Our Moral Character is Broken

The character of our society is broken, spiritually. Is it possible to fix this?

Yes, it can be fixed but it is going to take real effort on the part of all Christian Americans to do it. It can’t be wished, or prayed away. Prayer is a good start, but by itself it will not fix the problem. Our country is going further into spiritual brokenness every day. Christians, pastors, Gideons should all be mobilizing to get the Word out to teens and the rest of our country. If we don’t, there will be more people left behind to endure the Tribulation than there should be.

God knows who will accept and who will not regardless of how much they know or hear about Jesus. But that should not stop us from getting out there and letting people know that God loves them and cares about them deeply. The time is now and it cannot be put off because our society is just getting worse. The lack of God in our schools and in everyday lives is eroding the fabric of our nation. I would say that people of even one hundred years ago would not recognize our country anymore. They would be appalled at the way our people have put God out of nearly every area of America’s government and out of people’s daily lives.

Something must be done and that something is getting Christians out as missionaries in our own land, not just going elsewhere to spread the news of Christ. It is needed here just as badly if not more because we as Americans should be the leaders of the world not following it to destruction. We were called to be lights in the darkness, and we need to be doing what Christ called us to do?

God loves all of us because He created each of us as individuals and He knows us intimately. Read His Word, pray about what you read and ask Him to show you what He wants you to do and how. All of the New Testament is good training for us but the whole Bible is good for your soul. Read it, think about the message that is contained in it.

Don’t throw it out or treat it like it is an old book that doesn’t have anything to do with today. God can see the past and the future. He knows exactly what is going to happen tomorrow or even the next minute. Give Him your life and allow Him to work through you. I can guarantee you will never regret it.

Can you know the Father and the Son?

Is it possible to know both the Creator and His Son? Yes it is, in fact it is part of being a Christian to know them both. They know us more deeply than we can ever imagine, down to the DNA which makes us who we are. Doesn’t it make sense that the creation would want to know the Creator intimately too? This is a relationship which the ruler of this world does not want to happen and will do anything to keep it from becoming the relationship we were meant to have with God and His Son, Jesus.

Satan loves to entice people into doing things which he knows that they want to do. He knows your weaknesses and how to tempt anyone into doing that which they know to be wrong. He even can entice us into doubting God’s love for us. He has been doing this for a very long time so he is very good at it. Jesus called him the “Father of lies”, and he knows how to make them sound so convincing, even using scripture in a twisted way to make it sound good.

The only way that we can withstand his assault on us on a daily basis is to submit to the Lord daily. Ask for Jesus to come into your heart and to give you the strength and faith to be able to say to Satan, “Get behind me,Satan, I have the Lord on my side”. Although I wouldn’t want him behind me and by quoting scripture he will leave you alone, for a time. But, you have to have Jesus in your heart otherwise he will come back stronger and possibly meaner than before.

When you are making a difference for God you are fighting him and he doesn’t like it, especially when, by the power of Jesus’ name and our faith in Him, we are winning the fight. I fully expect him to come after me in the days to come, but I know that in the end he has already lost regardless of what may happen to me.

Give Jesus a chance in your life and then go out and let others know what He has done for you. He will work through you and bring others to Him and the result will be even greater than you can imagine. Think about it this way, you comfort someone and pray for them in their time of need. When they come to Jesus, then they speak to someone else about Him and what He did for them. Then that person tells a couple of their friends about Jesus. Later, they tell someone else what Christ has done for them. In a few months or years, one act of kindness from you has spread out to hundreds or maybe thousands. I pray for all who read these pages in His Holy name so that He will call you to Him.

Is Your life in need of something?

Today is a very somber day in our history because of what happened eight years ago today.  Our perception of the world and our safety in it changed dramatically on this day eight years ago and I pray that we will not forget what we have learned from it. When we don’t pay attention to the little things, bigger problems will arise.  Sometimes our everyday lives are like that. Little things like taking an aspirin or eating certain fruits or vegetables can have an enormous impact on your health years after your mother tells you that you need to do these things. Your spiritual life is the same way, and the Bible tells us exactly what we should do and how to do it to keep our relationship with God alive and fresh. If you don’t follow those instructions though, that relationship won’t be what it could be.

He wants that relationship with you because He created all of us. Not only us but the entire universe all the way from the largest galaxies and stars to the smallest atomic particles. He knows exactly how many hairs are on your head and on your body. God knows how you will answer a question before you answer it and what consequences will arise from that answer. Your life and what you do with it cannot be hidden from God regardless of what you do or where you go. It doesn’t matter who you are because God doesn’t respect your standing here on earth, He only respects the decision that you make regarding His position in your life and your heart. Some would say that what I just said is wrong and that Jesus is the answer. He is, but He is also part of God too. What you decide to do with God is the same as what you do with Jesus. Jesus came to pay the penalty for all of our sins and He did so all you have to do is accept His gift of grace and forgiveness into your heart and you will be changed. The old, sinful life that you were drawn to will pass away and everything will be new.

Believe me, if He can create the universe in six days, changing your life isn’t hard to do. He will change your heart and your perspective toward life and serving Him and your life will be totally different from that moment on. The life that we live before He comes into our heart is in total opposition to Him. Afterward, you may still have problems and sinful thoughts which come back from time to time, but He will give you the spiritual strength to withstand those temptations if you will let Him. Your life is not without purpose because He gives you a purpose, to serve Him. When He calls you and you answer, your purpose in life is to serve Him wherever you may be. Regardless of title, position or rank to the world. You are a child of the Living God and the Creator of the Universe and have been called to be His servant no matter what. That position is above all others and supersedes all others . Of course, you can serve Him by doing your daily job as well and representing Him in everything that you do.

Organized Religion and Jesus

It seems that there has been a lot of shouting, screaming and gnashing of teeth lately over organized religion. I am not sure what this term means exactly, “organized religion”. Is it referring to all Christians, Muslims, Hindi, Buddhists, or is it directed at Catholics, Jewish Temples, Presbyterians, Baptists, etc. ?

The latter are more doctrine than “organized religion”. Granted, the Catholic church has been around nearly as long as Christianity itself, and the Jewish religion has been around for far longer than most any other out there, but that doesn’t mean that the religion itself is bad. It just happens to be an old religion. Religions are not bad but some of the people who claim that they practice those religions may be. You can be religious at doing anything that you like, such as fishing or hunting. That doesn’t make it a religion but you get the idea.

Christianity and following Jesus is a different matter from “religion”. Christianity is a state of mind that you have after accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior that you practice religiously. So, in a sense, it is a religion. There have been many “doctrines” applied to it over the past few hundred years but the basics of being a Christian, as outlined in the Bible, are the same. I know that many terrible acts have been done in the name of religion and in the name of Christ too, but that doesn’t mean that Jesus was behind any of it. It just means that His name was used in the commission of the act itself by someone who wanted to stand behind that name.

There have been horrendous acts done by other religions as well but it seems that everyone wants to pounce on Christians these days. Maybe because we are nearing the time of Christ’s return? I am not sure what the reason for the animosity except that it was predicted by Jesus Himself nearly two thousand years ago. Our lives, in service to Him, are forfeit in the grand scheme of His plans. Our spiritual lives will go on no matter what happens to us here. We will serve Him and the blotting out of God or religion will not have any effect on the world or its condition into eternity.

Please, read Romans chapter 8. Pray that you will accept Jesus and I will be praying for all who visit here and read these pages. He is knocking, won’t you let Him in?

How do I know that I know God and His Son?

There are three “tests” that John put forth for a person, a believer, to know that they know God without a doubt. These tests are that we keep His commandments, to walk as Jesus walked in obedience to the Father and to show unconditional love toward our brothers. The first one is usually the hardest for some to understand. It is to keep or obey His commands. Not just the ten commandments, but the two which Jesus put forth in Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus said, “Love God with all of your heart, and with all your strength, and with all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself, on these two commandments hang all of the Law and the Prophets”.

Those who say that they know God, but do not keep his commandments are liars and the truth is not in them. Belief is not enough, reading the Bible, God’s Word is not enough, your life has to show beyond a doubt that you belong to Him. We are put where we are to be “salty” and to be reflections of Him, not of ourselves or our personal views. Our mission, if we are Christians as we claim to be, is to be the best reflection of Jesus that our lives can be. How we live our faith on a daily basis shows what is in our heart, not what may be on our minds at the time. At least, that is what the world should see.

To walk as Jesus walked, in total obedience to God’s will, is our goal and purpose. As Christians, we are to submit to the Spirit’s leading influence in our life on a daily basis. This does not mean to give up entirely, but we are to give Jesus and His Spirit control of our lives daily. This is a hard concept for us because we do not like to give up control of our lives.

How can we, mere humans, accomplish this? The only way that we can do this is through Him and His Spiritual control of our lives. The only way that we can be truly effective for Him is by the power of His Spirit in our life. If we did good things (works) for others before becoming a Christian, how much more could we do with Him in our life? Those works that we did before becoming Christians may have been good but they did nothing more than to make us look good in other people’s eyes. What about the ones we are led to do or accomplish after becoming Christians? As long as we obey Him and accomplish them, we are doing His will and fulfilling His purpose in our lives.

Even though we are not bound by Jewish law, are we required to act as if we are regarding the Ten Commandments, as well as the commandments Jesus gave in Matthew 22? If we are truly His, yes! Our life is to reflect that His spirit lives in us and that we live through Him. If our lives do not reflect what is in our hearts as the truth of God, we need to re-examine our faith and our beliefs. We can only pass the test when we are led by the Spirit on a daily basis.

Is there a broken relationship in your life? Is there any prejudice or animosity toward any particular group of people? Do you fail to demonstrate love for others through tangible actions, not just  giving people “stuff” ? Is there a way we can fix these failures? Yes! Come to Jesus and show that you truly love those who love you and those who don’t.

As followers of Christ, we are to love Him so that we can resist the attraction of the world and all that it tries to offer us. To serve Him in whatever we do, regardless of how insignificant it may seem to us is our calling and purpose. In that way the light of God and His Son, Jesus, should shine through us so that everyone we come in contact with will see that we have something that they need and in doing so we will be the true followers of God that we were called to be.

Should we look for signs of God today?

No, the signs some of us seek are all around us. We should not test God to see if He will give us a sign when there is none needed. The air we breathe, the earth we stand upon, the sunrise, and the fact that we are alive are all the signs we should need. God gave us everything that we have to live our lives in service to Him and to others. He loves us all enough to give us everything we need daily, we can’t do it on our own.

 

No one can make themselves young again or change the color of their skin, why should we think that we could possibly live our lives without His grace. God loves us all, there is no denying that. I know many people don’t believe it, but if He did not we would not be here now. Our lives are mere shadows, smoke in the wind. We do not live long enough to decide that we are gods or even to believe that we may become gods because it is not possible. There is only one God, the Creator of the Universe and everything in it. It has always been this way, regardless of what some may want to believe.

Jesus came to save us from our own limited beliefs and from ourselves. To believe in Him is to have eternal life, to serve Him is a joy beyond what we could imagine in our mortal bodies. God loves us all and sent His Son to pay the price for all of our sins as the perfect and sinless Lamb of God. He was the only one that could pay the price and free the captives from Satan.

Our lives and our service to Him are a reasonable sacrifice on our part because it is all that we can do through Him and the strength He gives us. The life that we have after accepting Him we truly live through Him. That is our purpose, to live our lives through faith in Him so that we can be His voice, and His presence in this world today.

If someone were to give you your life back due to an organ donation, what would you do for them? If they were still alive would you be willing to work for them if they asked you to? Would you do it out of gratitude or out of love? If they did not ask anything of you and yet you wanted to give them something in return for a second chance at life, what could you possibly give that would be worthy of the gift that you were given?

In light of these questions, what could we possibly do for God that would compare with the salvation which was provided through Jesus? The only acceptable gift or service that we can offer is our life through Jesus and the service that we can provide through faith in Him. Even if we only have faith that could be compared to a mustard seed, anything is possible if we place that faith in Christ.

Scientists have proven that everything in the universe is there in precise amounts to provide for the sustaining of life. Nothing has happened due to random chance, it was all planned out by God in the beginning just as He said in the Bible. He named all of the stars that we can see and the Bible names them too. The Pleiades, Orion the Hunter, Leo, etc. In His word God said that He hung Orion’s belt and placed the Pleiades in their place. There is nothing that has happened that was not appointed by Him in the past nor will it happen in the future without His knowledge.

Your life was chosen in precise detail by Him long before you were born. Who your parents would be, where you would live, who you will marry, how many children you may have if any, and when you will die. God knew these things and many more about you at the beginning, each person on earth is known by Him in great detail. Regardless of the religion that you claim or which “god” that you pray to, the creator of all things who is the true God of the universe, knows and has known you, all of you who may read this, since the beginning of time.

Signs are not needed for us to know that there is a God because we can see His handiwork and the care that He designed into everything about our world and into each one of us. What we choose to do with our life is still our choice, whether we use it for good or for evil. He doesn’t control us, He only provides for us a place to be born to live and to die. Our life and the meaning that it could have is dictated only by our choice to give our lives to Him or not.

Faith, Hope, and Love: Which is greater?

There have been men of great faith in the past like Moses, Abraham, and Noah. They all had faith in God and in His power, but that wouldn’t have been enough to get them into Heaven. Hope for a better life and better world is a good thing but hope alone won’t get you much, especially nowadays. Hope may help when you are suffering, but you truly need something or someone to hope for or to place your hope in.

Love is a word that is over-used today and has come to mean very little compared to what it meant in the past. Jesus said that the greatest of these is love but He was speaking about the love that He and the Father have for us and the love that we should show toward our fellow Christians and non-Christians too. Which is an unconditional love, one that you don’t expect anything in return for. It has become very scarce in the world we live in today to find a love that fits that description except in a loving home between parents and their children and between husband and wife.

When we ask Jesus into our hearts, He comes in and cleans our hearts. We should take a look at our lives and what has been in our lives and check it against Jesus and His way. Would you want Him to look at the books and magazines that you have in your home? How about the television programs that you watch? Would you feel comfortable with Jesus in your living room during the week?

Our devotion to Jesus is supposed to take precedence over every area in our lives whether it is our family or our work or finances, even the little things that most people don’t think God could possibly be interested in. But He is interested in all aspects of our lives, like a parent, He cares for and is interested in everything that you are. He may not like some of them, but He is taking notice of even the little things.

There are many temptations in our world today which can draw us away toward other so-called “faiths” or religions. Regarding religious behavior or religions, many things can be made into a religion. But, none of them will get you into Heaven except placing your faith in Jesus and His love for you. So, to answer the question in the title: Love is the greatest of these.

There has never been a greater love than the love that God has shown and shows today for all of us, than the giving of His Son as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins. If we can accept the grace that was extended to us and ask Jesus into our hearts, nothing else is required. Though, you will want to serve Him after He has come into your life, even if you only serve Him by walking as He would it is enough.  DeColores.