A prayer for us, all

Our Father in Heaven, who created all that is and was and is to come. I know that you can see through time as we see through a window, regardless of the direction you look. You knew well what people would do with your servants and prophets and your Son. Forgive us, Lord, for our lack of commitment and will to do Your will and not our own. To believe in Your Son and that He gave Himself for our sins and the sins of the entire world is all that you ask and that is too simple for many to accept, yet it is all that you require.

We are but puffs of smoke and our lives are nothing more than the tick of a clock compared to eternity. Even the "time line" that scientists say there has been on earth shows that the time of mankind is only a few thousand years compared to the length of four billion years which they believe our planet has existed. You could destroy and create the entire universe in less than a week and it would still appear as it does now if you chose for it to.

The amount of time that you allotted to man to live is but a puff of wind compared to eternity. In your word you said that "The days of our life are three score years and ten, or if we have strength, four score" (Psalms 90) Seventy years or, if You allow us, maybe eighty, but after that we are living on grace and nothing more. For it is by your grace and mercy that we live at all. We deserve death, but we are given life through your Son, Jesus, and through the grace which you extended to us through His sacrifice on the cross. Father, I know you will not forget your promises to us, your adopted children, or those made to your chosen people, Israel.

My prayer is simply....Come, Lord Jesus! Stir the spirits of those whom you will call to be yours so that they will come to you before the trumpet sounds for the gathering at the banquet for the marriage of the Lamb. In Jesus' name I believe and hope and I know that all these will come to pass in your time, not ours.

Thank you, Lord for the blessings which you bestow upon us daily and for the grace and mercy extended to us through your son. In Jesus' Holy name I thank you for all who will read and believe in Him and for all the blessings we receive every day we are alive. Amen.

My life in His Service

There are so many ways of looking at service to our Lord. The most important is that you look at your job, whatever it may be, as an outlet for service to Him. Everything we do should be a testimony to our life in Him and our service to Him. If you ask God to empower you to do His will every morning, then your day can be filled with opportunities for witnessing or for showing your faith.

God loves all of humanity regardless, as I have said before. No matter what religion you follow or what "denomination" you happen to be, He loves you because He formed you in your mother's womb. An artist has affection for his creations and so does God. He is the creator of all things and no matter what or where your life happens to be, in service to Him or not, He still cares about you more than you could know or even realize.

In the Bible, God says "My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts." (Is. 55:8) That is why it is hard to understand the Bible, but if you read it without trying to make it harder than it is you can understand it. That is why Jesus said "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Luke 18:16) The faith of a child simply comes to Him with no "baggage" like an adult. That is also what makes it so hard for scientists and political leaders who may not know Christ to come to Him. They can't understand how it can be as simple as believing in Him and the salvation He brings to us without cost.

Our lives would be so much easier than they are if we would simply come to Him in prayer every morning and start the day that way all the time. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." (Luke 12:31) My life and service to Him has not been perfect. I "gave" my life to Him twenty-eight years ago, but I didn't really begin to serve Him like I should until about five years ago. Why did I wait so long? I am not exactly sure, but I know that by the time I started serving Him I was a father and my son was starting to ask questions.

So it was a child who started the process, not me. I had been able to feel His influence on my life but I was still doing mostly what I wanted to and not what He wanted me to do. I don't mean that I was out drinking or other things but I wasn't serving God like I should. My spirit knew it and I knew it too, but it took a long time before I really did anything about it, and now I have and will continue to do as much as He will give me the strength to do. Please don't wait like I did. Ask Him to come in and give you the will and the strength to do what needs to be done so your soul won't be tormented forever for refusing His call on your life.

Good Morning, World!

Our lives are blessed, regardless of the religion you cling to or believe in. God loves you all and wants you to come to the knowledge of Him and His Son, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Your life and vocation, whatever that may be, should be done as in service to Him.

In living the life that He wants us to live, through His Son, we serve in His Kingdom and we are able to do His will for our lives. The sooner more people come to realize that we are not puppets, and that God uses people for His purposes regardless of their belief in Christ or not, there is only one reaction that means anything.....coming to faith in Jesus! You know that God used the pharaoh in Egypt in order to display His power to the whole world, even though he didn't know the God of the Israelites.

He even uses other religions of the world to prove that He is the only God who loves and cares for all. He knows how many hairs are on each person's head because He put them there! He formed you in the womb from your mother and father's DNA into an individual with all of the attributes that He wanted you to have. Please consider reading His word and learning about Him and His Son, Jesus.

God loves you because you are His creation, no matter where you are or what religion you claim.

A blessed life

I am writing today to express my joy. Not only has God blessed me and my family in ways that I never considered, but He has blessed me as well. I am not speaking of money or any material possessions but of spiritual blessings. He has revealed to me that my life is His and His alone. I am a Gideon and very proud of it, and yet I humble myself before God because He is the one who put me where I am and at the time that He put me.

My ministry is here on this blog and elsewhere so I pray that my ministry will bloom like a field in the desert after the rain. Please, consider your salvation and ask Him to come into your life. The time is growing shorter all the time and if you are not ready when He comes.....the tribulation is not going to be fun.

According to the Revelation of John, it will be a time of great upheaval all over the world, both spiritually and by other means of warfare. The "god" of this world will not stand by and watch, he will be there controlling all, even though the Christians and the church will already be in Heaven. Likely because of that fact, life on earth will get much worse than it already is. Because there will not be a restraining spirit on earth anymore, there will no longer be any moral compass for anyone unless they have given their life to God. Even then, they will have to hide because Satan and his followers will hunt them down so they will not be able to bring the news of salvation to anyone.

Your salvation, no matter who you may be or where you live, is of utmost importance. Your life is very short compared to eternity, consider where you would like to spend that time before it is too late. Don't put it off, you may never get another chance for redemption or salvation.

There are many ways to Heaven????

I heard today that many people in America, even born-again Christians, believe that there is more than one way to Heaven. Have any of you ever been to a church service where the Bible is taught? And that it is the literal word of God?

I can't believe that anyone who thinks the Bible is the word of God, and that it is true, could possibly think or teach that there is a possible way to Heaven that doesn't involve the acceptance of Jesus as Savior! The Old Testament confirms that belief and faith in God's promises were the only possibility of being justified by God at that time. Nevertheless, they went to the "pit" until Jesus went down to "release the captives" while he was in the tomb.

There are those who don't think that could have happened but the Bible says so, so I believe it.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and The Life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. (Paraphrase of John 14:6) You can be as good as you can be and still not be able to get into Heaven. Our "righteousness" is as filthy rags to God, no matter what we think or what others think of us.

I know that sounds like a very narrow-minded way of looking at things, but the road to Heaven is narrow and the door to that roadway is narrow as well. That "door" is Christ, and He is the only way to get there. If you still doubt me, read God's word in John, or Luke, or Romans as well. They all say the same thing, just in different words.

It has been a stressful week

I have been buffeted by some attacks from "the dark side" this week and they have been particularly stressful. The power of God is awesome in spite of this and He has given me the strength, both physically and spiritually, to stand against them. Through the prayers of my family, myself, and dear friends I have come through and will be stronger for it.

Jesus can do all things and I can too as long as I allow Him to work through me and not try to do it on my own strength. It is the "allow" part that most people have trouble with. We are not programmed that way by the world. We are told from a very young age that we can do anything and that it is up to us and no one else. That is one way of looking at things but it is not the way that God wants us to look at life.

Our lives are meant to be used in service to Him, no matter what occupation we have. He intends for us to use our occupations, such as policemen, firefighters, home-makers, factory workers or medical personnel to ultimately serve Him. Your service for God can be as little as showing that you are His by not arguing, or letting someone on a bus have your seat. Speaking with an elderly person about their life and really listening. Taking the trash out for your parents or your neighbor without being asked to do so and not asking for money. In other words, show that Jesus lives in your heart by what you do not what you say or by a cross on a necklace.

You can be a child of God just by asking Jesus into your heart and life. It really is that simple. There are many who don't think that they can be forgiven by Him, but since He forgave even those who rejected and crucified Him, He can forgive you too. Won't you let Him in to show you just how good it feels to be forgiven? Even if you don't know how to pray, God can tell when you are sincere about your repentance and are ready to receive Him.

Do you believe in the existence of Hell?

I have heard many stories of people who don't believe in Heaven or Hell, though I can't understand why. I guess if I weren't a servant of God and didn't believe the Bible as the word of God, I wouldn't either. There are many passages in the Bible which point to the existence of Hell and describe it as well. I just finished a book entitled,"23 Minutes in Hell" by Bill Wiese.

The reality of Hell is not whether or not it exists, just that it does! Jesus referred to it, the prophets of the old Testament referred to it. It is a real place. I know that many people say that a loving God could not send people to hell, but He will! The simple act of refusing his gift of eternal life through belief in Jesus will send you there, God doesn't want any human in hell. He created it for Satan and his demons, not us. Through rejection of His Son and the sacrifice made in our place, many people will go to Hell that would not have gone there by making the choice to accept Him as their savior.

I know that in many churches, the existence of hell is not preached but that doesn't mean that it is not there. Fire looks pretty but if you put your hand in it you will still be burned. The fire of hell is just as hot as any fire, if not hotter than that on earth, but your life after death is eternal and that is a LONG time!! The fire of hell does not consume you it just tortures you forever. God is not the one who sends you there, you do! By accepting Jesus as your lord and Savior you can escape that fate.

I know some will think that I get some compensation from a publisher by putting a link to Bill Wiese's book in this blog, but I assure you that I do not. I only put the link there to encourage you to get the book and read it. Then check the references to the Bible and other works that he uses and you will see that hell is a real place. If you don't believe after that, you will find out personally when you die. Instead of an angel coming to get you, there will be demon. I don't have to go into any more detail than that. Please, consider the validity of the Bible and the message in it's pages. It is true and Jesus is waiting. Don't wait until it is too late because no one knows when their time will come. It may be tonight or tomorrow. Don't put it off, please!

God knows you and cares for you!!

There are many who say that there are many paths to heaven. I believe that there is only one "path" and that is through belief and trusting in Jesus. Our lives are hard enough without having to walk so many paths trying to find our own way to heaven. The fact is that "we" can't find our own way. Only through putting our trust in Jesus, like a child puts their trust in their parents, can we have the assurance of our salvation.

I have heard many people say that they don't want to give up control of their lives to someone they can't see and don't know if they are real or not. God's word is real! He and his son were both there at the beginning. They created everything around us, above us, and below us so their reality is our reality! Just because they are spirit at this time, doesn't mean they aren't real. You can't see cell phone signals either, but your cell phone works. You can't see electricity but if you grab an electrical wire with your hand, you will know that it is there.

Our creator put each molecule inside your body as he formed you in the womb. He knows exactly how you will react to certain situations, what you will do and how you will do it. He can see the future because he is outside of time and space and not limited by anything. There are so many miracles which happen everyday and all of them come from Him. God loves you and wants what is best for you if you will only trust Him. He knows who will answer His call on their lives and who will not. But, He also knows who He has given talent to for his kingdom and the specific talents that he has given them.

Our lives are miracles just because He allows us to live! The penalty for sin is death so without Jesus taking that penalty on Himself, we should all be dead. But God knew each of us and knows each of us today. He doesn't want any of us to go to Hell, yet if we don't answer the door of our hearts when Jesus comes knocking, we will. No amount of water, or emotional displays in the church will bring you to Christ unless you answer the call of the Holy Spirit. Your life will change and there will be no turning back. When you do sin after a true conversion, you will know it instantly and will repent because your heart and spirit will convict you of it. There are many who think they have "found" the Lord but if they came when they wanted to, it is a lie. Search the scriptures, pray a true sinners prayer meaning every word, not just repeating what someone tells you to. A truly repentant heart is the sacrifice which is required, after which you will gladly serve Him in whatever capacity you can. It may only be in your job by being a reflection of Him. You may be called to the mission field or into service as a deacon or pastor. Whatever your gift is, he will perfect it in you through Christ Jesus.

Think on these things and know that He is Lord of all.

An Open letter to the President:

I am a Christian, just as you claim to be and I have some problems with our government. Not you personally, but our whole nation in general.

The religious preference of most Americans, according to almost any “poll” you might believe, is that they are Christian or that they believe in God. The problem with that is that even the Devil himself believes in God for it was God who created him.

Ever since the late '50's our country has lost many of its so called “old fashioned values” which were taught in schools for years up until that time. I have done my research and have come to the conclusion that if our founding father's were to be transported here now, they would not recognize any aspect of our government. Not because it is two hundred years removed from their time, but because the principles upon which they had intended our government to be based upon, the Bible and its laws, has been taken out of our government altogether.

If we are to fulfill our duty to Christ's mandate and to our ancestors we must get down on our knees and pray, especially those of you in the White House and the Senate and the House of Representatives. Our nation has gone astray from the values which made the Great generation of WWII so great and we need to get back to those values which come from God's word. Please don't end your term in office without a declaration of a national day of prayer and fasting and a call to America to repentance and revival.