Truth or Consequences

God has called us all to obedience, He does not tolerate disobedience for long, He gives us what we deserve and turns us over to our own deprived hearts.

God has allowed evil men to rule, when His people have turned their backs on Him from the beginning God told His people that they would regret having rulers and still today I believe we do, submitting to God is easier than submitting to man, God's ways are perfect our ways are not.

It is not God's will for our society to take the life of innocent children, it is not God's will that our society be morally bankrupt, it is not God's will that we as a culture be sexually corrupt, it is not God's will will that widows and orphans be trampled on, the poor exploited,or racial divisions these perversions are all the result of the rule of man.

It is time to turn from our ways and back to God our creator, His way is the only way.

Psalms 81, Romans 1:16-32 Isaiah 55:6-11, Exodus 20:1-17,John 14:6

Look in the mirror

People need to stop, stop playing like you have it all figured out, stop complaining that the "church" is full of hypocrites, and doesn't meet your needs.

1st the "church" is the bride of Christ so complaining about her is telling Jesus who died for the " church" that He was wrong.

2nd you are the " church"  so what you say about the " church" is what you truly say about yourself.

It is time you get it in your hearts and minds we do not go to " church" but that we are the church.

Jesus is the rock , the foundation of the "church" of which we stand. Start standing up, stop complaining, start taking your role serious in the Kings plans.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

1 Corinthians 12:12‭-‬31

God's grace is greater

I have received God's grace more than any man I know. God in His loving kindness has poured upon my life His grace so thick that it consumes me and compels me to share Him every time He gives me the opportunity.

I grew up doing church , but I truly did not receive salvation until I was 33. I was angry with God because of who I thought He should be, and He was not.

I used the 10 commandments as stepping stones in my anger and broke them all to defy God and make Him hate me.

But God in His grace said I love you, I love you so much that I died for you to become the sacrifice for your sins.

God poured His love and grace on me and broke me.

I don't know your story but God does, this I know His grace and love is greater than your sins.

It is no coincidence that the last words God has John record in the Bible are these.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Revelation 22:21

If you have not received God's grace yet, today is the day you need to ask Him to show you His love, mercy and grace.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord , to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord , that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Psalms 86:3-13

Do you trust in God's providence?

The providence of God is written on the pages of time, and is displayed ever second of everyday in our lives.

Just as God provided everything for Is real as He led them through the wilderness He does us, our faith may be stretched but do not lose heart, God is faithful always.

Trust in Him and His providence.

God's providence is shaping our lives, and shaping history. We are not at the mercy of a cyclical, happenstance repetition of events or ideologies, moving aimlessly through time and space. Our destiny is not controlled by powerful nations, great men or circumstances. It rests securely and comfortably in the hands of God.

For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you this past 40 years, and you have lacked nothing.’ Today I will begin to put the fear and dread of you on the peoples everywhere under heaven. They will hear the report about you, tremble, and be in anguish because of you.’ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land to you. Begin to take possession of it.’ The Lord our God handed him over to us, and we defeated him, his sons, and his whole army. There was no city that was inaccessible to  us, from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead. The Lord our God gave everything to us.

Deuteronomy 2:7, 25-25, 31, 33-33, 36

Surrender or Search on , you choose.

Jesus says, if you’re looking for friendship, I know where that is. 

Jesus says, if you’re looking for acceptance, I know where that is. 

Jesus says, if you’re looking for meaning in life, I know where that is. 

Jesus says, if you’re looking for healing, I know where that is. 

Jesus says, if you’re looking for significance, I know where that is. 

Jesus says, if you’re looking for security, I know where that is. 

Jesus says, if you’re looking for satisfaction, I know where that is. 

If these are all things your searching for , maybe you stop searching and start surrendering.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.  Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me   anything in My name, I will do it.   “If you love Me, you will keep   My commands.   And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be   in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. “In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”

John 14:6, 12-21

Our hollow prayers

Hollow prayers are the easiest prayers to pray, we say them in passing and without thought sometimes we are so empty we mumble our thoughts and deeds before God our creator without care.

I find it interesting though that when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray,He taught them the most dangerous prayer we could pray.

Matthew 6.7-15. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  Pray then like this:  “Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name.     Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,and forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,  but   deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,  but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

1) Jesus warns against empty prayer the very thing we do today.

2) He says call on your Heavenly Father , this is to be intimate, we are not.

3) Hallowed be thy name, God alone is Holy we should be reverent

4) Your kingdom come , We ask God to rule in us but hold back ourselves and say far enough.

5) your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, wow God's will is not want we always want, it can encompass every aspect of us including unpleasant growing pains, and suffering look at the very life of Jesus.

6) give us this day our daily bread ,we are asking God take care of me today and let's not think about tomorrow

7) lead us not into temptations, we really don't mind temptations they give our flesh an easy excuse to sin against God.

8) forgive us as we forgive others, that is the punch to the gut that drops us, we hold things against others and are unforgiving, may God forgive us far more than we forgive others.

When we pray dangerous prayers, we are surrendering our lives to the almighty God, creator of the universe, we are saying my life is in your hands, your amazing grace is sufficient for me and whatever comes my way it is well with my soul.

We don't see God's power like the early church did because we do not plug into God by praying these dangerous prayers, we are soft and take the road of least resistance.

It is time we pray personally and corporately dangerous prayers.

May God help us all.

How well rested are you?

Can you stop doing a project and start later, can you walk away from work for a day, put the phone down, leave it all alone and just rest?

I confess, this is one of my greatest weaknesses, always has been. God is not done with me yet, and is working in me on this.

I heard a sermon the other day about just wasting time with God, then your family and just being still in His presence and letting Him heal us and renew us, this is something I need to do, and I am sure most of us do not do enough of.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” — Matthew 11:28–30

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. — Galatians 6:9

The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” — Exodus 33:14

You are awesome, O God, in Your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise be to God! — Psalm 68:35

[God] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. — Isaiah 40:29–31

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. — Isaiah 41:10

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint,” says the Lord. — Jeremiah 31:25

Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for He grants sleep to those He loves. — Psalm 127:1–2

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy,” says the Lord. — Exodus 20:8–11

[The Lord] makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. — Psalm 23:2–3

Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders. — Deuteronomy 33:12

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest. — Hebrews 4:9–11

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. — Psalm 91:1

Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to them, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” — Mark 6:31

Our efforts are in vain.

James Boice writes: “The only way anyone will ever be saved is if God operates entirely apart from us and for his own good pleasure”

We get caught up in our own efforts , and believe we can save ourselves, a foolish belief we at our best break God's law daily no matter how hard we try.

How could we earn our salvation if we cannot keep simple laws, like love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and souls and love your neighbors as yourself?

Thank God that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that no man can come to God the Father except through Him.

Don't you see , He gave us the way, Himself! God says I know you can't keep my laws, sin has a stranglehold upon you,it is deceiving and enticing, but I made a way, put your faith in me, I will deliver you out of death into life.

Those who believe that all “good people” will be saved, no matter their religious affiliation believe in man's works, that will keep you from Jesus!

There are none good, we need to be constantly reminded of this, and none of us would love or even serve God apart from His grace.

Titus .3.3-11 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Uncertainty, certainly not!

It is true we live in perilous times, that we face uncertain days.

If you're a child of God, you must trust Him and know that these days must come.

The World is dying, our Nation is dying, We are dying. But the good news is, that Christ is risen, and because He is risen we have hope, we are given life, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and nothing can separate us from Him.

Instead  of fear or fret, pray and praise God always. He alone is sufficient, and will guide, guard and give us the grace to make it through whatever comes our way.

Isaiah 40:21-31 ESV

Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;   who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.   To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.  Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.  Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord , and my right is disregarded by my God”?  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;  but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

The poison of knowledge's power

America we have a problem,a God problem we have fallen for the same lie the devil used upon Eve that surely we would not die once we ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

If we as believers have an accurate picture of God then that will lead to a life of holiness : as a matter of fact that  is vital to everything. AW Tozer said this all the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to confront us together and at once, would be nothing compared with that overwhelming problem of God: that He is: what He is like: and what we as moral beings must do about Him".

We pursue knowledge believing that knowledge is power believing we will be like God because we know all things, we have been deceived ,need I remind you of the most knowledgeable and wisest of all cultures have been destroyed by their pursuit of knowledge and power, Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome ,Europe, Germany, all have fallen to the wayside.

Each had more knowledge than the other, yet today they are but shadows of their former greatness.

We have knowledge today at our fingertips a click away you can know just about anything, but yet we are far from the truth we are far from God our creator we believe our selves to be gods.

Genesis 3:1-7 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Romans 1:21-30, 32 ESV

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.  For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.