Come Unto Me

 Come Unto Me.

Jesus states in Matthew‬ ‭11:28‬ ‭‬‬, “Come unto me... 

If you’re weary, Jesus says, “Come unto me.” If you’re bitter, His Word says He’ll give you a new heart — a heart of flesh. If you’re full of anxiety, worry and fear, His Word says to cast your cares, fears, worries and anxiety to God — He cares for you. 

If your vision is dry and your heart is tired of trying, Jesus said come unto me. Let His Word heal you. Let His Word make your soul happy. Let His peace overtake you. Let His joy fill your soul. Let His Word comfort you, protect you and guide you all the days of your life. Let His Word go before you and establish your path. 

Surrender to Him and let His power crush every mountain and obstacle in your way. Let His Word heal your heart. He will never be defeated. Depression cannot stand in His presence. Oppression cannot stand in His presence. Rejection cannot stand in His presence. When you surrender to God, He will fight on your behalf. 

Every enemy must bow to Him. Surrender to God, He is bigger than any mountain that you face. Stand still and surrender to God’s mighty hand and the enemy of depression, oppression, rejection, condemnation, guilt, shame, defeat, anxiety and the spirit of heaviness you will see no more.

“INTEGRITY”

 “INTEGRITY”

I’ve heard a lot about integrity over the last little while. What is integrity? When most people are asked they go to the default definition of “doing the right thing even when no one is around or looking”. While this definition is correct it isn’t a complete definition. 

The complete or more accurate definition is “remaining steadfast and firm to the Word of God without hypocrisy while others are compromising the gospel for their own personal preferences and benefit”. 

You see to just “do the right thing” leaves room for personal interpretation and understanding. Unfortunately in our morally decaying world of today what seems right to one person may not be right to the next. Only God can truly define what’s right and wrong. 

When looking for examples of integrity one should look to the hero’s of faith found in the book of Hebrews chapter 11. If you were to look at each of these heroes you would find that at some point each one of them have failed in integrity based on the “do the right thing” definition. The thing these heroes have going for them is that they never compromised the Word of God or their faith in Him! Even while messing up (sinning) they never lost their faith in God.

Don’t succumb to the world’s view and definition of “integrity” where you begin to compromise your faith and relationship with God. Remain firm and steadfast in following the precepts set forth in the Word of God! 

Love you all!

“Detours” or “Alternate Routes”

 “Detours” or “Alternate Routes”

 

 

Introduction

A detour according to Webster’s dictionary is “an indirect or roundabout path”. 

Jesus said in John 14:6 that he was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through him. You see the only way to an eternal relationship with God the Father in heaven is through Jesus Christ the Son. 

Straight and Narrow 

Matthew 7:13-14 tells us to enter in at the Straight Gate for straight is the gate and narrow is the way. 

Since there are false prophets in the world, we must always be careful of deception. The greatest danger of deception we will face is that of self-deception. The Scribes and Pharisees had fooled themselves into believing that they were righteous and that others were sinful. Like the Pharisees and Scribes, it is possible for people to know the right language (bible talk / churcheze), believe intellectually the right doctrines, obey the right rules, and still not be saved. There is a head knowledge and there is a heart knowledge. We will be discussing both. 

Two Ways

There are two ways mentioned in these passages here, one way will lead you to heaven and the other will lead you straight to hell. Jesus uses these two pictures here to help us judge ourselves and others as well. 

The first way discussed is the Broad way. It is that easy way or the popular way. It is the way that doesn’t cost you anything. It’s the way where you can continue to live your life without making any sacrifices. It’s a way where you don’t have to change your routine, your friends, your family, your job, or your social status. The broad way is the way that allows you to party on Saturday night and you still assured your right with God. This broad way gives way to not coming to church, not witnessing to others, not confessing your sins, not studying your bible, not living the true Christian life. Those who choose the broad way, the way that is easy (seeking the approval and acceptance of man rather than the approval of God) will find that the easy or broad way only leads to destruction which is eternal punishment and separation from God. 

When looking at the broad way we must not judge spiritual professions by statistics; the majority is not always right. The fact that “everyone is doing it” is no proof that they are doing it right. Quite the contrary is true. God’s people have always been a remnant, a small minority in this world. The reason for this is not difficult to discover. The way of life is narrow, lonely, and costly. 

The second way we will discuss is that of the Narrow Way. You can walk on the broad way and keep all your “baggage” of sin and worldliness but if  you enter by the Narrow Way you must give up those things. 

Did your profession of faith in Christ cost you anything? 

If your profession didn’t cost you anything, then it wasn’t a true profession! Many people who “trust” Jesus never leave the broad way with its appetites and associations. Jesus tells us in Luke 9:23 that, if we are to come after him, we must DENY ourselves (that is deny our desires, wills, wants, cares, worries, etc…) and take up our cross daily.  

Jesus said that the Narrow Way was hard. The reason it is so hard is because of how narrow it is. The way is so narrow that Acts 4:12 says that there is no other name under which man can be saved. John 3:18 tells us that not believing in the name of the Son of God will condemn a man. 

In 1 John 5:12 we find that “whoever has the Son has life but whoever does not have the son does not have life”. This verse suggests that salvation comes only through a conscious faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the way to eternal life (salvation) is “narrow” in that it is only through Jesus Christ alone. 

You may be asking yourself “how can I get on the narrow way”? The first thing you must do is realize that you need a savior. You must become aware of your sins and what the penalty of that sin is. In Romans 3:23 we read that “ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. Then we read over in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death”. Because we are sinners and the wages or payment for our sin is death, someone had to die. God loved us so much and knew that we couldn’t pay the penalty for sin that he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay that debt for us. You see the rest of verse 6:23 say “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. While we were actively pursuing our sin, God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross at Calvary to shed blood to cover our sin. 

The second thing you must do is believe. Believe that Jesus is who he says he is, the Son of the Living God. Believe that you are a sinner in need of a savior. And trust that Jesus paid the debt for your sin. Romans 10:9-10 tells us “that if we shall confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in our heart that God has raised him from the dead, that you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteous: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. Verse 13 of Romans 10 declares that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall or will be saved”. 

Will you call out to Him today and walk the narrow path? 

 

 

Last Words

 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. — Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)

Last words! The last words of a parent to a child leaving for college... The last words of a loved one at the bedside of someone dying... The last words of a friend before moving to a distant place... These last words are chosen with care because they leave a lasting impact. Jesus' last words are our marching orders. "Go make disciples of all peoples! To do this," he emphasized, "you must go where they are, baptize them, and then teach them to do what I taught you to do." The words are not hard to understand, so what are we doing about obeying those last commands?

Mending Broken Relationships

 Some broken relationships can be healed and the two people can be reunited. Other relationships may not be rejoined, and in those cases you will need to seek healing from the broken relationship itself. 

Whatever the case you find yourself in, carrying around emotional pain is similar to living with an untreated wound. It can lead to further infections as the bacteria of bitterness and regret is left to spread. On top of that, if you had an open wound filled with puss on your arm (yet under your shirt) and someone brushed up against you unaware of your wound, your reaction would probably be to jerk your arm, or to became angry and possibly say something unkind, or even to walk away in pain. This reaction wouldn’t make sense to the friend or stranger who simply brushed up against you. It would seem like an over-reaction to them. 

Any over-reaction is tied to an old reaction that has not yet healed. 

That is why it is critical to either heal your broken relationship with someone, or heal from a broken relationship. Otherwise, you run the risk of harming future relationships due to the wounds from the past. 

These words are so true!!! Men this also applies to you and I.  If we have broken relationships with other men and/or our families they need to be healed! 

There is no need to carry our pride and bitterness around any longer. Make amends while there is still time!! 

If you were unfortunate to not make amends before it was to late give it to God!! God will forgive you and help heal your broken heart. 

I love you and God bless!!!

God loves you!

 "In LOVE he predestined (before you were even born) us for adoption to himself as sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will (that none should perish but that all should be saved 2 Peter 3:9), to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved (Jesus Christ). In him we have redemption (being saved from sin) through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses (all our sins), according to the riches of his grace ( only by grace are we forgiven and saved), which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom (he knows everything we ever done both good and bad)  and insight (he knows our deepest thoughts and desires) making known to us the mystery of his will (the gospel of Christ, how to be saved), according to his purpose (calling; God does the calling), which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."  Eph 1:4-10

Now read it again!! 

Before you and I were even conceived God had a plan. He wanted us to be a part of his family! He not only made a way for us to be saved but he actually saves us through Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood. In that salvation He forgives us of ALL OUR SINS! It doesn’t matter what you’ve done God WILL forgive you because that’s His WILL. If you committed murder - forgiven, if you’ve been divorced - forgiven, if you stole something - forgiven, if you spent your life rejecting the Gospel and repent at the last moment - FORGIVEN! There is no sin that you won’t be forgiven of if you will trust in Him! It is by His Grace and love that we received this status at Calvary. 

GOD LOVES YOU AND WANTS YOU TO LOVE HIM!!! God wants you to trust and believe in the atoning work of Christ at Calvary.

It's Not About Me

 It's Not About Me 

I want to be authentic. I don’t want to keep on thinking, I’ll figure that out later. I want to be what God wants me to be now. And that’s what being authentic is all about. It’s being real and developing the disciplines of a sincere faith. 

I think a lot of people want to have a genuine, honoring relationship with the Lord. But here’s the thing: It’s not just something you feel, it’s actually something you do. There are disciplines we can develop that lead to the authenticity we so deeply desire. 

We have studied prayer, fasting, personal Bible study, fellowship, and now we will study the last discipline: authentic serving. 

Look at Luke 17. This is from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself, the Master Teacher, the greatest Servant who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). 

Here’s the thing: We must not expect God to serve us before we have served Him. The context in Luke 17 is very clear. Jesus is giving an illustration of a man who works for his boss, serving him, and doing his assigned job. This servant comes in from a hard day’s work. (How do you generally feel after a hard day’s work? You feel tired and hungry. That’s how this guy was feeling.) So he comes in and maybe smells something cooking, and most certainly he wants to get something to eat. 

But the fact of the matter is, he’s a servant. And rather than focusing on what he needs and wants, he continually keeps his primary focus on the master—always the master first; never me first—always what God’s doing first. It’s not about me—not what I want, but what God wants. He’s the Master, not me. 

We must not expect God to serve us before we have served Him. 

Prayer – Father, Thank You for Your Word. It is not failing for clarity. Help me to remember You are the Master and I am Your servant. Help my joy be in serving You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Encouraging Word

 There is someone reading this that needed this encouraging word today. 

As we enter deeper into the uncertainty of the future I want to remind you of a conversation between God the Father and a young man named Joshua. 

< background >

You see Joshua had been walking with a great man of god for 40+ years. While he still had duties and responsibilities there was always Moses that he could lean on. Due to some actions of Moses Joshua finds himself entering a stage of his life where he will face the unknown alone (he thought). 

Joshua now finds himself scared, worried, and facing uncertainty. He is going to be leading a people into a new land full of all kinds of uncertainty. God calls out to Joshua and begins to comfort him. God tells Joshua to be courageous and strong. He also tells Joshua to not be frightened (fear not). He tells Joshua the reason he shouldn’t fear is because God the Father himself will be with him and walking with him everywhere he goes. God also promises that He will never leave or forsake Joshua!  

I don’t know about you but I can relate to Joshua as I walk through the uncertainty of the mess going on today. Though I’m not scared, I am concerned with what the future holds. 

The uncertainty of the things we will face can cause anxiety and fear if we fail to do the one thing Joshua did. He TRUSTED God!! He trusted God to fulfill His promises to walk with him, to protect him, and to prosper (not just financially) him. 

If you find yourself struggling today look to the Word of God for comfort. If you are a child of God cling to the promises God has given you in His a Word. 

Promises

“You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isa 41:9-10

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."  Mat 6:33

"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."  Isa 40:31

Satan is crafty and smooth.

 "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

The devil, Satan, is always on the prowl looking for someone who has become weak and defenseless. 

You have to be on guard for Satan's attacks. He is crafty and smooth. He will attack when you least expect it. 

Today, while in a meeting, the leadership allowed for a moment of meditation. First attack... religious freedom allows for every religion except for Christianity. 

Second attack... during the meditation we had a moderator guiding us through verbal dialogue while calming music was being played in the background.  While ushering calming words the moderator repeatedly used the phrase "magic". "You are magic",  "it is magic", and "magic is everything" were just a few of the phrases that were used. 

Based on the teachings of God found in the bible "magic" is a tool Satan uses to distract and defeat mankind. Read the following passages for yourself. 

Leviticus 19:31 - Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I [am] the LORD your God.

2 Kings 21:6 - And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke [him] to anger.

Acts 8:9-13 - But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

***I added the emphasis to point out the key words used. Words like familiar spirits, wizards, enchantments, sorcery, and bewitched are all synonymous with one another.  

This meditation was introduced to be beneficial as a calming tool set to music. In this day and time we are all looking for ways to better cope with the anxieties and troubles around us. We are all looking for ways to mentally escape the bombardment of things happening around us. During this time it would be very easy to fall victim to the deceiver.  I have seen so many professing christians fall victim to the deceptive influence of the devil. They have unknowingly praised the introduction of satan into their lives (this makes me so sad). 

While there is nothing wrong with meditation it is the content of your meditation that will cause you the problems.  

The Bible mentions meditation is in Joshua 1:8 and it reads, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” In these verses the focus of the meditation is on the words of Scripture. The Bible also mentions meditating on God’s unfailing love (Psalm 48:9), on God’s works and all his mighty deeds (Psalm 77:12), on God’s precepts and his ways (Psalm 119:15) and on God’s promises (Psalm 119:148). 

It is vitally important to stand firm on the teachings of the bible. 

The bible tells us to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)".

The way way we test the spirits is through studying God's word. 2 Timothy 2:15 says “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 

I pray this brings you encouragement to study God's Word. 

Trials

Trials

 

I don’t know if you are like me where it seems like there are trials around every corner you turn. Trials are apart of our everyday lives. It may be something as simple as misplacing a cup of coffee on that morning after a hard night of sleeplessness, to a loved one either being sick or dying. It seems like you can’t get away from trials. 

 

I want to talk with you about trials for a moment. What are trials? 

 

Before we talk about what are considered trials let discuss what trials aren’t. Trials are not the same thing as temptations. Temptations are a trick of satan to get you to turn from God. Satan uses temptations in one of three ways, any combination of the three ways, and sometimes evens uses all three ways together. The three ways satan uses are “the list of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life”[1].  We see these tactics used in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were tempted[2] and also in the wilderness when Jesus was also tempted[3].

 

The thing about temptations are that God will never tempt you. God will never tempt you to do evil because God cannot be tempted[4]. In fact, 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that while we are being tempted God will provide us a way to escape those temptations.

 

There are many people that believe they are in trials when bad things begin to happen to them. Not all bad things that happen in life are a trial. Let me explain, if you are disobeying the law by speeding down the highway and an officer pulls you over and writes you a ticket it is not a trial. If you fail to maintain your vehicle and it breaks down, well , again that’s not a trial. A lot of what people claim as being a trail is nothing more than the results of poor choices that they have made. Almost like walking across a freshly frozen body of water and the ice breaks dropping you into the frigid water below and you saying “whelp God must be testing my faith because this ice broke”. NO! You goofball you were being ignorant and done something crazy. 

 

Let’s look now to what trials are. 

 

First I want to say that trials only come when you are walking deeply with God and are following his commandments. 

 

Trials are situations and circumstances that come in life to help an individual grow. This growth may be to help an individual learn to stand strong in the face of trials. Trials happen to build the faith of an individual. Trials happen to build our dependency upon God. Trials even come so that we may  build our dependency upon each other. 

 

Think about a child learning to walk. It faces a multiple of trials before it fully understands the complete concept of walking. Think about it for a minute. The child must learn to first stand and gathers it balance. Then once it’s gained it balance it takes that first step and falls. This routine happens time after time until that time it takes off walking. This child grew through the trials of failure to eventual victory. We see this very same routine in our everyday life in all we do. We don’t just take off walking. 

 

When we face these trials and overcome them we begin to build our faith. Like the child learning to walk. They started of on wobbly legs. The more the child gained a victory in the process of learning to walk the more confident it became. That confidence is the same thing as gaining faith. The child gains faith in the ability to overcome each individual step and give him courage to take the next step in the process. That’s how trials work to build faith. When we are victorious in a trial it gives us to courage to face the next trial. James even tells to count it all joy when we face trials because it tests our faith which cause us to be steadfast[5]Remember Faith is taking that next step even when we are unsure of the outcome. 

 

Trials come into our lives to build our dependency upon God. When trials come we tend to think that we are in a trial because of a punishment for a wrong we have committed. To be honest, most of the trials we face in life are to draw us closer to God. They are designed to help us see that God wants to fellowship with his dear children. Referring back to our child learning to walk. The child finally gets its balance and is ready to take its first step. The child’s mother’s reaches down and hold the child’s hand to help the child  balance as it takes its first step. This is a picture of how God is there through our trials. When that trial begins God reaches down for us to take his hand so he can help us walk through the trial. We like the growing child will let go of God’s hand and try to walk on our own to only fall. Like the child as long as we have the father’s hand we may stumble, teeter, and wobble but we are less likely to fall have the security and stability of the Father holding us up. 

 

Trials also come that we may build our dependency upon each other. There are trials that we aren’t to try to battle by ourselves. These trials require us to reach out to others to help through many different avenues. It may be through prayer, financial help, physical labor, spiritual support, etc…  In fact we are instructed to share our burden (trials) with others[6]. James 5:16 tells us to “confess our faults to one another”. This doesn’t mean tell all our sins to each other . What it means is to share our struggles and trials that we may pray for each other. James goes on to tell us that “the prayers of a righteous man avails much”[7].

 

 

It is possible that you will be tempted while you are going through a trial. Look at Job. While he was going through his trial those closest to him began to tempt him to “curse God and die”[8]. When you are going through a trial you can be overwhelmed and when you are weakened that’s when you are the most vulnerable to the temptations of the devil.

 

 When Job was going through his trial and being tempted to turn from his faith in God he held strong to his faith and as we read at the end of Job’s story God blesses him greater than when the street started. You see that when we go through the trials set before us it is always for our good. Trials are there to benefit us and not to harm us. Trials are there to help us grow and prosper. 

 

The best part about a true” God-sent” trial is that God is there walking with us through that trial[9]. Trust in God because he knows what’s best for you because he fashioned and formed you. 

---

[1] 1 John 2:16

[2] Genesis 3:1-7

[3] Matthew 4:1-11

[4] James 1:13-14

[5] James 1:2-3

[6] Galatians 6:2

[7] James 5:16

[8] Job 2:9 

[9]  Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5

UNDERSTANDING TODAY.

For those looking to understand what is going on in the world today; begin reading at the second sentence (verse). 

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."  2Ti 3:1-5

This was written by the Apostle Paul nearly 2000 years ago to a young preacher named Timothy. Paul here is instructing Timothy what to look for concerning the last days.  

Look around this world today!! I believe that what we find starting at the second verse and going  to the middle of the fifth describes everything that is going on it the world today. Those mentioned in this passage are seen everywhere you look today. Look at all the protesting wanting to “defund the police”, look at the riots and looting, look at those fighting over wearing a mask in public, and the list goes on n and on. 

At the end of verse 5 it gives us some very sound advice. It says to “avoid such people”. Avoid these people!! Don’t associate with them! Don’t get sucked in to their wickedness! I have seen many well intentioned people get sucked into this junk and forget how to act. 

This world is in need of some serious help and that help can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us that if we would humble (get over ourselves and admit we need help) ourselves and turn from our wicked (sinful, selfish, childish, wrong) ways and pray (cry out to God confessing that we are in need and that we are all messed up), that He would hear those prayers and heal (bring peace, bring love, bring kindness, etc...) the land. We need to get off our high horse and straighten up! 

The Lord is coming!!! There is no arguement on this fact!! According to the first verse of 2Tim 3 these are the last days. 

I believe God the Father is preparing to send His Son to gather those who have believed Him in salvation. I also believe that those who have not believed in him are going to be sent to a literal place called Hell. 

My question is this, “have you trusted / believed  Jesus to salvation?”. 

ARE YOU DECEIVED OR BEING DECEIVED?

ARE YOU DECEIVED OR BEING DECEIVED?

The devil himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). We often think of him as a red guy with horns and a pitchfork, yet his appearance most commonly is one of beauty and glory. This is why Paul cautions believers to beware of anyone or anything that tampers with the gospel or the Scripture, even if an angel of light is the one telling us to add or take away from the Bible. It very well might be the devil himself who is leading us to our own destruction even though we think we are listening to the voice of truth. The Bible is the only measuring stick of truth, for it is the truth. Deception always begins with adding to, taking away, or altering the Word of God. “Did God really say,” or “Did God really mean,” or “Is that really worth studying” are all ways that the devil tries to place a wedge of division between us and God. If he can make us question the Bible, lean upon our own understanding rather than trusting in Him, and use “common sense,” then we will be had.  

            Have you been had already? If you have, you likely don’t know it. Such is the nature of deception. Those who are deceived don’t know it. All sin is rebellion, but not all sin feels or looks like rebellion to the one rebelling, particularly if they have been deceived. The one who has been deceived thinks that he is laboring for the Lord and teaching the truth when he is in fact aiding and abetting the devil. This is why deception is such a powerful tool of the devil. He can get people to advance his cause without them even knowing it. This makes his work through them so much more effective because they, too, look like ministers of light when they are teaching and serving the darkness, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Many deceivers do know exactly what they are doing, having compromised and sold their souls to the devil. Others are honestly well-meaning, yet they are leading others and themselves astray. 

            Deception is so dangerous because the church could be deceived and therefore walk peacefully and joyfully to its own destruction, thinking it was victorious when it was not. This is why the Bible tells us to be introspective. In Psalm 139:23-24 David says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” David understands that it is possible to be deceived. He says in Psalm 19:12, “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.” The nature of deception is that we cannot see it. Thus we need to ask God to help us to see what we need to change and to forgive us for our hidden errors.

“Why call me Lord, Lord”?

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luk 6:46 Christian, why do you call him Lord, Lord and don’t do what he says? What does He say to us? What does he do want us to do? Even the word “Christian” means “Christ-like”. What does it mean to be “Christ-like”? John 15:12 & 17 answers these question. Jesus speaking to his disciples and he tells them what he wants them to do. He tells them to “love” others as he had loved them. He then goes on to give them a commandment to love one another. You see, Jesus is love and the perfect example of Love (1 John 4). He sacrificed everything to prove he loved you. He left His Father, He became flesh for the soul purpose of dying upon the cross, and now He’s preparing a place for you to join him in eternity. By Jesus’ death the greatest display of love was eternally displayed. So back to the question. “Why don’t you do the things I say”? If you claim to love God but hates (does not love) your brother then you are a “LIAR” (1 John 4:20) and you do not know God (1 John 4:8). If you claim to be a Christian and you don’t stand up for your brother (and sister) whether they are African, Hispanic, Asian, European, or Caucasian, then I would suggest you check your relationship with God and Christ. There is good in all people and there is bad in all people but we aren’t to care either way we are to just love them and let God have His perfect will in their lives. REMEMBER... Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to “Love God and Love you neighbor”!!!

“You must be born again!”

"Ye must be born again.” John 3:7 Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to take heed that we really are “born again,” for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Be assured that the name of a Christian is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it the being “born again,” is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself: a new principle is infused, which works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the one, God alone can do the other. If you have then, been “born again,” your acknowledgment will be, “O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, thou art my spiritual Parent; unless thy Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ My heavenly life is wholly derived from thee, to thee I ascribe it. ‘My life is hid with Christ in God.’ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me.” May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.

There’s something about that name!