re- established and restored in his ways and was better than ever before. A closer walk with God, more material things than he ever had before. Job was restored when he forgave his friends. We must do the same today. Not only our friends are we to forgive but also our family members who wronged us, enemies who would like us destroyed. Simply put we must turn the other check and forgive seventy times seventy. If you ever want any peace in your life then you must forgive as Christ forgive you. This does not mean that you can strike some kind of deal with God. But it means you must forgive just as He forgives you. Our wiliness to forgive others, as hard as it may be, is a evidence that The Lord has forgiven us. It is bitterness and anger in our hearts why we can not forgive others who have sinned against us or did us wrong. If we can not forgive then God cannot forgive us. It is simple as that. We must learn to forgive. Simply put an unforgiving spirit prevents us from making God’s loving forgiveness our own. When the Lord said to Job, “Pray for your friends and you will be restored.” Job prayed for his friends and by this gave evidence that his heart was no longer filled with resentment, hate, bitterness toward them. The end result was that he could not only forgive his friends but also completely experience the forgiveness and blessings of God for himself. If we want to experience God’s forgiveness then we must forgive and pray for those who have talked bad about us, wronged us in some way or have hurt us.


Saturday, December 26, 2015

Hanging on to Hope

Alexander Solzhenitsyn knew how to hang on to hope. He was a political prisoner in Russia for many years. He was forced to work 12 hour days at hard labor while existing
on a starvation diet. He became gravely ill and the doctor warned that he would die. One afternoon he stopped working even though he knew the guards would beat him severely. He just could not go on any longer.
At that moment, a fellow prisoner who was also a follower of Christ approached him. He had a cane in his hand and with his cane he drew a cross in the sand. Solzhenitsyn, when he saw that cross, he remembered the anguish his Savior (The Lord Jesus Christ) had taken on for him; and he realized that the cross was were the battle was ultimately won. He got up and went back to work, and survived.
When you hang on to true hope, you can overcome the worst adversity. It makes no difference what it is; Finances, health, family, or spiritual needs Jesus Christ has already paid the price for you, me, and whosoever will have faith in him. My faith
 aith my dear friends is in nothing else but what Jesus did for me on the cross at Calvary. All else is sinking sand.



Friday, December 11, 2015

I AM THE WAY




I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I was really troubled and shocked by a recent article in local newspaper letting the people know that a Bishop in the Catholic Church will be opening a holy door, or Porta Sancta, at a local Catholic Church this Sunday. On this 50th anniversary of the closing of Vatican II, Pope Francis has begun a holy year of mercy during which, (for one year only) a plenary indulgence, the remittance of all temporal punishment due to sin, is available to those who pass through one of the holy doors. We are less than two years away from the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and I am reminded of Martin Luther’s attempt to point the church back to the Scriptures. “What does the Scripture say?” should always be our question. Paul tells us, “for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8) “And, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1) The author of Hebrews writes, “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb. 10:10) “And where there is forgiveness of (sins and lawless deeds), there is no longer any offering for sin.” (Heb. 10:18) My good neighbors, do not settle for an indulgence from Rome or any where else. No priest, Pope, preacher, overseer or any other official from any church or denomination can save your soul. The Bible tells us there is but one door, through which all may walk and be cleansed from all sin. This door is Jesus The Christ, the one who has already bore all the punishment for everyone who looks to him in faith and asks forgiveness. He paid the price at Calvary and when He said it is finished, it was finished

Friday, November 13, 2015

JESUS IS COMING- Are You Ready

Image result for jesus is coming 

When a person listens to the right information and puts it in the right perspective they can for the most part, make an educated speculation about how soon we are before Jesus’ return. Not the exact day, but know that all the signs are being fulfilled and it will be soon. Even so come Lord Jesus! The Lord said that when you see certain things begin to happen, "Look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption (your deliverance) draws near," and "when you see them happen the kingdom of God is near" (Luke 21:28,31). Jesus and Paul both taught that the proper way to wait for His return is to therefore be watchful, ready and sober. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:6) I wonder how many Christians today are really being watchful and are waiting for the Lord’s return or are they at ease in Zion. I can tell you this; I want to be ready when Jesus comes. How about you? Not one person can tell us with certainty what the weather will be like tomorrow except the one who is the maker of all things. But we can look at the sky, and make an pretty good guess about tomorrow's weather. Is it going to rain or is the sun going to shine? That is the same way with the Lord’s return.  Likewise, no one can tell us with certainly when the exact timing of Jesus' return will be except the one who is going to cause it to happen. God the Father Himself. If you are one of the many people who read this and just do not care you are in for a big surprise.

"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." (Matthew 24:12) Today, more and more people are living primarily for themselves and their own happiness. The idea of denying themselves, taking up their crosses daily and following Jesus (Luke 9:23) is a far-off idea to them. It is a concept that most do not understand because they have no time to pray, go to church, read the Bible, or seek God. There is no teaching in the homes and in most homes the TV has taken the place of the Bible. Family values are just about gone. At the same time, couples are divorcing at a alarming rate, and children are growing up in households with no supervision and with deep needs and as a result they are never met and dealt with in the wrong way. That leaves the children to solve their own problems. Most of the time it is solved by many couples, (and I’m not condemning no one)  not even marrying but just living together in fornication. (any form of sex not sanctioned by God and outside of marriage). The result, for the most part, has been the murder of hundreds of millions of innocent, helpless babies through abortion and even more children who are born and lack a strong and spiritual home where they can receive love and training from their own father and mother who are married according to God’s Word. I’m sure several people will be upset with me about that statement  but the truth is the truth. Parents use to go to church with there kids. The next generation did not go but sent the kids and now they do not even send them. Now in a big part of the homes there is only one parent. There will be a lot to answer for when Christ returns to this earth. If you are a saved soul then pray with all your hearts for your love ones. Make no mistake about it Jesus is coming and He is coming soon. I want to be ready. I want my family to be ready. Do you?

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."(Matthew 24:6,7). The prospective for war grows day by day and forever looms before us. Many thought that World War 2 was the great war but I can assure you they have seen nothing yet. Are you ready. Terrorism grows bigger day by day and for the most part people look the other way. Most nations and people are giving into the terrorist. But I want to be like the three Hebrew children and Daniel who made it very plain they would not serve any other God. More nations have the atom bomb today than ever before and the list keeps growing. In some nations if you are a Christian you might not be thrown into a fiery furnace or put into a lions den but you can lose your head real fast for your Christian faith. It is happening every day. Most people could care less and that is because they have forsaken the Word of God and the teachings found therein. To them life is just one big party.The great falling away is upon us and soon time will be no more. You may care less for this writing, or the one who is writing it, or Jesus The Christ. But I can assure you soon and very soon every knee will bow at the Lord’s coming.

"And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:7b,8). Due to flooding and droughts, world food supplies are running very low. Many people are looking for a world wide food shortage and famines in many places throughout the world. All kinds of infectious diseases are coming more quickly than ever before and spreading faster around the world than ever before, and they are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. Antibiotics are beginning not to work as they once did. An outbreak of any deadly virus or epidemic in one part of the world can now easily be spread to billions of people in other parts of the world due to increasing numbers of modern day air travelers. All things are lining up very quickly for when time will be no more. And then eternity awaits. Where will you spend your forever and ever at? With Jesus or will it be some place else.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

The Year Was1912

This is a excerpt from the sermon preached by the Bishop of Winchester, St. Mary’s Church, South Hampton on the Sunday following the sinking of the Titanic. “Life lessons from the Titanic disaster”
The year was 1912 and there wasn’t a Better ship on the ocean. Everything a ship designer could imagine was built into it. It was magnificent. It was enormous. It was the Titanic. Not only was it the biggest, it was sleek, fast and could not sink. Every proven safety feature went into its construction. It slid out from Liverpool, England, on a serene April morning headed for New York harbor. Its passengers basked in luxurious elegance, Lavished in its décor, menus, and entertainment, it surpassed the highest expectations of its passengers.
Three quarters into its maiden voyage – on the fringe of the Newfoundland’s frigid banks – the Titanic became a catastrophic nightmare. A deceptively large iceberg, detached from the polar ice fields, was drifting in the North Atlantic shipping lanes. The collision tore open the haul of the fabulous Titanic. Within two hours, before the dawn of April 15, 1912, the unsinkable Titanic plunged to its death four miles below the icy surface, taking with it 1500 passengers, most of the crew, and all its treasures.
Now let us look at the lessons from the tragedy:
  • “Not even God could sink the Titanic,” was the designer’s boast. We also have the deadly tendency to have excessive pride in our own resources. The Bible warns: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
  • Even when the Titanic struck the iceberg, the crew and passengers were confident that the “small iceberg could do little damage. We are also deceived into thinking that sin is minor and of little consequence. The Bible warns of the consequences of sin: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
  • The sinking of the unsinkable Titanic illustrates the uncertainty of life and our need to be ready to stand before our Maker and Judge. The Bible urges you to be ready. Jesus tells a story about a wealthy farmer who said to himself: “Soul you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” But God said unto him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” (Luke 12:19-20)
  • This tragedy teaches a lesson of obedient response. Those aboard the doomed Titanic who responded quickly were saved. Those who ignored the warning perished.  The Bible spells out God’s urgent invitation to believe: Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.”  (2 Corinthians 6:2)
                                                                                       Credit to George Benes for parts of this article

Friday, July 24, 2015

Silence In The Face of Evil is Evil

As a Christian and a follower of our Lord Jesus I cannot get over the latest evil from "PLAN PARENTHOOD". Dietrich Bonheoffer, a German Lutheran pastor and theologian, said that "Silence in the face of evil is evil". I can't help but believe, in my heart, that most people whether they be conservative, liberal or have no political views would not, and cannot, find the words that were spoken in the recent Planned Parenthood video not only disturbing but evil! I'm sixty-nine years old and to think someone would  casually talk about crushing the life out of an unborn child no matter at what stage of development makes me wonder just how far into inhumanity of man we, as a country, have fallen. Take away the legality of the action of harvesting infant body parts and just concentrate on the action itself and the uncaring way in which it is described should make all of us tremble! Their very innocent blood cries out to all mankind! It has been proven that a developing fetus (baby) can feel pain at least 20 weeks in the uterus. We can only begin to imagine the horrific anguish, and the pain, these children go though as they are being destroyed, murdered, for their body parts? What has our nation come to? How can we expect God to bless a nation that would allow this to happen? As Christians, Americans, and as caring people we must cry out against this evil.


For those of us that find this practice sick and disgusting, remember this thought: “All American taxpayers are helping to fund the agency (Plan Parenthood) and to sees no wrong in this practice is truly upsetting and evil in itself! I believe the time has come to stop funding Planned Parenthood with our tax dollars. I have a strong feeling that there are many others that feel the same way about this that I do. Now is the time to stand up and let your voice be heard! This is not about a war on women, as they would have you to believe. It is an cruel inhuman and sadistic attack on human race itself!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The Forsaken Roots Of Our Country.

For those of us that has lived on a farm and has planted crops knows that there has to be a good root system and fertile ground for the the crops to flourish and grow. The same goes for our country. I read a very interesting Christian Track a few days ago and since then I have been leaving one where ever I go. Never have I ever read a track that spoke to me and told the truth so plainly. I would like to pass on some of what the track said as I comment and write this article. I want to do this lest we forget.  Below are some amazing facts that should be known by all Americans.
  • Fifty two of the fifty-five signers of the Declaration of Independence were Orthodox, deeply committed Christians? The other three all believed in the Bible as the divine truth, the God or scripture and His personal intervention.
  • This same congress formed the American Bible Society. Immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of scripture for the people of this nation.
  • Patrick Henry said, “An Appeal to arms and the God of host is all that is left to us.But we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God that presides over the destiny of nations. The battle sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may take,but as for me, give me liberty or give me death. Much of the above statement has been deleted from our school books.
  • Was Patrick Henry a Christian? The following year, 1776, he wrote this: “It cannot be emphasized to strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians: not on religions, but on The Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”
  • Consider these words that Thomas Jefferson wrote on the front of his well worn Bible: “ I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have no doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of o Creator and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus also.”
  • George Washington in his farewell speech on September 19, 1796 said, “It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supporters. Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
  • Was George Washington a Christian? consider these words from his personal prayer book:”Oh Eternal and Everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words, and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit. Daily, fame me more and more in the likeness o thy Son, Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in Thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord the whole race of mankind and let   the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus Christ”
  • John Adams,our second president, who also served as chairman of the American Bible Society,in an address to military leaders said, “W have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and true religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. 
  • Our first supreme court justice, John Jay said, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rules and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian Nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”
  • John Quincy Adams. son of John Adams, was the sixth United States president. He was also the chairman of the American Bible Society, which he considered his highest and most important role.  On July 4,1821, President Adams said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”
  • Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States wrote: ” The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teaching of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease o be practically universal in our country.”
  • In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution: “The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.” 
  • William Homes McGuffey, called the schoolmaster of the nation” by president Lincoln, was author of the McGuffey Reader, which was used for over one hundred years in our public schools until it stopped in 1963, said, ” The Christian Religion is the religion of our country. From it derived our notions on  character of God, on the great moral governor of the universe. On its doctrine are founded the peculiarities of our free institutions. From no source has the author drawn more conspicuously than from the scared scriptures. From all these exact from the Bible I make no apology.
  • Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106 were distinctly Christian, including the first, Harvard University, chartered in 1636. In the original Harvard student handbook, rule number one was that students seeking entrance must know Latin and Greek so that they could study the scriptures: “Let every student b plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life. John 17-3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let everyone seriously set himself by payer in secret to seek it of Him.(Proverbs 2:3}”  For over 100 years more than 50 percent of all Harvard graduates were pastors!
  • It is clear from history that the Bible and the Christian faith were foundational to our education and judicial system. However, in 1947, there was a radical change of direction of the Supreme Court, ignoring every precedent of Supreme Court rulings for the past 160 years. The Supreme Court ruled in a limited way to affirm a wall of separation between church and state in the public class room. This lead to removing prayer from public schools in 1962.  This prayer was banished: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence thee. We beg Thy blessings upon us and our parents and our teachers and our country amen.”
  • In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that Bible reading was outlawed as unconstitutional in public school system.The court said, “If portion of the New Testament were read without explanation, they could and have been psychologically harmful to children.” Bible reading was now unconstitutional, though the Bible was quoted 94 percent of the time by those who wrote the constitution, and shaped our nation and its system of education, justice, and government. In 1965, the courts denied as unconstitutional the right of of a student in public school cafeteria to bow his head and pray audibly for his food. In 1980, Stone vs. Graham outlawed the Ten Commandments in our public schools. The Supreme Court said, “If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments were to have any effect al all, it would be to induce school children to read them. mediate upon them, and perhaps venerate and obey them, this is not a permissible objective.”
  • It is not a permissible objective to allow our children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments? James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution of the United States, said this: “We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitution upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments”
How can God bless a nation that has departed so far from Him? Most of what you read in this article has been erased from our school text books. Revisionist have rewritten history to remove the truth about our country’s Christian roots. Share this with others so our nation’s history will be preserved and passed on. “Blesses is the nation whose God is the Lord.”
NOTE- copies of the tract used can be obtained from the Pilgrim Tract Society Inc, PO Box 126, Randleman NC 27317

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Poem Sums it Up Quite Well.

The following is a poem written by Judge Roy Moore

from Alabama . Judge Moore was sued by the ACLU

for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom

foyer. He has been stripped of his judgeship and now

they are trying to strip his right to practice law in Alabama !

The judge's poem sums it up quite well.

 

America? the beautiful,

or so you used to be.

Land of the Pilgrims' pride;

I'm glad they'll never see.

Babies piled in dumpster's,

Abortion on demand,

Oh, sweet land of liberty;

your house is on the sand.

Our children wander aimlessly

poisoned by cocaine

choosing to indulge their lusts,

when God has said abstain

From sea to shining sea,

our Nation turns away

From the teaching of God's love

and a need to always pray

We've kept God in our

temples, how callous we have grown.

When earth is but His footstool,

and Heaven is His throne.

We've voted in a government

that's rotting at the core,

Appointing Godless Judges;

who throw reason out the door,

Too soft to place a killer

in a well deserved tomb,

But brave enough to kill a baby

before he leaves the womb.

You think that God's not

angry, that our land's a moral slum?

How much longer will He wait

before His judgment comes?

How are we to face our God,

from Whom we cannot hide?

What then is left for us to do,

but stem this evil tide?

If we who are His children,

will humbly turn and pray;

Seek His holy face

and mend our evil way:

Then God will hear from Heaven;

and forgive us of our sins,

He'll heal our sickly land

and those who live within.

But, America the Beautiful,

If you don't - then you will see,

A sad but Holy God

withdraw His hand from Thee..

~~Judge Roy Moore~~

Thursday, January 22, 2015

The Falling Away



"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"         (2 Thess:2:3)

 For the past couple of months on my way to church I noticed a small Methodist Church being torn down not far from where I go to church. The church was an old country church, but was used up to a year ago. Each Sunday as I pass the church a little more of the building has gone, leaving only the shell and soon it will be all gone. This Sunday As I passed the church the thought come to me. This is the same thing, spiritually thinking, that is happening to all  the churches across our land. They are being spiritually tour down to where there is only a shell called the church. Sad but true. In years past the churches were more than just a shell. It was a place that a person could hear the truth. The kind of truth that would set a sinner free, a place were heavy burdens were unshackled and all types of sickness were healed. There were prayer meetings in peoples home and Bible studies where you dug deeper in God's Word and wanted to be ever so much closer to Him. Last but not least, let us remember those "Old Brush Arbors". 

Being a churchgoer and a follower of Jesus Christ for the most of my 69 years on this earth I can see big changes in our churches and the people who attend these churches. The "Pure Raw Word" of God is not taught anymore for fear of losing the large attendance. We have preachers on TV and even behind the pulpit that will not call sin what it is, When asked if homosexuality is sin they will not give a straight answer. When asked if there is another way to heaven and eternal life besides Jesus, they will not give a straight answer. What ever happened to the “fire and brimstone preachers. The preachers, who in love, told a person exactly how it was. In other words the truth.

Across America the crosses are being taken off churches and the churches are given a new name. "Campus" Some churches are now having services with Muslims and their Islamic faith. This should not be because a true Muslim will deny Jesus Christ as being the Son of God. It is very important  to note that the very first sign, and  the most important one, Jesus gave in response to His disciples' question about the end of time was religious deception: "take heed that no man deceive you." It is significant, too, that His revelation of this primary sign was put forth as a warning: "take heed," or beware. He repeated this sign two more times to show how import it was and the nature of the coming deception: it would involve false Christs, false prophets, and false signs and wonders. Moreover, His repeating of the word "many" four times, which to me indicates that this deception will not be hidden but will be a worldwide reality deceiving many and that sure is happening today across our great land and the world.

As followers of Christ, we can see the  persistent downward spiral of  the church. We can remember  the Biblical prophecy that states that the latter days would be marked by a collapse of faith (falling away), morality and ethics. Another prophecy coming to fulfillment before our eyes. The Word of God clearly teaches that in the very Last Days, one of the main signs of the times to look for will be the great falling away of those who claim to be Christians. Jesus clearly teaches that in the very Last Days, the lost will become more and more blinded from the hearing of Biblical truth, because many who claim to be God’s anointed will not be preaching the whole truth!

Jesus commands all those who claim to be a Christian to come out from the world and trust in what the Bible says. Sorry to say, there are too many people that claim to be born-again and yet they are being more conformed to the pattern of this world every day. 

More churches are closing their doors every day in America while more and more mosques are being built. We are told that America is no longer a Christian nation and the Koran is being quoted more and more from the White House while the Bible is criticized.  We are truly in the last days and to my Christian friends I leave you with this- “LOOK UP YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWS NIGH”. 


In Today's Word What Are You Building?

  In a day of violence and God's impending wrath, what should a man of God be Building? Noah built an ark. In Noah's day, the earth ...