A higher calling!

As Christians we are called out of the world, we are soldiers in the army of the Lord, our weapons are used not to kill but to set free those held captive.

We must engage our culture on the issues that they do not want to engage God on, for they know right from wrong.

Poverty, same sex marriage, racism, sex slavery, immigration, persecution, abortion, orphans, pornography, these are issues the world embraces but we as Christians can not be in line with the world.

We are called to to be steadfast and immovable speaking the truth out of love, showing them the way.

Do not disengage in the heat of battle, engage armed with the word of God and in His Spirit.

Here is a great quote.

If I profess with the loudest voice and the clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I AM NOT confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christianity,

Where the battle rages the loyalty of the soldier is proved ; and to be steady on ALL the battle-field besides is mere flight and disgrace to him if he flinches at that point.

Elizabeth Rundle Charles

“And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies?   Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.   Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows! “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,   but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”

Luke 12:4-12

Standing on the outside

The world religions whether they are self religious or organized religion look in at the Church of Jesus and condemn us for being hypocrites ,because we are sinners some are there who have received grace, others in search of grace and still others who are there as plants to lead the lost away from grace.

People on the outside looking in and condemning, are self righteous and believe in themselves that they can make their way to God on their terms.

Jesus makes it clear He is not here for them,  only those who will acknowledge their need for His grace and salvation.

The picture here in Luke is a perfect picture of the Church who is in and who is out, it also is a picture of the world, the self religious and self righteous.

This coming New Year won't you gather with the sinners in a House of Worship that teaches the word of God and hear for yourself the message of God's grace and see the power it has to change the hardest of hearts.

I once to stood on the outside.

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me! ”  So, leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow Him. Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for Him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were guests with them.  But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to His disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? ” Jesus replied to them, “The healthy don’t need a doctor, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 5:27-32

The cost

Jesus said to follow Me, most people follow Him to the foot of the cross , but that is where they stay.

They believe this is their salvation, but it is not.

To follow Jesus goes way beyond the cross, we must follow Him to the end. We must forsake all and seek Him and His righteousness, we must take up our cross acknowledge Him.

The cost of discipleship is grand but it is nothing when compared to being a child of God.

Have you gotten up yet from the foot of the cross?

If not get up and go to the other side, your Lord and Savior awaits to walk with you.

“Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.   The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow   Me is not worthy of Me. Anyone finding   his life will lose it, and anyone losing   his life because of Me will find it.

Matthew 10:32-39

Repent and live!

We are quick to call to a day of prayer and fasting in our churches and even in our nation still.

What we are not quick to do, is call for a day of repentance. Prayer, worship and fasting without a repentant heart is worthless it is vanity and pride and will not be heard by God for He is Holy and will not regard iniquity in our hearts.

Repentance is the first step in salvation when we acknowledge our sin and repent, it is also required of us to come before God repentance is required when we sin against God.

Daniel chapter 9 tells us Daniel repented for himself and his people, because they sinned greatly against God, Psalm 51 David repented of his sins and turned back to God.

The Church today needs to repent, we as the body of Christ have gotten so far off message we no longer speak of repentance, consequences or judgment.

Make no mistake restoration and healing will not come without repentance.

This Christmas as we celebrate Christ let us remember what He said. As we share Jesus with those around us.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news! ”

Mark 1:15

Israel, (we) return to Yahweh your God, for you have stumbled in your sin. Take words of repentance with you and return to the Lord . Say to Him: “Forgive all our sin and accept what is good, so that we may repay You with praise from our lips. Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses, and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods! ’ to the work of our hands. For the fatherless receives compassion in You.” I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger will have turned from him. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon. His new branches will spread, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon. The people will return and live beneath his shade. They will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim, why should I have anything more to do with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing pine tree; your fruit comes from Me. Let whoever is wise understand these things, and whoever is insightful recognize them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

Hosea 14:1-9

The heart of man

God's word says the “heart” is who we really are at our core. According to God's word living the Christian life, is about loving God with all of our hearts. God is not content to live on the fringes of our lives.

He will settle for nothing short of the center!

This is in stark contrast to the most popular views of the Christian life. But this is what God says, not man.

For most non believers and believers alike, a believers life is a matter of keeping the rules.

While God knows and cares about our behavior, the Bible tells us about redemption , this picture of a believer’s life is based on the work of Jesus Christ not mankind.

The Bible tells us that believers our life is based on a new relationship with God that brings hope and peace and consumes the very core of our daily lives!

A Christian is someone whose life is installed by the Holy Spirit and love of God. And with all we are hearts we need to seek Him first and foremost , we can not harbor in our hearts any other idols , we can not know Him and serve ourselves, we can not know Him and stay the same, the good news is He changes us we must believe, repent and submit in and to Him.

God's word is clear, His name will not be mocked.

“This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your deeds, and I will allow you to live in this place. Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord . Instead, if you really change your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,   if you no longer oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors long ago and forever. But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help. “Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known?  Then do you come and stand before Me in this house called by My name and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your view? Yes, I too have seen it.” This is the Lord ’s declaration.

Jeremiah 7:3-11

The Christ of Christmas

We can not expect the world to worship Jesus Christ, but the world should expect us to worship Him. It is time to stop the whining and complaining and start worshiping Him in word and deed. If Christ be preached and Salvation brought before the masses, so be it.

Let us celebrate Christmas as it meant to be.

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. — Colossians 2:16–17

As we journey to the heart of Christmas, many christian's whine and complain about celebrating Christ’s birth mostly, that when Christmas was originally instituted, December 25 was a pagan festival commemorating the birthday of a false god.

Yes this is a true fact ." Dr. Paul Maier, eminent professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, “The Romans of the time not only celebrated their Saturnalia festival at the close of December, but they also thought that December 25 marked the date of the winter solstice (instead of December 21), when they observed the pagan feast of Sol Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun, which was just in the act of turning about to aim northward once again.”

And yes while this is indeed historical, what is often overlooked is the reason the early Christian church chose December 25.

The purpose was not to Christianize a time of pagan celebration, but to establish a rival celebration to point one to Christ.

Christmas (from Old English Crīstes +mœ ̄sse “Christ’s festival”) was designated as a spiritual holiday (holy day) on which to proclaim the majesty, the Lordship, God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ in the flesh over the superstitions of false gods made of silver, gold and stone such as saturn, the god of agriculture, and sol invictus, the unconquerable sun god.

The world has all but forgotten the Greco-Roman gods of antiquity, annually we celebrate that two thousand years ago the Christ child the only hope of humanity left heaven's splendor to live among us as we live.

As Christians we should celebrate the First Advent of Christ, while simultaneously rejoicing and anticipating the Second Advent in which the He will establish His Kingdom the old ways will pass away and all things will be made new.

'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.' — Zechariah 2:10–11

Act 17:16-31 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was troubled within him when he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Then also, some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers argued with him. Some said, "What is this pseudo-intellectual trying to say? " Others replied, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities" -- because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the Resurrection. 19 They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, "May we learn about this new teaching you're speaking of? 20 For what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these ideas mean." 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new. 22 Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. 23 For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it -- He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. 25 Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. 26 From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. 27 He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 28 For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Being God's offspring then, we shouldn't think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination. "Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead."

Wisdom comes from God

Wisdom is an attribute of God, He gives this to those who seek Him and ask Him for it. As a society today most are seeking knowledge, and not wisdom.

In this pursuit of knowledge our society is leaning on the knowledge of other men, and not the wisdom of God. This is one reason we see nation's falling, people perishing, wars and chaos flourishing, foolishness and blindness to the truth, without wisdom to direct knowledge, knowledge becomes dangerous for it becomes those who are pursuing it's god.

We need to seek wisdom which God gives in His word, through prayer and in asking. Seek Him today and not our own way.

I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech. I possess good advice and competence; I have understanding and strength. It is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law; by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges. I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me. With me are riches and honor, lasting wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than solid gold, and my harvest than pure silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries. “The Lord made me at the beginning of His creation, before His works of long ago. I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began. I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water. I was delivered before the mountains and hills were established, before He made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth. I was there when He established the heavens, when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, when He placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out, when He set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate His command, when He laid out the foundations of the earth. I was a skilled craftsman beside Him. I was His delight every day, always rejoicing before Him. I was rejoicing in His inhabited world, delighting in the human race. “And now, my sons, listen to me; those who keep my ways are happy. Listen to instruction and be wise; don’t ignore it. Anyone who listens to me is happy, watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway. For the one who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord , but the one who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 8:12-36

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways.

James 1:5-8

Where do you find joy?

Where do you find joy?

In people, places or things? Do you feel that these complete you or make you who you are?

Reading this morning this passage stuck out to me, "the joy of the Lord is your stronghold."

Nehemiah and Ezra have just rebuilt Jerusalem and just started reading the laws of God to the people who had been in captivity, and now where free. They were reminded that God is Holy and that they are set apart by Him and that they have a call to live by His ways. The people where grieving for they knew why they where in captivity but they were told." Therefore do not grieve all that they have suffered but take joy in our portion of the Lord."

Circumstances, people, health, family, friends, jobs, living arrangements, the economy, wealth, the weather, the old and the young alike die, political parties, bosses, the laws of man everything here on earth changes and we have no control over any of it.

But the Lord our God never changes, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. And if you are His, your portion of His inheritance, your portion of the promises of God, will never change, no matter what happens here on earth.

That is a stronghold of joy that we should hold onto no matter what.

What ever your facing today Take heart

" the joy of the Lord is your stronghold."

Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.”  And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.” Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration, because they had understood the words that were explained to them.

Nehemiah 8:9-12

Who is the least amongst us?

" I really only Love God as much as I love the person I love least." Dorothy Day

This quote has stuck in my heart, how much do I love those who hate us, or I consider the last people I want to be around, do I see them as Christ sees them? That He died for them as He did me? That they only walk in darkness because they do not see the light?

There are those who hate us as a people, but we are not called to be loved by all. There are those who would kill us instead of speak or live amongst us, are we not called to share Jesus with them?

Jesus walked among those who hated Him and shared the truth with them. The Apostles did the same and so did Daniel, Jonah, Jeremiah and the prophets of old.

We live in troubling times yes, but they have always been troubling the Bible says there is nothing new under the sun that has been will still be.

The question comes down to this how much do we love God, is it enough to share Him with those we only love or with everyone even those who hate us, the least of these?

For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath.  For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him.

Romans 5:6-11

If I speak human or angelic languages but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for languages, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:1-11

The authority from God

From the very beginning God gave man the responsibility to work and watch over what God created, He gave Adam this responsibility because God had cast Lucifer and his followers out of heaven.

In giving Adam this authority God had entrusted man to be the keeper of His law from the beginning, mankind failed in Adam though as Adam watched Eve be deceived and eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and sat silently as he partook of the same fruit and deception.

Mankind today still has this same responsibility to provide and protect what God has given to him, when we fail to do so we bring upon ourselves the dishonor of sinning against God. If as a man you refuse to provide and protect your family God says you are not worthy and are a vessel of dishonor.

Sadly in today's culture there are not many men of honor left, we are living in a time of weak and worthless men who bow their knees at the feet of government handouts and Lucifer's lies that all will be okay if you do what I say.

If you as a man are a child of God and you refuse to provide and protect for your family you need to get real with God, you need to fall on your face and repent and start taking care of what God has given to you it is time men get back to what God said and start leading from the front and stop lagging behind.

The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”  Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.”

Genesis 2:15-18 HCSB

Command this also, so they won’t be blamed. But if anyone does not provide for his own, that is his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

1 Timothy 5:7-8 HCSB

He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash.  Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you.   However, don’t rejoice that   the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:18-20 HCSB

Slavery today!

Do you know that there are 27 million people who are slaves in our modern times there are more people enslaved now than have ever been before in the history of mankind. Most of these children, women and men are involved in sex trafficking, and one third of them are used in pornography video's and pictures.

Every time that men and women click on pornography or purchase pornography you are directly involved in this trade of human life.

God calls you an abomination these people are kidnapped enslaved and sold for pennies. And they are not just in third world countries they are on our streets in small town USA and they need your prayers, your support and for you men and women to stop being a part of the problem.

The next time you think about pornographic pictures or videos think what if this was my child or my neighbors or my spouse who was stolen and sold or forced to do this?

Get off the pornography, repent before a Holy God and sin no more.

We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching
1 Timothy 1:9-10 HCSB

When we can't recognize the problem, we should start by looking in the mirror.

I hear all the time , why does this happen to me? Why is this going on all around us ? Where is God when these things happen?

While these questions on the surface seem like they are legitimate, if we would stop and evaluate ourselves by looking intently in the mirror , we would see the problem: us.

We pray without seeking God, as if He sits ringing His hands waiting on us to talk with Him, 90 % of the time people pray in the course of tragedy, instead we should be in a constant state of prayer.

We preach without power because we do not ask the Holy Spirit to speak we only lean on our own wisdom.

We lie to each other and God, we steal, are angry and selfish, we lust and we put everyone and everything before God and then wonder why God doesn't hear is.

The problem is not God, it is us.

When is the last time you repented ? Most believe they do not need to.

When is the last time you spent time in God's word?

God requires repentance and obedience, it is not an option.

If you think it is and have not come to repentance and obedience then go look in the mirror, for the person you see is the problem that needs to be fixed, and only God can do this.

My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger,  for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.  But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works — this person will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 1:19-27

Prayer: What we must do!

When we come to God in prayer there are conditions that God has put on our prayers, yet we seem to come to God in our prayer lives on our terms, and then wonder why God does not answer us. To receive an answer to prayer as the Bible uses the term, 2 elements must take place.

" (1) We must pray in the will of God and (2) we must be on what old-fashioned Christians often call "praying ground"; that is, we must be living lives pleasing to God. It is futile to beg God to act contrary to His revealed purposes." ( A.W.Tozer)

 We seem to forget what the Bible says when we pray, we must align our will with the will of God, not the other way around which is what we usually do, and second we can in no way live our lives on our terms and then seek favor with God, living in a sinful lifestyle and defying God and His ways is an act of rebellion which the Bible calls witchcraft.

1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."

God has not placed Himself under obligation to honor the requests of worldly, carnal or disobedient Christians. He hears and answers the prayers only of those who walk in His way. "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight . . . . If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (I John 3:21, 22; John 15:7).

God wants us to pray and He wants to answer our prayers, but we as His children must come before Him with clean hands and hearts and a willingness to submit to His authority.

There are consequences for disobedient and rebellion.

Follow Me! It's not a question

When Jesus called the Apostles they were working in their fields of labor, but He came upon them and said follow me, and they did.

The Apostles left their income and security and endured overwhelming circumstance, many died agonizing deaths but they kept focus on the mission given them trusting that God will supply their every need.

As believers we are given this same mission while on earth: to Follow Him to spread the gospel and love of Jesus Christ to a lost world through our words, our behavior, our service, and our lifestyle. This mission may cost us relationships, position, careers, reputation, and even our very lives. Believers may be persecuted, slandered, ostracized, imprisoned, or even killed for our faith. God asks us to trust Him with all of our needs. God asks us to believe that what we have right at this moment is enough to care out His mission. God asks us to endure in our circumstances, no matter how difficult, and to find joy no matter what because we have Him with us always.

What made the Apostles forsake it all and follow Him?

How about you are you following Him, or are you trying to lead?

In what circumstance are you doubting the Lord’s provision? Are you struggling to accept that where God has placed you and what He has in front of you is enough for today?

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! ” As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. “Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for   people! ”  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

Matthew 4:17-22

Thank God for #StarbucksRedCup

We are given every opportunity to share the gospel by a Holy and Omnipotent God, we must learn to seize the opportunity instead of squander it.

Look at the Starbucks cup, red , green and white, Three colors to share the gospel message in under 5 minutes with any and everyone.

Red = for the precious blood of Jesus that was shed for you and I , His blood washes away the stain of our sins and cleanses us.

White = is now how God sees us cleansed and made new by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus for He took the penalty for each us.

Green = everlasting life that we are now given because of this gift of salvation we can receive because Jesus have His life on the cross and shed His blood so we may be saved and live with Him.

We must simply acknowledge our sins and repent before Him and ask Jesus to forgive us and come into our lives and change us, and save us from ourselves and from sin and death.

Look the world is the world, it has and will always reject the light, but still we are to shine the light, and go with Him wherever we  we go.

Let's not waste time protesting, let us start proclaiming the good news from the mountain tops, the coffee shops, our neighborhoods and the work places God has set before us.

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.   For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God. “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it,   so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by   the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

John 3:16-21

Living socially and Spiritually

Scripture is clear that those who are strong must defend the weak, it is never an option. Who are the weak, the widows, orphans, children, disabled, elderly, and those who are lost without Christ.

Who are the strong; those who are filled with the Holy Spirit.

We can not sit by as we see injustice being done in the world, murder, theft, oppression, slavery,drunkenness, attacks on the family unit and marriage, homelessness, racism and poverty

Just as we can not sit idly by as thousands go to eternity without hearing of the saving grace and love God has offered through Jesus Christ His Son.

Sin, death and bondage strive when God's people are silent. The gospel message is the only hope the world has, and they need to hear it

While God is a God of love, He is a God of Justice and Righteousness, and He will send away those who reject His gift of grace and salvation.

Those who do are captives of sin, carried away bound in chains of slavery weak from not hearing the gospel message of freedom and salvation found only in Christ Jesus.

We are to live and love well, live by justice and truth, defend the weak and the poor, we are not only called to live spiritually but socially step outside the walls of our houses of worship go into the world see what God is doing and where He is at work and glorify God in all we do.

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.  Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
Proverbs 24:10-11

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,  learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Isaiah 1:16-17

Going to Work with God.

The last 20 days in the hospital have and continue to be an adventure, it is as if God has taken me to work with Him and just invited me in to watch Him work daily in the lives of people, and how He reaches out to mankind and reveals Himself.

The problem is mankind is so self involved with our problems and life in general that we simply do not or can not recognize God at work in our lives.

God invites each of us daily into His realm of influence, we must learn to slow down and look to Him to lead us, He is amazing when you actually see His hands of providence at work and how He uses us to touch everyday lives to reach the world with His message of love and grace, and salvation through Jesus Christ His Son alone ,will you join Him Today?

I promise wherever He takes you, you will be amazed and it will be worth it all.

But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.  O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 59:16-17

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”  The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord .  It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.  Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;

Lamentations 3:22-28

Work or worship which do you do?

From the beginning God created man to work, to oversee all that He created as a blessing. In our sin we look at work as laboring or an ends to a means, instead of seeing work as giving glory to and worshipping God in whatever place He puts us. Wheter you're a homemaker, in a hospital bed or working in a hi rise.

We do not see this fact; that the difference between  a barren wasteland and fruitful ground is where God puts His children to work.

Are you where God put you, or have you walked out into the wilderness on your own?

If so how long do you wish to stay there?

Or do you feel you are where God put you, and you're working the soil as an act of worship giving glory to God as He produces fruit in your life for your good and His glory?

How many will say Lord I am at your mercy,  my soul cries out in response, yes I will wait or yes Father I will go!

But as for me, I will look to the Lord ; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Micah 7:7

The mountain of God

Most of us have the perspective God has us where He wants us when things are smooth and everything is perfect and right in the world. We want to live on the mountain of God, we just want to take the tram to the top instead of the journey through the valleys and up the rocky mountainside.

I have never seen a mountain that is smooth up and down, there are rocks, ravines, trees, weeds, you name it there are obstacles one most overcome to make it to the top.

With the help of God and only with the help of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit we scale life's mountains, David said the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want, what a beautiful picture of peace and security. A shepherd guides and guards His sheep in the pastures of life and up the mountainsides, a sheep listens to the masters call and knows that it is safe and secure on the journey.

God has each of us where He chooses , our journey may not seem safe and secure, but there is know greater place you can be than in the shepherds hands going through the valleys or up the mountains of life , instead of wondering off on our own and away from God let us also say "the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want." and let Him lead us on our journey.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1-6

Hospital day 17

My help!

I love reading through the psalms and seeing God's grace,wisdom and love poured out in His word and then experiencing that in my life and seeing God working in me, in the midst of my struggles my faith grows stronger even though my flesh might grow weaker because I know who I put my hope and my trust in and that is in Christ alone He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me and that is what I hold on to , He is amazing I see how He can take every situation and use it for His glory and our good. 16 days ago I never thought I'd still be in the hospital and even though I am here it is all good for He is in control, I am waiting on my Heavenly Father to keep revealing His plan day by day.

We thank you for your prayers, your love, your thoughts please keep praying as God is doing miraculous things everyday not only here but everywhere we serve a God of wonders, a God of might a God of love.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?  My help comes from the Lord , who made heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.  The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121:1-8

Pain is good?

Living as a Christian doesn’t mean your life is perfect it doesn’t mean living free from struggles; instead living a Christian life means you will rely on the Holy Spirit who will help you face these difficulties head-on day after day.

Struggles shape our hearts and our faith humbly submitting to God is the first step in overcoming struggles. Humility pulls us away from self reliance and closer to God. It is not an easy life, but it is a rich life, filled with the presence of God. He teaches us, comforts us, and walks with us as we grow, He reminds us of who we are and who He is in the face of pain and struggle, our faith in Him will give us comfort, guidance, and hope.

When you read the Bible, life often gets worse before it gets better. Salvation, the free gift of God, is sometimes painful.It costs us nothing and Jesus everything.

Pain teaches us: because to understand this pain change and struggle are part of the growing process.

This doesn't mean all pain is good, or necessary it means God knows what it takes to get through to our stubborn hearts, and that He alone is good and does all things for our good and His glory, He loves us enough to work in us and make us like Jesus.

C.S. Lewis said God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”

Is God shouting at you today?

God wants us to see that He is our only hope. If we can control something on our own, we will never come to know the greater power of God. No matter what Is going on God is still in control He acts according to His eternal plan and perfect will.

 Isaiah 30:18 tells us the Lord is a God of justice for those who wait on Him. He will not abandon us in our times of helplessness. We have to trust in Him that He alone is able to change whatever situation we are in, into a time of hope, joy and peace.

Through it all, God will act and show us that He cares for is personally and deeply. Don't surrender to pain, trials or temptations, instead surrender to God our creator and see His power shine in you , on you and through you as you make it with Him through this life.

Mark 10:27: With man [it] is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. — Romans 5:3-5

Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. — 1 Peter 1:6-9

Is it right to be angry?

Is it ever right to be angry?

I’m not very good with anger. I hate it when people get angry with me. And when I say something in the heat of the moment out of anger I spend hours afterwards regretting it.

What does God’s anger mean to us? Do we really expect him to get angry with us, punish us?

God does get angry, and rightfully so, He sees beginning and end at the same time, and sees the heart of wickedness in mankind, and He deals justly with it, God never reacts He acts against it, and says leave vengeance to Him.

There are many things in our world today which can rightly make us angry. We have to do what we can to put things right, and then leave the rest to God. We need to help people to realise, that only true repentance can turn away God's anger.

We need to pray we will understand our own anger  and know when to use it and when to apologise to God.

Humanity is brought low, man is humbled, and haughty eyes are humbled. But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by His justice, and the holy God is distinguished by righteousness. Lambs will graze as if in their own pastures, and strangers will eat among the ruins of the rich. Woe to those who drag wickedness with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes, to those who say: “Let Him hurry up and do His work quickly so that we can see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take place so that we can know it! ” Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion and clever in their own sight.  Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will become like something rotten and their blossoms will blow away like dust, for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of Hosts, and they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord ’s anger burns against His people. He raised His hand against them and struck them; the mountains quaked, and their corpses were like garbage in the streets. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike. He raises a signal flag for the distant nations and whistles for them from the ends of the earth. Look — how quickly and swiftly they come! None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap broken. Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows strung. Their horses’ hooves are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind. Their roaring is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions; they growl and seize their prey and carry it off, and no one can rescue it. On that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. When one looks at the land, there will be darkness and distress; light will be obscured by clouds.
Isaiah 5:15-21, 24-30

We should know the Love of God with the laws of God.

Jesus was hard on the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes for each of them knew the words of God, they preached them but did not live by them.

They were givers of the law, but not lovers of God.

Let us live by the grace and the love we have been given, this does not mean to agree with sin and those who commit it, (which we all do.) but rather share the love of Christ with them instead of spewing out condemnation on them.

We can talk about things without clubbing those who do not know Jesus.

Do all things out of love for your Heavenly Father.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat,  so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.  They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.  They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,  and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues  and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.  But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.  And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.  Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.  The greatest among you shall be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.   “But woe  to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you  shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you  neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and make long prayers just for show.   This is why you will receive a harsher punishment.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.   “Woe to  you,  blind guides, who say,  ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’  You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?  And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’  You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?  So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.  And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.  And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.   “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For  you tithe mint and dill and  cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faithfulness.  These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.  You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!   “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For  you clean the outside of  the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of  greed and self-indulgence.  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.   “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like  whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and  all uncleanness.  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Matthew 23:1-28

57 million voices cry out for justice

Our God is a God of justice and is angered every time justice is not done. We must stand up and work for justice. We need to be doing all we can to make sure justice is done, God has given us many ways to do so in our communities by voting for honest judges and politicians and supporting ministries that work to extend justice to the unborn, 57 million voices cry out for justice, not many stand up for them.

God will not turn a blind eye to those who have blood on their hands.

Isaiah 59.1-19 Behold, the Lord ’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;   but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.   For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.   No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.  They hatch adders’ eggs; they weave the spider’s web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.   Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.   Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways.  The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.  Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.   We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.  We all growl like bears; we moan and moan like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.  For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:  transgressing, and denying the Lord , and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.   Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.  Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.   He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.   He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.   According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment.   So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives.

Micah 6.8. He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Redemption draweth nye.

When the fabric of society rips apart , when morality and truth are not wanted, not sought, and not taught, we should not fear.

When those who appeared to be watchman jump down off the wall and join in the chaos, we know these things must happen, stay faithful to God and His word.

Jesus said in Matthew 24.9-14.“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous times are here mockery, debauchery, hate, are now the normal in our society, don't lose hope. Preach the word, pray fervently, stand firm and be immovable, steadfast and true. Look towards the eastern sky, for redemption draweth nye.

2nd Thessalonians 2:1-17 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that  Day  will  not  come  unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will  do  so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless  one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

Where is God?

1) God
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9) family
10) country

We are to have no gods before God our creator. Jesus said our love and devotion to Him should be so great that it looks as if we hate the others in our lives.
Luke 14:26 do you love Him more than you do any of the following, or do you stand with them over Christ?

We are Not to worship family,not country,not politicians,not sports,not government,not anything.

We look at history and how others worshipped idols made of silver,gold,wood or clay, but we worship the same little gods still today.

Do an inventory check of everything you put before God today ,and see where God is on your list.

Exodus 20.1-4.And God spoke all these words, saying,   “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.   “You shall have no other gods before me.   “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Finally some good news

Good news, as I spoke with my Heavenly Father this morning He said to me " .if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2nd Chronicles 4:7)

Oh will you humble yourself with me and pray today? For our Nation, for our brothers and sisters around the world, for all who are lost.

He said He sees the pain and suffering, His heart breaks  that this is happening, the sin that rules the hearts of man, and He knows " all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23

He said do they not know, have they not heard? Please tell them “For God so loved   the world,  that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not   perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." John 3:16-18

He said Salvation is free to from Him to us, that "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:9-11

He said time is growing short His return is immanent, His love is eternal, His judgment is true , sharp and it cuts through to the bone, He wanted me to remind you, the days are growing shorter, all of mankind is in need of a Savior He said simply know this "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." 2nd Peter 3:9

My Heavenly Father said" let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12

Now my Father won't beg, and He won't worry, He waits. He has done everything for you, the rest is up to you.

God of the ages.

God our Creator is not just the God of the past, He is not just God of the future, He is the God of the present, He is the God of the ages. He is the ruler of the universe, He has always been and always will be, His name is I Am ; NOT I was .

Charles Spurgeon said this we do our Lord and injustice when we suppose that he brought all his mighty acts and showed himself strong for those in the early time but doth not perform wonders or lay bare his arm for the Saints who are now upon the earth.

Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord ; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Isaiah 43.10-12“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord , “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.   I, I am the Lord , and besides me there is no savior.  I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord , “and I am God.

Problems or Solutions

The headlines of each day are talking points for political grandeur, you must understand you're being fed only what they want you to know.

Jesus said as recorded in Mark 3.24-29  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.  But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.    “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter,  but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”

The strong man is being bound, the house is divided and those who refuse to see the truth are blinded by their own lust for self, power, and greed.

There are more than enough people talking about the problems, we need more of us talking about the solution.

The problem is we are all Sinners, the solution is only found in salvation and obedience found in Jesus Christ.

Romans 5.12-15  Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.