NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
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Short apology to our listeners. We had an unknown homeless man, with multiple mental issues, stop by church today. He often laughed and shouted during the sharing that is posted here. But we loved on him anyways, invited him to our post-service luncheon, prayed with him and sent him on his way. We got to live the message shared. Hoping you will too. NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
Recently, I was reading Joyce Meyers’ book, “20 Ways to Make Every Day Better.” In it, she shares a section on truth. Now, it applies to our daily lives in finding the truth of the common day, as well as the biblical truths we need to know and live. But if things in those areas are not really true, you are on the wrong path…often unknowingly. And the adversary loves it when we are believing something that is NOT true or partially true, and making our decisions based on it.
Galileo once said, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” Joyce Meyers goes on and tells of a fable she heard once…
Whoa…deception is the devil’s middle name! He knows that partial truth clouds judgment, deceives our hearts, steals our joy, and twists our motives. Some examples: (I’m not going to get into the political partial truths out there…for some of that, tune in to my upcoming podcasts and YouTube programs). 1.You know the truth that God loves you…but then you believe He only loves you when you earn His love; see, a partial truth. That way, you’ll go through life beating yourself up trying to earn something that God has freely given you. The devil laughs. (Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:19) 2.Or, you may know the truth that the devil is a powerful enemy, so you go through life fearing him and terrified that he might attack you; see, a partial truth. Satan is a powerful entity, but NOT more powerful than God. Satan is an enemy but we have nothing to fear. We can resist the devil and he HAS to flee!! (1 John 4:4, James 4:7) 3.Or, you understand that God said to love one another but you go through life trying to please everyone around you so they will like you; see, a partial truth. Again, Satan laughs. Don’t live like that. Be yourself, the unique, valuable person God created you to be. God said a true friend will love you for you (Psalm 139:14). These examples. and so many others, show us why the adversary wants you to live a life that is only partially based on truth. If you have less than the FULL TRUTH, you’ll always be frustrated, discouraged and outright miserable. Don’t fall for it! A life based on full truth is a full life that you can truly enjoy. The complete truth is:
When you know the full truth and live your life in the POWER of that truth, you’re no longer a pawn for the enemy’s plans. You’re not a victim anymore but a VICTOR in Christ. John 8:32 And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. BUT…a key point I need to make to enjoy that freedom in God’s truth…you have to stop making excuses. Knock it off with the excuses for:
Let me clarify something here…there are reasons why we do the above and mess up. There are many factors that help shape who we are and how we act. Many have to overcome fears, doubts, abuse and dysfunction so they can get on with their lives. But I need to make a caution here – DON’T LET THE REASONS FOR YOUR BEHAVIOR BECOME THE EXCUSES FOR YOUR BEHAVIOR. If you have past issues causing you pain and failure, take them to God and what His truth says about it. If you make a mistake, take it to God and what His truth says about it. If you have fear, take it to God and what His truth says about it. Always remember…the truth is greater than your feelings. Know this:
So many times, you’ll hear people talk about how they “feel” about something, rather than what God says.
Well, bless your little heart! The devil puts this junk into your mind, then you “feel” like the lies are true and live your life according to those lies. NO! God has good plans for your life. Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wellbeing- and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. In the book I told you about, Ms. Myers related so many more truths of God. She gave many examples of having bad hair days…and why we have bad hair days…
Hmm … that broken thinker, feeler and wanter at work again. Don’t let the Adam nature rule. It is FULL of partial truths. Don’t let your broken thinker, feeler and wanter make your decisions for you. Set your mind and all your will to agree with what God has said and live your life based on what God has said in the truth of His word. We will sometimes fail, but God has said He would forgive.
Anything based on God’s truth, not your feelings, will stand. No enemy can stand against it. And the truth is that God has a great life for you, not one free from trials and tragedies, but one full of triumph and comfort through it all. Know this…
Live in God’s truth…for it is the only thing that will set you free! NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. We have to understand that we are born spiritually unhealthy and weak. Oswald Chambers, in his devotional book “My Utmost for His Highest,” states it so clearly by telling us “God nowhere holds a man responsible for having the heredity of sin. The condemnation is not that I am born with a heredity of sin, but if when I realize Jesus Christ came to deliver me from it, I refuse to let Him do so, from that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation.” Whew! Tough stuff. Being a Christian isn’t for cowards! Real spiritual death is this… John 3:19 And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. That light needs to be turned up, and it is time to LIGHT THE FIRE! I’m not saying to go out and burn and loot…that is NOT what Jesus would do. The FIRE needs to be Christ IN YOU! I have some comments here that I shared at a Christian Convention some years ago. I think are quite pertinent today, and I’d like to share them with you now. Right now, our nation is in the beginning embers of a fire that will destroy it. We need to seek God and work together to be that fire that helps cleanse it. We need to be that light, to lead the way to Jesus, our only hope of salvation, and by His Spirit, uncover and reject the lies and deceptions of the evil one. Many today worry and complain about the rising crime rate, the breakup of the family and the general decline of our culture and moral values. But what they don’t seem to realize, is that the cause of it all, is that they don’t value truth. They love the darkness more than the light! Today tolerance is more valued than truth. As the very soul of the America I love becomes more self-absorbed, sensually oriented and pleasure obsessed, we can expect to witness the prophecy of 2 Timothy. Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God. I am convinced that the moral principles in America are prisoners of war and the Christian heritage of this country is missing in action. This is where WE have to come in. Only a passionate return to repentance and righteousness will heal the ills of this nation. Don’t think the Democrats or Republicans are going to do it. This is not a government problem; this is a MORALITY problem. Abraham Lincoln once said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.” Lincoln and others like him knew the importance of raising up one generation under God, so the next would remain under God. Some may deny what I am about to say, but we have ALL failed in some respects in the following:
People, we may have been instrumental in helping our children achieve academic excellence, physical health and a happy, safe childhood. But we have been detrimental if we have not armed them with salvation and the word of God, in the Light of Christ. The community cannot and will not do it. It is up to us. The first church your kids need to go to is your HOME! Our children may have the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the girdle of truth, the shoes of the gospel and the shield of faith, but they are unarmed and vulnerable if they do not have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pay attention now to the signs of the times and the direction of God to re-establish the family as He has directed. The further mankind gets away from the precepts of God, the more horror will encroach upon our families and us. We need to teach that to our children and constantly tell that to our communities. We must reject the lies of sexual immorality and sexual perversion, pornography, and the like by manifesting God’s truth in all avenues of OUR lives. We must continue in prayer as never before. We must make provision for our children to learn not only the God-breathed moral truths but also how to search it out in His Word. We must participate in a church of God’s choosing and give our time, our tithes and our talents. Have “prayer walks” around our churches and individual neighborhoods. Not going door to door, forcing our opinions on uninterested, uncalled of God individuals, but rather, walking the areas mentioned, praying them out of their homes and into a leading into salvation and proper fellowship. We must get involved in community activities and get the Christian, Spirit-led opinion out there. We must get involved in our children’s school and the curriculum and activities surrounding it. We must bring God’s vision and viewpoint to every nook and cranny of our communities. We must answer comments of the family and in the workplaces with what GOD says, not what we think, not what the church says, but what GOD says is pleasing and acceptable to Him. We must fast more frequently, as individuals and as a church. We must diligently and daily search the scriptures. We must pray for ALL the Christian churches to open their doors, first to God’s truth and then to all who are in need. Churches need to stop acting like businesses trying to attract customers. We don’t need to take members from each other’s churches. We need to open our hearts and arms to the “unchurched”. Churches need to stop competing with each other, and put the call to God out to the highways and the byways through their people. This is war folks. Destroy the enemy of our souls, not each other! This will take sacrifice, teamwork, dedication, hard work, diligence, and persistence—all the things at which the flesh is not so good! But we must seek God like never before. We can do this, we must do this!
PEOPLE…IT IS TIME TO LIGHT THE FIRE! NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
Sadly, many people feel that way. They have been taught that God is some Puritanical Prude up there waiting to throw out guilt trips to everyone who misses the mark that He has set. WRONG!
Let’s see what God says about sin… Some of the words used to describe sin:
All of the above are descriptions of doing something that is against the course of life that God has set. All are the result of the broken Adam nature, not what God created. All are spiritual “dirt” that will keep you out of God’s presence. That is why the sacrifice of Jesus, taking the punishment for YOUR SINS, is so important to understand!
Best definition of sin is found in 1 John 5:17: …all unrighteousness is sin. Sin…so what, think some. So what? I’ll tell you “so what”…
This isn’t hopeless folks…death can be overcome by LIFE. A re-attaching, a re-union, a re-connecting with God…the God of life. And that is not done in a church or a religion…but in your heart. You may be in a church or religion, but He has to be in your HEART. Only YOU can initiate this restoration with God. Take that moment to humble yourself, ask forgiveness for all your sins. GIVE PERMISSION for Jesus to come into your heart, to offer the cleansing His presence gives. His nature will come IN you, and that will never lead you to sin. You WILL die physically because of the legacy of Adam, but you will live eternally with God because of the legacy of Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Let’s end with the encouragement of the Word of God and not the finger pointing of the world, the flesh and the devil. Psalm 13:5: But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. Ephesians 5:20: Always giving thanks for all things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Psalm 34:10: The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. Psalm 34:17-19, 22: The righteous cry and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants; and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned. This is the God we serve. The world may call you a “bad, naughty sin boy or girl”, but Jesus knows we were born AFTER Adam’s sin and were handicapped in it. Jesus is the cure, the restoration…take it. He loves you…just love Him back. God bless you always. NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. 1 Peter 1:16: Because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am Holy. Holiness…sticky subject for some. Preaching God’s truth, NOT RELIGION, reveals that we are “unholy.” OUCH! Too many don’t like that and run. We resent that God says we were born “unholy.” We resent and turn off or turn away from the One stating that truth. But in a soul that God pursues, it also awakens an intense desire to change…a conviction of heart. If it’s only in your head, it’s information. But if God pierces your heart, it’s transformation! God is in the business of producing saints, not a bunch of “holy rollers.” He destined us to be holy, so He cares deeply to bring us back into a life of holiness.
But you can’t do that on your own. You have to humble yourself before God for a moment (and you don’t need to be in a church to do that—just right where you are) and ask Jesus to forgive you of all you have done under the influence of the broken Adam nature. Invite Jesus into your heart to be your King, your Master, your Trail Guide. He will show you the way and fill you with His Spirit which is the only nature that can actually meet the commands of God. His holiness must enter in you, that it can come out through you in your thoughts, words and deeds. 2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 So that He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father… Romans 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 1 Peter 1:8 And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, You greatly rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Don’t just seek happiness, seek holiness and God will give you happiness (in the form of His holiness and joy) unspeakable. Holy-moley…go for it! NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. Ever been in a hot tub? So relaxing. It increases circulation, helps relax you, probably increases the feel-good hormones in your body. Don’t know of anyone fighting or screaming at each other in a hot tub! But, anyone noticed in the world lately …
Not a recipe for peace, for sure! And you can’t put the whole world in a hot tub! But what if you could just bask in stability and be steadfast in security? Would you want that? Of course! Today’s challenges aren’t unique, they are just different. We’ve had past challenges in this country, for sure, and we’ve gotten through them, as we shall these. But we have some additional pressure points we didn’t have to deal with previously…
This is causing stress levels in so many more people. Stress:
It’s not just the big things causing it either. It’s the pressure of just everyday life…the fast-paced, 24-hour info cycle that is going on and on and on. The “old days” had their challenges too – diseases that killed you, wild animals on your farmlands, infections, lack of food and water. But somehow that stress was different. Candles and lamps out at 8 pm and up with the rooster crowing at 4 am. The suicide rate back then was nowhere near what it is today. Is there an answer for today? Yes – PUT ON THE BRAKES! If your car was flying down a hill, you would certainly hit the brakes, not sit there going, “whatever!” Well, if your life is flying down that hill…PUT ON THE BRAKES! But how in the world do you do that? Well, if over stimulation of your senses is the curse of today, you have to back off. “But I can’t,” you say. Oh, yes, you can if you want to. If you break a leg and rehab hurts, you still have to do the rehab. You say you can’t, but your therapist says you can. IF you follow the therapy – you’ll have your restoration; if not, YOU WON’T. Don’t raise your hand but how many of you start the day with a few moments with the Lord? You have to shut off the tv, turn off the phone, the games, the news, the laptop etc. Get into the Word, – get into His presence! You CAN live in the visible world yet, with God’s glasses, see and receive the unseen…the peace you are longing for. Start the day with some Bible reading, devotionals, prayer, soft devotional music – and do it as often as you can during the day. Heck, the world tells you to do Yoga, meditation, deep breathing etc. Yes, they help decrease stress, but they do nothing for a lack of a relationship with the Lord. Only by spending time in the presence of the only one true God can the peace that surpasses all understanding be yours. It won’t stop the turmoil around you; but it will stop the turmoil within. What security, safety, knowledge, authority, wisdom – and peace – you get from being in the presence of God! Psalm 48:14 For such is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us until death. Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. No window breaking, looting, rioting, shouting, hitting someone in that. What a contrast God gives us. But the hook here is that the raw, Adam nature will always lead to the deeds of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21 – immorality, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, factions, carousing etc.). Whew! Isn’t that a perfect description of the videos seen on the news night after night? We should be driven to prayer for those people, not a political, partisan divide! That is raw sin nature at its worst. They are pawns of the adversary to try and destroy the plans of God. Stress, strife, violence, murder, theft…no hot tub is going to quell that! Only a change of nature – the indwelling of the nature of God. Pray like you’ve never prayed before for the salvation of these precious, deceived souls. What a difference God presents: John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but be of good cheer, take courage, I have overcome the world. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; NOT as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubles, nor let it be fearful. Now that’s a hot tub I’m going to jump into. Come join me. God bless you always. NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. Be careful when you make comparisons! One of the rivers I was on a few years ago was when I was white water rafting. Let let me tell you, that river didn’t bring me any “peace,” ‘cuz we were flying along over falls and rocks, and I was thinking we were going to be in “pieces.” The “river of life,” so to speak, is significantly different IF you have the Lord as the Lord of your life. On the rafting trip, we depended on our guide. He was skilled, had done this many times before, and he knew the river. If you could trust the guide on that river, do you think you can trust God to get your flimsy raft through your life? Big, resounding YES!! Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of need. 1 Peter 5:7 (special for you rafters out there) Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. Isaiah 30:18 Therefore, the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him. Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song. Oh yes, we can have peace like a river (well, at least a calm, rippling one) because God loves us and is with us. Remember, God is not looking at your performance or achievements … He is looking at your HEART. Even if you mess up royally, His love is real and ever present. God wants us to serve Him out of love for HIM, not out of love for the LAW! Lower the volume of the raucous world around us and bask in His presence every day, coming closer to the reality of His undying love for you. Let’s finish up with: Jeremiah 31:25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. Jeremiah 31:3 I have love you with an everlasting love. God bless you always. NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. “Woke”---a slang term that means being aware of “social” injustices. The term specifically relates to acknowledging racial injustices. Hello! Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus came to make sure we are “woke”! “Woke” to ALL injustice and sin. Romans 6:12 Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts. Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Galatians 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:
Galatians 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men… How “woke” is that?! Don’t get caught up in the crowd, or group think, or some popular, but often soon fading, fad or bandwagon on which to jump. Get caught up with Jesus. It’s just you and Him anyway. We live in the world but are not to be of the world! Jesus didn’t call us to “blend in” or live in obscurity either. He wants us vibrant, alive examples of:
You will never be involved in social injustice or racial injustice if you live as Jesus commands. He wants us to be leaders, encouragers, uniters, helpers, workers. Being led by God’s Spirit means you won’t ever see color…only character. Those who live by the flesh, as noted above, are in darkness. YOU bring them the light. In that light, you will never be a bigot or a hater. You will never punch or spit at a police officer or break a window or purposely set a building on fire to “get your point across.” You will never treat someone of a different color with less than the utmost respect and dignity. But, beware. If you don’t follow the ever-changing ways of the world where everyone is right and everyone has “their own truth,” you just might be called a hater and a bigot. But don’t worry…they labeled Jesus with that, too. Continue to do good…no matter what. CHANGE THE WORLD…MAKE IT “WOKE” TO JESUS; I’ll leave you with the following… “The Paradoxical Commandments” by Kent Keith:
NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. _________________________________ We had a guest speaker Sunday morning, who shared her gripping testimony of being raped, surviving cancer and two near fatal accidents. Listen to her testimony in the video below after a few of my comments on how God uses trials. Caution...graphic details, not for young ears. _________________________________ You think you have it bad! Well, maybe you do. Maybe your whole life has fallen in; dreams smashed, physical sufferings on the increase, financial losses, etc. So many people suffer and shake their fist at God, when, in reality, it is almost always Satan, in combo with the broken Adam nature. And God is not just standing idly by. He knows what is going on in your life. So many times, He didn’t put it on you. But because He didn’t stop it, He’s doing something with it. God actually uses our trials to help us, not hinder us. Let’s look at five ways He does that: • To DIRECT you • To INSPECT you • To CORRECT you • To PROTECT you • To PERFECT you James 1:2-4 (To direct you) Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let that endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Proverbs 20:30 (To inspect you) Stripes that wound scour away evil, and strokes reach the innermost parts Psalm 119:71-72 (To correct you) It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Genesis 50:20 (To protect you) As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Romans 5:3-4 (To perfect you) And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint… It’s hard to think that God actually helps us in our trials and tribulations. None of us votes for them, but looking through God’s perspective, you CAN get through them and on the other side of your mountains, is the glory of God! NOW GO LIVE IT!If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. |
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